Euphoria: The Ultimate Immersive Dining Experience

Lara Norman
If you're waiting to learn everything before you start, you're never going to start, because we're always learning and we're always going. So for me, it was to throw myself in the deep end. I wasn't set up when I first started. I just was resilient. I had the vision and I knew what I had to go for and I knew what the goal was, but I had to learn as I went with it.

So you don't really have to have a financial background to, to do your dream. If you really want it, you can make it into reality. You're a chef and you're thinking about how to venture into the private chef space, how to set yourself up for success from resume to first interactions with your clients, as well as succeeding at the job. Our one on one coaching got you covered. Go to www.

Hannes Henty
Privatechef dot CC and connect with me. Decades of experience can be your support to seize the next private chef opportunity.

Welcome to the private chef podcast serving the 1%. I'm your host, Hannes Hetji, and on our show, we speak to the best chefs, how they honed in on their skills to excel in the industry, and what it takes to work as a private chef for some of the most exclusive clients in the world.

Welcome back to the private Chef podcast. I'm your host, Hannes Henty. I'm thrilled to have chef Lara Norman with us today. Chef Lara is a highly skilled private chef and the creative force behind Euphoria, a bespoke catering service planning culinary expertise with artistic innovation. She'll be sharing her incredible journey and we will explore her unique approach to creating immersive dining experience for her clients.

Thank you so much for joining us. And I want to start this. I cook with my heart and soul, which I believe are the main ingredients to success. Well, thank you for the introduction, Hans. And that is, for sure, the key ingredients to success.

Lara Norman
I think, you know, I always say this with cooking. Sometimes it's hard when you work in hard pressure and you get in that environment, it's quite toxic. But you have to leave the emotions behind because you are able to taste that when you're cooking. So I'm a highly believer you have to cook with salt. Yeah.

Hannes Henty
And I mean, you truly, you leave the hardship of the kitchen somewhere else and create these experiences that are unlike anything else. Like, where did that creative choose come from? Like, where did that drive come from to create those magical experiences for people? I mean, I've always been very artistic, very love playing with my hands, love going to exhibitions, I love theatre. My nan, great nan, used to be an AC contortionist.

Lara Norman
So I've always been in normal circus performances of Cirque du Soleil was always a dream for me to sort of do something with these guys. And I've worked in Michelin star restaurants for a while. And so in the lockdown, I decided, how do we get out the box, you know, because sometimes it becomes quite robotic. You get incredible food, incredible service. But what is the story?

Where is the connection? And that's when sort of euphoria was born, when the world stopped by, sort of. You utilize that time as a go button. And that's when we did a little video together with my friends where we're going to do a bit of storytelling. But we didn't have performance back then.

And then I put an advert looking for contortionists. And from then, it was like a rabbit hole. One performing connected to another. And then we created one big bubble to showcase people's talents. And that's what euphoria is all about.

We all work as one. Isn't it amazing? When you get to think something, you're thinking about it, you're imagining it, you're envisioning it, and the vision starts growing and people are actually receiving it in a very positive way. Isn't it amazing? Like, very rewarding for you personally, it's beautiful.

I mean, it's a very hard work. So I think this is what gives us the adrenaline to keep going. You know, for any chef, we're very passionate. We take things to heart. So when it has positive feedback, that's when, you know, you have to keep going, because it's easy to sometimes fall out and get demotivated, you know, with hard work.

Hannes Henty
Yeah, I mean, that's. Both of these by itself are very hard. Like, performers have a really hard lifestyle. I think if you're not so passionate about it, it's actually impossible to live it. Like, because most performers, stage performers, they barely come by.

Like, it doesn't really pay the bills. There's. It's maybe like elite athletes, there's like a very tiny part of them that actually make a good living. And it's. It's similar with the kitchen.

You bring those two together, it's like two really challenging arts. But it. It can be a creative experience and an amazing experience for the. For the guests. And I think that's where the passion and the reward plays in.

Lara Norman
Absolutely. And, you know, we say, when you don't chase the money, well, that's when the money follows. And the same with chefs. It's not high paid job, and it is being a performer, and they're doing it three or four times a day. They're performing, you know, but it's about the purpose and about the energy and the feeling you get from it, and that's what keeps us going.

