Katzenjammer: A Day in the Life of Two Restaurant Owners · Jamie Adams and Leonardo Moura

Episode 3: How We Met and Started Our Partnership

·35 min·3 clips

Chef Jamie Adams and Leonardo Mora reveal how 40 years in restaurants led to their unexpected partnership.

This episode details how hosts Leonardo Mora and Chef Jamie Adams formed their restaurant partnership. Leo and Jamie co-own two Atlanta restaurants, Ujalo and Lagarde, drawing from over 40 combined years in the industry. They address listener questions about their origin story, framing it as a destined plan rather than an accident. Jamie recounts meeting Leo while working at a restaurant where Leo was a regular customer and wine enthusiast. Leo describes his initial career in the corporate world before a pivotal trip to Italy shifted his focus toward food and wine. Jamie explains his culinary foundation was built during his time living and cooking in Italy. Leo details a subsequent, transformative period he spent living in the jungle in Brazil. The hosts describe their early professional relationship, with Jamie cooking and Leo initially providing wine for events. They credit a mutual friend, a sommelier named Michael, for formally introducing them with partnership in mind. Their first collaborative project was a pop-up dinner series that tested their working chemistry. They decided to open their first brick-and-mortar restaurant, Ujalo, after the pop-up's success. A key insight is their belief that their partnership was part of a larger, intentional scheme or plan for their lives. They find it surprising that their shared time in Italy, though years apart, created a foundational common language. The story emphasizes how a series of deliberate deviations and long routes ultimately led them together. Their narrative suggests professional partnerships can evolve organically from customer relationships. The tone is conversational, nostalgic, and warmly reflective as the hosts trade memories. The style is informal and anecdotal, feeling like a story shared between old friends. Listeners interested in restaurant origin stories and entrepreneurial partnerships would love this episode. Those seeking highly structured business advice or industry analysis might prefer to skip it.

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