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A Message from Gabriel

Hey everyone! It’s Gabriel Soh, your host here on The Dinner Special podcast for the past 137 episodes. Today is a little bit different. I won’t be chatting with a super awesome food hero guest, instead, it’ll just be me!

First of all, thank you for listening and for carving out some time to be with me and my guests over the past year and a half. Whether you’re a new listener who’s just recently discovered the show or a subscriber who’s caught each and every single conversation, it truly means a great deal.

With that said, when I started putting together this show, I knew that I would be inspired by amazing food. That was the whole point – to help busy home cooks explore what to make for dinner and find their zest for cooking. But as the show evolved, we talked about different approaches towards cooking and baking, learned about the flavours of different cultures, and about the unique tastes of my passionate guests and the places they call home. I feel so incredibly lucky that my guests were so open to share how food has shaped their stories.

Over the past 3500 or so minutes of recorded conversations, The Dinner Special podcast, at least once a week, has taken a similar structure – profiling incredibly talented food heroes, learning about a dish that is special to them, and of course The Pressure Cooker. It’s been such a fun run so far.  

Now, as much as I enjoy producing and hosting The Dinner Special podcast as it is, I feel like it’s time for a change. Especially now with Snapchat, Instagram stories, and Facebook LIVE, we can get a peek behind the voices of our favorite food blogs from our food heroes themselves! Which is so cool! What an awesome age we live in.

So what does this mean for The Dinner Special podcast? To be honest, I don’t know yet. I love podcasting. I love the food blogging community. I love helping to tell stories of inspiring people whose spirits are lifted by food. And that I get to talk with people from around the world? And have people like you, listening from places I’ve only dreamed of one day visiting? This experience has been so rewarding and such a personal joy.

As I try to figure things out, as hard as it is for me to say, and after a ton of back and forth, I’ve decided to put The Dinner Special podcast on pause – AFTER next week’s episode.

Maybe you can help me out with your ideas? What do you think would make a good show? I’d love to hear from you. Hit me up at: thedinnerspecial@gmail.com.  

So after next week, I won’t be putting out a newly scheduled episode every week. Although, I do hope to drop in from time to time with a new episode, if you’ll have me. Maybe it’ll be a profile of an insanely talented food hero, maybe it’ll be something totally out of the box. So if you’re not already a subscriber and you want to be sure to catch any new episodes, please subscribe. All information on subscribing can be found at www.thedinnerspecial.com.

As for me, during this pause, I’ll also be taking some time to focus on a project that I’m very excited about. And I hope to be sharing it with you all soon.  

Now, even though this is not the end of The Dinner Special podcast, I’d like to give a huge shoutout to all the guests who’ve taken the time to be on show. Thank you for being so kind and generous to me. And, I also want to thank every single one of you who has downloaded and listened to the show. You are the inspiration behind this project. And, again, if you have any thoughts on what you’d like to listen to, I’d love to hear from you.

You can find the many ways to keep in touch and to contact me at thedinnerspecial.com.

That’s it! Bye for now.

PS: As mentioned, I DO have an episode for you next week. It’s not a food hero profile and there is no Pressure Cooker, but it might be a glimpse of what future episodes may be like. Let me know what you think!

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A Short Message and Some News

Welcome to The Dinner Special. I am Gabriel Soh and I’m so confused… because I have no food hero guest today! And wait, there was no professional sounding lady doing the intro either…

So… What’s up with this episode? Well, after 50 shows, I just wanted to quickly take the time to talk to you, thank you, and share a little bit of news.

First off, I can’t believe it’s been 50 episodes already, which means almost 1100 minutes (or over 18 hours) of conversations with food hero guests, and 370 minutes of World Ending, Last Meal videos and The Pressure Cooker videos uploaded to YouTube in the past four months. It’s been such an overwhelmingly wonderful and humbling experience, and I’m so grateful to you for being part of the journey.

I’ve gotten feedback that you’re listening at work, at the gym, while you’re cooking in the kitchen, and in the barn, and you’re finding the show from all over the world. I think the last time I checked, from 52 countries, from as far away as Europe, Asia, The Middle East and of course here at home in Canada and the US.

Never did I imagine that food hero guests that I admire, when I reach out to them, like from Italy or nearby in Seattle, would be like, “Hey, I listen to the show!” That actually happens! It’s crazy! So thank you for listening and for your feedback. I love getting emails and messages on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ they’re really the highlight of my day! So please continue reaching out, and a super HUGE thank you for welcoming and inviting me into your ears?

To my first 50 food hero guests, I started reaching out to many of you before I even had a website up. I was literally just a fan with an idea, reaching out, and you somehow chose to get on a call with me and come along for the ride. And I am so thankful that you did. The show would not exist without you. Seriously. It would kind of I guess be like this episode… so… yeah… not good. I truly just want to thank you for your generosity towards me and I feel like I’ve really made some friends!

Off topic for a second, has anyone else noticed that I say the word “Now,” alot when I lead into questions? Like, “Now, food hero guest, do you think I say awesome too much?” or “Now, why do you think Gabriel chuckles all the time?” I was thinking it might be a fun game, every time I say “Now”, you eat a grape or a slice of pepperoni or something, anyone in?

Anyhow, my bit of news. Starting next week, I’ve decided after alot of back and forth, to stop releasing a new episode on Fridays. So, only two new episodes per week, Monday and Wednesday.

It was a decision made really based on time. When I started recording The Dinner Special podcast, my son, baby O, was sleeping much of the day, he was not mobile, and definitely not as vocal and opinionated as he is today. He’s almost one now, and so he’s sleeping less and getting more unpredictable.

Work on the podcast in the morning during his nap? Well, he’d rather climb on me and shove things into his mouth. Hold him for 45 minutes to get him to sleep for 20 minutes? Totally inefficient! An hour to feed him lunch? It happens. I’m sure parents know the feeling, and if you’re not a parent, well, enjoy your freedom!! Don’t get me wrong, I love my son.

Also, if you’re a blogger, you’ll understand how much time it takes to get something you’re truly proud of posted, and I feel like with doing three new episodes each week, I’m constantly chasing to meet the schedule rather than focusing on doing my best for every single show, and in turn doing my best for my food hero guests, and ultimately you the listener. I hope you understand and I haven’t thrown off your podcast listening schedule too much.

Now, moving forward, I have so many awesome episodes lined up with more incredibly talented food hero guests, seriously, so if you’re not already subscribed on iTunes, you totally should – we can play the I said “Now”, so eat a grape game together every Monday and Wednesday!

If you are subscribed, or are a regular listener who enjoys the show, I have a favor to ask, please help me share the podcast with as many people as possible. One way is to rate and review The Dinner Special podcast on iTunes. It’s not as simple as a RT or a Like but I’d really appreciate it. Thanks in advance for your effort and continued support.

That’s it!