Hannes Henty
Yeah. So how did this evolve for you? You envisioned it initially, and you start, you said, okay, we were looking for individual artists, and, like, how did you grow this in such a way that, that you were able to also make it sustainable? Because everything, at the end of the day, has to meet on the numbers, too. As much as we want to create magic, it also has to match on the numbers.

Lara Norman
I mean, how much time do we have? From the beginning, I was always a creative, you know, never really knew about business when I first started. But I always say, if you're waiting to learn everything before you start, you're never going to stop, because we're always learning and we're always going. So for me was to throw myself in the deep end. Wasn't set up.

When I first started, I just. I was resilient. I had the vision, and I knew what I had to go for, and I knew what the goal was, but I had to learn as I went with it and, you know, got myself in a big debt, which finally paid it off. And, you know, so you don't really have to have a financial background to do your dream. If you really want it, you can make it into reality.

Hannes Henty
Yeah. You do have quite a big team, so it is really stepping into a different realm of responsibility. How did that feel to you? Because at the end of the day, also taking care of all of them, and there's always families behind that. Like, that's something that I always thought about business ownership is that there's a lot of families we're taking care of, too, at the same time.

Lara Norman
Absolutely. I mean, the team is a family itself. We work a lot with freelancers, which that comes with flexibility for them, but also becomes a problem for the business owner because, you know, we never know when we get in this event, so we have to be on the ball. Luckily, we work with a big tribe that always there. We need them.

But we're now looking to have, as well, a set venue, because that's another issue that we always work with. A lot of secret locations, loads of different locations. So now it's time to just have a set venue with the set team. Yeah, I think that's actually a really cool step to be able to create an ongoing experience for people in a set venue, and then you call it home. And where is that going to be?

Well, we're looking potentially either in Ibiza or London. So there's two. There's two at the moment, so depends which one we like the most. Wouldn't you think that Ibiza is maybe too seasonal in nature? It is, but how it works with Ibiza, you can make.

It's going to be as Bisa, you can make as much money for the rest of the year. So we can monetize and do it for the season. And they have another venue open in London. And that's when sort of work like that, because that's a plan we're trying to look at. I used to work in Mallorca, but that's like 15 years ago almost.

Hannes Henty
And that's why I'm familiar with the seasonality of this. And I actually enjoy it because you go, like a little bit, boom, bust. Like, you have the summer, the rush, and you go for it. But then also, we took off all of January, and we were just biking on the island and we were visiting other places. It's exactly gives you the balance.

Yeah, it can be a pretty good balance, but in London, you'll also have to be on all year because that's different demand on you. That's it. And now the season is getting longer. And Ibiza, you know, sometimes the season now is finishing not in September, but end of October, towards November. So let's see where it takes us.

I love it. You know, you're. You're just like, let's make it happen. Let's make it happen. We got to.

Lara Norman
We got to try. We don't know. You know, sometimes I always say this about following that ball of energy. Sometimes it's taking you that way and you really don't want to go that way, but you just got to feel it and visualize it, and it will make sense. The path sort of opens as you go.

Hannes Henty
Maybe you can open that a little bit because I think there's a lot of people who always question, like, should I follow the ball of energy? And. And then again, as some might even need a little bit of help identifying what is that energy for them. Like, see, like, I remember many times when I overrode my intuition with my mind, and in hindsight, I'm like, I should have just followed this. Like, I knew this wasn't right, but we overrule it with our mind.

But you seem to be very tuned in on that. Like, we have to. We have to believe ourselves, because if we don't believe ourselves is, no one else will. So we just got to follow that guy. It's hard, you know, and sometimes you don't listen to the gut and then you realize, I should have followed that, you know.

Lara Norman
And I think being intuitive in business is quite rewarding. You know, especially people see me, young people see that they can take advantage of that, utilize that, but also follow the gut and follow with the mind. So when, when did you feel like this is the driving force? So it was always natural to you. It was never a battle.

Hannes Henty
It was, it was like, oh, logically I should do this, but it seems a lot more that you're just following your intuition on these things, I think. From previous experiences because I've seen that what happens if I don't follow that intuition? And people will have to do it to learn. Right. So since then I've always been quite intuitive.

Lara Norman
I've always been a lot with, of course, logical. It's got to make sense, but just visualize it and if you feel it, then take that route, you know, it's a hard, very complex thing to explain. Yeah, it's rather untangible. That's the thing. And especially if it comes natural to you, I think many people don't even think visualization is a thing like having the ability to perceive something in your mind first.

