Episode 209

209: On The Dock with Deidra McGuiness-Ciolko

Published on: 8th September, 2022

Deidra McGuiness-Ciolko is a restauranteur and professor who moved to Costa Rica and started her own restaurant, Gordika's FreshMex. She talks about her journey from Boston to the Caribbean and her experience during the pandemic. She advises people thinking about starting their own businesses to be careful what they wish for and treat their business as if it were someone else's.

"I just figured, we're going to make it, it's going to be fine. We had to close for five months, and that was tough. The laws here in the Dominican Republic regarding the curfews are very strict, and you don't reach back. We shut down" - Deidra McGuiness-Ciolko.

Gordito's on the web

Gordito's on FB

Sign up for the Chef Life Radio Newsletter @ https://chefliferadio.com/signup

https://heltstudioaffiliateprogram.sjv.io/QO9A6z

SLA

Chef Life Media LLC

Mentioned in this episode:

The Reluctant Book Marketer Podcast

Jody J. Sperling writes fiction. He's spent twenty years dreaming of the phone call from FSG, accepting his novel for publication, but after landing a literary agent in 2019 and failing to woo publishers, Jody's dream wilted. While he never quit writing and reading, by the end of 2021, he'd so completely lost track of his purpose that he'd amassed a portfolio of rental houses and was toying with starting a short-term rental business. Then he had a vision of all the people who, like him, had pursued their dream of publishing only to find themselves disillusioned and defeated. That's the day he decided to found THE RELUCTANT BOOK MARKETER, a podcast to help writers with their marketing mindset.

Chef Life Coaching

Next Episode All Episodes Previous Episode
Show artwork for Chef Life Radio

About the Podcast

Chef Life Radio
For Chefs Who Want to Lead Without Losing Themselves
Chef Life Radio is not about working harder, optimizing systems, or hustling your way out of exhaustion.
It’s about restoring authorship.
Hosted by Chef Adam Lamb, Chef Life Radio explores the invisible emotional and leadership load carried by people who love their work, and quietly let that love become obligation.
Through reflective solo episodes and lived stories, the show names what most professionals feel but rarely articulate:
When responsibility becomes erosion
When endurance replaces choice
When leadership turns into self‑sacrifice
This isn’t motivation. It’s recommitment.

Chef Life Radio is for people who want to remain excellent without disappearing from their own lives — and who are ready to lead from clarity instead of depletion.

Register for the free monthly Culinary Leadership Lab: a live working space for chefs ready to lead without losing themselves @ https://link.cheflifecoaching.com/leadershiplab
Support This Show

About your host

Profile picture for Adam Lamb

Adam Lamb

Chef Adam Lamb is a culinary leadership coach and longtime industry veteran who helps chefs carry responsibility without burning out or betraying themselves.

After decades in professional kitchens, Adam’s work focuses less on “leadership skills” and more on restoring personal agency, clarity, and choice in high-pressure environments.

He is the host of Chef Life Radio and facilitator of the monthly Culinary Leadership Lab, a live working space for chefs ready to lead without losing themselves.

Find out more @ https://link.cheflifecoaching.com/leadershiplab