Hannes Henty
Yeah, it's the law of attraction. It's because it's like, you know, if I tell you about a red mercedes and you're driving somewhere in the afternoon, you, you will probably see a lot more red mercedes, you know, because you've thought about it, you visualized it. And so the clearer our vision gets, the more perceivable it gets and the more so we will, we will just unconsciously see those things that will connect in the puzzle. Exactly. And it's also the power of manifestation, you know, but what people seem to get wrong is you can't just think about it and manifest it and magically it's going to appear.

Lara Norman
You've got to work hard for it. But it's all about visualizing what you want. And you really, if you keep moving, things are going to open up and sometimes we fall and sometimes we meet people in business that let us down, but that is for a reason, just got to trust the process as well. And that's happened a lot in a lot of opportunities that have come through. You know, I've had sort of things that didn't work out and then later on you understand exactly why it didn't work out.

And that's kind of what I try to tell people to just sort of believe what they want, just keep moving, because as long as you're moving and you know what you want, you're going to be rewarded. I think that's important. You know, it's like, there is a lot of disappointment on these journeys, too. It's not straightforward. There's a lot of tears behind there.

Hannes Henty
There's tears, there's wellies to go through, and we basically have to keep going despite the heartbreak, despite the tears. You know, it's like a test from. The universe when everything falling and everything's going against the wind. That is the test. How much do you really want it?

Lara Norman
And then that's when you keep going. I like, yeah, it's, how much do you really want? But then sometimes it's like, I think it was Thomas Edison who said that most. Most people give up just before it would work. I'm really butchering the quote, but it is somewhere along those lines.

Hannes Henty
But there is this. There is this constant down. Like, maybe it's just not meant to be. You know, it's like. But then I think the way you put it is like, maybe we just don't want it hard enough.

Like, if we really want it, like Elon Musk kind of, we want this to happen, we want this to exist. Then suddenly it almost seems like he's bending the laws of physics, which he isn't. He just wants it more than other people to exist. And therefore he's able to create teams and resources around himself that are able to help him through things that other people weren't able to overcome before. And I think you're doing something similar with euphoria.

Lara Norman
Gotta try. We're gonna try. We never know. But thank you. Yeah, I feel like, you know, again, it's.

Sometimes we think we really want it, but that's not actually what it's meant to be. And it's as cliche as it sounds. It's true. And I've saved with past experiences. You know, I thought I really wanted that, but then that let me down, and this came up, which I wanted way more.

And this is. Sometimes you have to fall for another path to open, if that makes sense. Again, really philosophical here. But see, life and career is philosophical. It is.

Hannes Henty
See, everybody is seeking fulfillment, whether they're aware of it or not. Like the. They might think they just want the next better paying job or some, but at the end of the day, everybody wants to come home and feel fulfilled, and they want to feel loved and they want to feel like they had a great day and got appreciated. That's it. Everyone wants submission.

Lara Norman
They want to feel filled, like you say, and it's coming back. And it's not about the money all the time. We want that financial freedom. But I believe that's when it goes wrong. When you open business, if you're just going to open a business, looking at the financial aspects of things, that's when it's going to be way more complex.

And if you just follow your passion, follow your talent, the money will follow. You know, there is a, like the Wright brothers who took first flight. There's this great story. There was somebody competing with them who was actually funded by the US government, but they didn't do it for their passion. That guy was already an industrialist.

Hannes Henty
He had the funding from the government. But the minute he heard that the Wright brothers took flight, he quit. Because he, the Wright brothers just wanted to see whether this works, whether they can take flight and it just put their heart into it. And the other guy, he just did it for the fame and the money. And the minute the other were first, he quit.

And I thought that's like, this is what you don't want to work on. Like, you want to work on something that doesn't allow you to sleep at night and you really want to solve for it. And I think that's euphoria for you. Got to feel you. That's it.

Lara Norman
That's my baby. And I'm very grateful. You know, it's evolved in a way. You know, when I first started euphoria as well, just to put this point, it was a bubble to showcase everyone's talents, because, as I always say, it's the power of collaboration. We don't do things alone and everyone's got their own superpower.

And when you combine that into one, that's why when you're going to get results, and it's also, as a businesswoman, it's also shown vulnerability, you know, that many of us are feared to show because of our ego. Puts us in a way. Don't forget to ask questions. I think that is so important. Reach out to people, even the people that you think they wanted.

Just reach out to them. Keep moving. Yeah. So where do the creative inputs for you come from? Obviously, you have a team now and it's more collaborative, but how do you come up with the menus and how do the magical stories intertwine with that?

Well, for me, we have to look at the concept. Depends what concept it is, where are the characters from, where is that ingredient coming from? And it's, how do we combine that all? And it's, again, it has to be connected. You know, you get a lot of immersive restaurants where they just have the projections and they see you as a number.

And for me, that's playing it safe. It's really trying to tell a meaningful story within a 360 degree experience. And it can. It can really depend what idea. I mean, I did a dish for Netflix competition called the Banks inception, and it came the inspiration from me being at the gym, and this girl was carrying balloons on a tv screen, and I said, hmm, I want to do something with balloons.

How do we combine that into artwork? And I think in one of my favorite artists, which does activism through painting, I do activism through food Banksy. So that's how we kind of connect to that. And again, it's a rabbit hole. My mind, so connections and find the layers and find the feelings you want to evoke.

For me, my concept is all about releasing your inner child. I feel like we all have this kid trapped inside, so it's, how do we narrate that into food? And how do we make you play with food, something that we've always been told not to do? It's breaking the rules a little bit. I love how you very intentionally also said, like, how can we create those feelings?

Hannes Henty
Because it's really there where the light happens. It's like when we're able to create a certain sense of feelings. And this actually makes me think, you know, the movie Ratatouille, where this critic comes and he hates everything, but then, you know, they cook the ratatouille from his childhood, and that evokes that sense of, actually, the inner child is exactly the same thing. They evoke that inner child, and he is, like, super delighted and happy, and. That'S what we want to do.

Lara Norman
You know, I get a lot of corporate guests that come in, don't want to really let go because of the name they have, you know, and that they're my favorite kind of guests because we. How do we make them comfortable? But the first, we got to make them uncomfortable to them, break that barrier, you know, and it's, how do we take them on a journey? Of course, be subtle with it, but, yeah, and that's kind of my mission with it, I think that's not ourselves, too seriously. Yeah, I think that's the beauty about making it so different, the experience.

Hannes Henty
And we don't always get to do that, obviously, in people's homes, but when somebody proactively signs up for it. They give you a little bit of permission to. To make them uncomfortable. And I think that's where. Where things can really happen.

Like, one of the memories I have. So I actually had an indian wedding in India, and my german family came to India. And the cool thing was that everything was so different for them that they just, like, gave into the magic of what was happening, and, like, they were dancing and they were going with the drums and everything, and that would have never happened at home. So you need to get out that compass. Exactly.

Lara Norman
That's the beauty of it. Something different. If everyone's doing that, then don't go with the math. Do you do what you really believe in? Because there's always going to be a market for that kind of brain or that kind of person that you are.

There always is. We have different perceptions and different brains. So maybe someone that comes to my experience to say is the best experience there ever been, and sometimes I will come, maybe it's not for them. And you can never please anyone, everyone, you know. But the beauty is, the more you show your true colors, the more you will attract your true colors.

Hannes Henty
And that's something that I keep telling chefs. I'm like. Exactly. See if you're genuine. Even in an interview with a family or something, if you're genuine about what you want to do and what you really want to cook and express, they'll get to choose whether that works for them and the other way around, you also get to see whether it's a good match.

And I think that's the beauty of also creating something like euphoria. Yes. There's a million people on this side that don't appreciate it, but there's another million people over here that will love it. It's like music, right? Everyone's got different tastes, different brains.

So let's just go with our group talking about music. How did you, like, come in with, like, bringing in the, like, even if you just look at the video on your website, the music is just perfect. You know, the way the video is made and how you're creating those immersive experiences, also carrying it with sound and music. Thank you. I mean, when I first started, did the scripts, I did the ideas, I did the dishes, so it was a bit overwhelming.

Lara Norman
Now I've got musical geniuses in my background, in my family, so I work a lot with my biggest, with my brother and my big tribe. So we sort of, that's when we do brainstorming together, and we do brain dumps and just feed up each other, you know, and see what we can nail down. And now, yeah. Looking forward for this new concept that we have coming out as well. Sounds infectious not to be part of a small, passionate community like that that really wants to make things happen and has ideas and is, like, thriving of each other.

Hannes Henty
Sorry for the interruption. We will be right back. And if you're a chef thinking about venturing into the private chef space, this is for you. We coach you on how to set yourself up for success from resume to first interactions with your clients, as well as succeeding at the job. Our one on one coaching got you covered.

Go to www. Privatechef dot CC and connect with me. Decades of experience can be your support to seize the next private chef opportunity. Exactly. That's the only way you do it, you know, because being a being in business, that's one thing I suffered at the beginning.

Lara Norman
It's that loneliness of having to feed off this energy alone, you know? And it's now that luckily, I've got my people around the right team, and I've got people from the team that are still here, the people that were there in the beginning, you know, and they visualize the ideas. So it's beautiful to just sort of grow together and just showcase everyone. Yeah. And I think it's beautiful.

Hannes Henty
Like, see, as private chefs in private households, sometimes it's. You're basically staring at the blank wall all the time, and you don't have that collaborative environment where you can really, like, plug ideas. And it's so good to come together in a community and be, like, sharing, you know, and have that creative work together. And people that have a big mind that they think the impossible is possible, that's the kind of people you want to brainstorm with.

So what is the next impossible thing that you're making possible right now? Hopefully not cutting myself to think, but we're looking into some other big projects while I'm running my events and while I run also a catering company, think that's the one right now that it's kind of making me. Is it really possible to run all the three? The ideas? I can't say too much, fortunately, but you have to come to one of the experiences and see what can be done.

I think what you just mentioned, that's really the fine line where you have to see for yourself. How can you duplicate yourself without losing the magic of the individual experiences? And it's like, because once you start having multiple venues and then maybe multiple things happening at the same time, that's where. Where your team becomes even more and more important. And how.

How closely are they with the same vision that you have? Exactly. And it's hard, especially now, you know, after Brexit and COVID, it's very hard to find good quality stuff for permanent stuff. You know, I work a lot with freelancers, which is fantastic, but at the same time, not having a perm stuff, it's very inconvenient now looking into having different venues and projects. It's a fear that I've always had.

Lara Norman
It's hard to delegate our baby. Right. So it's. Finding the right team is crucial. The right people that you can trust, because I always put my whole soul and energy into anything I do, so it's hard to delegate that.

Hannes Henty
Mm hmm. I remember I was working with Dan Barber, and one day we were standing in the kitchen, and he came to my station, and he just pushed me aside, and then he, like, picked something up from the floor, and then he got a broom. And then I saw that he expected that same level of ownership from everybody in the kitchen. And. And then I realized that it's really hard to transfer that to the team, like, because he is the owner of that restaurant and the Stone Burns restaurant.

So he obviously has that ownership mindset, but it's really hard to nurture that in people working if they are working for you as employees. I agree.

So how have you been able to maybe get. Get that kind of buy in with the team where you feel like they really got your back in and deliver the passion, the vision, and the drive that you're bringing to the table? I mean, it's, again, showing power, vulnerability. You know, I think if you go with a big ego and you think you're a boss, then you're not going to have that respect. If you treat them with respect and treat them like family.

Lara Norman
And I've worked a lot with friends as well, you know, and family, which is something that people say, never work with friends before family. But I know for me, they would never let me down, and they will always show that respect, and they always. So they've always nurtured it when I'm not even pressing. And for me, that's about building something from the beginning, again, showing the power of vulnerability and showing that we're all as one. There's no hierarchy like you get in a lot of restaurants.

You know, if they call me Chev, I tell them call me Lara, because we're all one, one team, you know, trying to make the guests have a mind blowing experience. And I think if we all feed enough that energy, and it's all that respect. It's contagious. You're just going to want to have 100% result at the end.

Hannes Henty
So maybe it depends what kind of family people have. Yes, exactly. I mean, it's. I think that the tricky part is if you don't have buy in by friends and family, then you feel like you don't want to upset them. And maybe you need to set them straight or something, which maybe in the.

In the other form of delegation, which comes more from a hierarchy, then changes the family chemistry because people get upset. But maybe the magic that you're bringing to euphoria is that you say, hey, I'm not chef, I'm Laura, and we're making this happen together. And, you know, as much. As much as I might be in charge here, I want all of you to have the same passion and buy in as I have. And don't look at me as something up there.

We're doing this together. And maybe that's where the chemistry within the family or the friendship is more sustainable than if you have that hierarchy where it's like, yes, chef, and then. Because that always creates that. Like, why would I put you up on that pedestal? Exactly.

Lara Norman
And if you. That showcases you being a boss and not a leader, which are two very different things. And I think if you believe and feel the ethos and the message we want to deliver with these experiences or with the food that you're serving, then I think you're gonna have the best result possible. Yeah, I'm gonna pull up this. This one picture.

Hannes Henty
I love this picture just because you said it. I love it the first time I saw it already.

The first time I saw this, I thought it was so cool because it tells the entire thing in, like, a split second. You know, like, the leader pulls the weight with you, and the mission is the common mission, and the boss just kind of sits on top like a slave lord or something. I mean, I've worked in one of the mission installs I worked and used to one. The one I respect the most is executive chef. And you'll see him, you know, he's the owner, he's executive chef.

Lara Norman
But you see him prepping artichokes, a job that many chefs don't want to do. And that's what deserves respect. Someone that gets their hands dirty and gets their gloves on and does a washing up because you're just trying to make happen, you know? And I think once you nail that mindset, you're only going to be rewarded. By respect.

And that equals a successful business in mind. Yeah, but it's. See, this episode sounds so untangible. Now, we're between philosophy and mindset, but all of these are so essential in making things happen. It's like, okay, are you able to follow your intuition?

Hannes Henty
Because the more tuned in, you're with your own vision and what you really want to bring to the world, the more infectious and passionate you will be about it. So this doesn't. Doesn't even require sales, because you're so passionate about something that you truly think makes the world a better place that you bring it to other people. And then the other thing you mentioned is then, do you have the drive to go through the valley when things don't work out? Do you really want it hard enough?

And at the same time, do you have the skills, the kind of those soft skills, those untangibles with people to help them buy in, strong enough that you become a unit unlike anything else. That doesn't necessarily come from a hierarchy standpoint, which allows you to create magic. And all of these are very untangible, but extremely essential in making it happen. They're so important. So important.

Lara Norman
Same in a kitchen, you know, and they have to also, you have to know who you're working with, of course. You have to know what affects them, you know? And I say, you know, in the kitchen, this is what I learned the most when I first started in the Michelin style kitchen. For me, I had to unlearn what I've learned. And I was very young.

I took things to heart. You need to understand that people, very passionate people, passionate people, they do take things to heart. But if you know each other's characters, you know exactly that. This is just in the workspace, you know, it's nothing personal. As soon as you let go of that, you believe in the power of silence, which is something that's crucial.

You know, we're friends outside of work, but when it comes to work, we're. We got that kitchen flow, we got that silence on, and this is how we like working. And I think this is something crucial that everyone needs to understand, to explore. The kitchen silence or their inner silence. That's it, man.

Hannes Henty
This is like a philosophical class here. Yeah. Joe Reagan podcast.

Not quite there yet. You should be on there next. Her Majesty. I thought there is no hierarchy. So your cup.

Lara Norman
This is a gift.

Hannes Henty
So what is. When do you think Ibiza is going live? Is this gonna happen, or is this still Ibiza? The only thing with setting me back, it's been so commercialized Ibiza in a way that it's in the right place where we want to do is great for numbers, looking ahead in the business side of things. But it's my heart there, you know, that's where I'm from.

Lara Norman
So I've seen the devolution of the island very quickly, and there's a lot of piracy as well, how I call it in Ibiza. So it's still looking. If I would like to go ahead with this, it will be great again for the business. But that's the line with our ethos. So this is where I sort of have to find my own balance because we also want to keep it exclusive.

You know, we don't want it commercialize and we don't ever want to make a big franchise of this. So it's about finding a fine line of balance in between. Yeah, the same thing. I also wondered about Mallorca, whether they were. I haven't been there since I stopped cooking on the island.

Hannes Henty
I wonder if over the last decade they were able to kind of win the win the better part of tourism over and not commercialize. And, you know, just, just flying a bunch of cheap tourists on large scale. And because the island is too beautiful to do it, to commercialize it to that degree, it's a shame. It's very, very sad. And you see a lot of Ibiza doesn't work with contracts.

Lara Norman
That tends to happen. So if you can really nail down business in Ibiza, then you'll be successful. But again, it has to match with your morals. What do you mean it doesn't work with contract? It happens a lot in Ibiza.

They sell you the dream and then you ask for a contract and they disappear. So this is something people should be aware with. Oh, that is interesting. Happened a few times. They sell you the dream and that.

Hannes Henty
You mean landlords or is that vendors? All sorts. All sorts. Everybody. A lot of people.

Lara Norman
It's very hard, especially the house, to find a house. This is a big problem the island is having. It's not enough housing for even police or doctors to stay in the islands. So this is, this is why when I say doesn't align with the morals, it's when you're taking advantage of people. And like this, it's really the right spot for it.

So I think this is something for us to still discover on the journey. And how about the London project? London project? Yeah, we've got a few on the line, which I can't really say too much just yet. So we have to have another podcast.

Hannes Henty
After this, we have to. Once the vision unfolded, now we are speaking about the visualization, and then once the vision unfolded. Facetime. Yeah. To have a set venue, you know, when the show came out, it's another thing, just a lot of smoke and mirrors.

Lara Norman
I say, you know, this is really great. When I did it for business, but it was. I was overwhelmed with the amount of inquiries. We didn't have a set venue. Had to put a lot of people on waiting lists, you know, and this is what people don't realize.

It looks like butterflies are behind the scenes as a lot of chaos at the same time. You know, it's funny that you say it. I just read a blog the other day from an entrepreneur, and he went to, it was like a luncheon between a couple guys who all built like 100 million dollar businesses. And from outside, he said, they all look shiny. But then if you actually speak one on one with the CEO's, they said it's all like duct tape.

Hannes Henty
You know, it's like everybody's trying to keep it together. Everybody's trying to figure it out, and. And that's. I think we all plagu it. I always say these humans will blag it.

Yeah. And then we all want to believe that someone else got it figured out to that degree. But then there've been so many events that I've been part of, which, yeah, you can plan them well and you can execute them well, but at the end of the day, there's always that, like, okay, got to keep it together and. And just create that amazing experience and make sure that whatever the guest experiences is just delight and everything else will just take care of it in the background. Exactly.

Lara Norman
And I really would love. This is why I hate social media so much, because I would love a platform where we can all showcase the behind the scenes. This is what people want to see, the mistakes, the things that happen. You know, I had an event where we had really vip guests coming in. This was a beautiful church, and this is a thing with these wow factor venues, the wow factor from outside and inside, but what happens really inside when it comes to the electricity point of view and all that?

We had a generator. We did plenty of rehearsals. We were good to go. 15 minutes before the guests come in, huge power cut. My sound engineer, which I call him a wizard, he always knows what to do.

He does the lights, he does the decal. He said to another member of the team, you might have to tell Lara to cancel the event. It's 15 minutes before the event. It was the first time. This is why the power of manifestation.

I looked up in the arch, I prayed, we're going to get to the end. We're going to get to the climax, which is the end where we do the dessert. The power came back on all the shelves. We had to disconnect the equipment as we went. We're cooking.

Disconnect the fridge, connect it again. And this is what the chaos that people don't see, and we made it happen. Everything runs smoothly. This is. This is what really fills my soul when you get.

You come across that and you make it happen. This is. This is funny. I remember this, too, from events when some electrician or somebody would come and be like, you just got too much on these lines here. Like, we gotta unplug and we gotta get it down to this.

Hannes Henty
This much. And I'm like, douglas, okay, like, how are we supposed to do that? We need this. Like, we cannot turn off the fryer. We need this, you know, but you just somehow have to make it work.

Lara Norman
That's it. You just got to make it happen. Don't know how we're going to get there. One piece or two, you know, that's one thing. When I first came to New York City, I thought they were insane.

Hannes Henty
So they have these roofing boxes and catering here a lot, and then they just put the sternal flames in there and they basically turn the thing into an oven. And I'm like, how is the fire department cool with this? In the UK, you wouldn't. Yeah, I'm like, the fire department in new York City is so strict. Like, in Germany, nobody would allow us to cook with sternos inside these metal boxes and literally, like, bring them up to like 200 something degrees celsius.

So, okay. Like, we're close to 375 degrees fahrenheit. And I was like, but for whatever reason, this is how catering works in New York, because they're not bringing in all of that electrical equipment. And I just thought, it's wild. Love hearing these experiences because it really showcased people trying to make things happen.

Yeah. Like, we were sometimes baking in those. I'm like, wow. So even actually last summer. Last summer we weren't in the Hamptons and it was Jean Georges, Danielle, Eric Ripert were having a safaree for.

Yeah, it was like a money manager summer party. And like, three quarters of the party was cooked in sternos, in broofers like this. Like, the mead was cooked like that. And I just thought, it's just amazing how sometimes how it all comes together. The logistical nightmare that turns into magic.

Lara Norman
When everyone's putting the input, you somehow get into that flow after all that chaos. And that's what that adrenaline that you get. It's like when you do a service right in the kitchen and it's so tense, and things might not be going right at some point, but then we all just make it happen. And that feeling that you get after, it's like, we kind of like the pain in this industry, so we have to have an element of that. Otherwise it gets boring.

Hannes Henty
Yeah, it truly does. If you're too on top of it, it's just, it's boring. We need chefs. Sometimes I actually think, chefs, there's something in our psyche where they want to experience pain. Master kiss.

That's what makes. Yeah. So, Lara, this, this has been very, very interesting. One of my favorite questions I like to ask, what do you consider a life well lived? This is something I'm always focusing to try to do now.

Lara Norman
You know, we've taken, um. It's hard just running your business, and you kind of can't shut off ever. So for me, it took me to pass out and have a very bad experience after event for me to realize I need to change the way I'm working, you know, and it's. I've reached a really big point of a burnout when I realized also with my personality, I've always been very addicted to chasing. What do I mean by that?

You chase to something that you think it's your goal. You get there and you still feel unfulfilled, and you're already into the next thing without even realizing what have you done? And for me, it's really still learning that. How do we balance that? Because at the end of the day, you can have all this success, and you can have the recognition, but if you still feel numb inside, then what's the point?

So it's. I'm really starting to just enjoy the journey and enjoy the people I meet along the way, as cliche as it sounds, and really start to try to look after myself, because I like looking after people, but I don't tend to do that very well with myself. And I think at the end of the day, that's the most important thing. If we're not happy inside, then what's the point? So where do you think that stems from?

Hannes Henty
Like, why do you think you have that constant chasing and at the same time taking care of others but not yourself? It's something, I still haven't got it fully figured out myself, but I think it's not wanting. I never like to let people down, especially myself. So it's always trying to make things happen. But I've learned the lesson that if the health is not there, then everything's just gonna collapse.

Lara Norman
So I can't really answer that question just yet. I'm still in the process of learning. But, yeah, I definitely try to focus more on the phase itself and then the steps to get there rather than the ending result, because you're never gonna have an ending result, especially with personalities like ours. We're always onto the next thing. Well, if you take it all the way, the end result of life would be death.

Oh, after death, I think that's when we start living. Yeah, maybe. Maybe. It depends. So if you want to get to the finishing line quick, is the finishing line death?

Hannes Henty
I don't know. That's it. Sometimes we just gotta walk before we just keep running, you know? Yeah. Well, Lara, thank you so much for making the time.

Where can people find out more about you and euphoria? You have euphoria? You can check us out by Lara. Norman on the website. Yeah, where else can they find out more?

Lara Norman
You can find me on Instagram shadlar Norman or Euphoria by Laura Norman and drop us an email if you want to release your inner child. Nice. I hope I'll see you on the dining table. Yeah. And we'll also make sure to add all of those to the show notes so that everybody can find you and what's possibly happened in London, in Ibiza.

Thanks. It's been such a pleasure to meet you and hopefully I get to interview you next time. That would be interesting. I want to know more of your story.

Hannes Henty
Thank you for joining us at the private chef podcast. If you know any highly skilled chefs that want to take their life to the next level, make sure to share this podcast with them. And if you enjoyed this episode, click subscribe and check out our upcoming episodes. Thank you for listening.

Euphoria: The Ultimate Immersive Dining Experience

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1: Introduction

2: The Genesis of Euphoria

3: Challenges and Rewards

4: Business Insights and Sustainability

5: Future Plans and Reflections

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