50 Tastes Of Gray

Sara Causey joins host Matthew Gray of 50 Tastes Of Gray for an unscripted conversation about authenticity, creativity, art, and building a life that feels genuinely hers. A biographer, author, and artist, Causey explains why she rejected the conventional path to success, how she lets creative projects evolve, and why meaningful work often requires stepping beyond what feels safe.In this episode:Causey defines “eccentricity of purpose” as living authentically instead of conforming to expectations.She distinguishes between eccentricity as a marketing brand and eccentricity as a lived reality, including the willingness to be misunderstood.Causey recounts reaching a corner office at age 39 and realizing that the promised corporate-ladder victory felt hollow.She discusses regret, reinvention, and the importance of choosing differently with the time that remains.Her fascination with Richard Burton led to imaginative ideas centered on cinematic grandeur, spectacle, and artistic collaboration.Causey explains how she lets each writing project determine its own form, genre, audience, and voice.She argues that creative growth is not about hustle culture, but about challenging yourself and occasionally feeling scared by your own work.Her book Simply DAG: The Private Man in a Public and Dangerous Office uses an intimate first-person perspective to place readers inside Dag’s negotiations, bomb threats, and moments of danger.She shares how reader feedback confirmed that the book created a powerful sense of personal connection with Dag.The conversation closes with Swedish food, cloudberries, pickled herring, and the value of unscripted conversations.0:00 What "eccentric on purpose" actually means — and why faking it will kill you0:52 Real eccentric vs. brand eccentric — lipstick, beret, and the biographer they can't accept1:55 The corner office at 39 that felt like a pyrrhic victory2:52 Regret is a trap — don't die with your music still inside you4:28 Modern cinema is digital vomit — and why Richard Burton still ruins me5:50 My rebellion against sameness — bring back the robes, the gold, the spectacle7:21 I let the Muse tell me — stop holding your art in a death grip8:56 If you feel safe in your art, you're doing it wrong10:03 Simply DAG scared me — challenging the gatekeepers10:56 The Simply DAG elevator pitch — you're not reading history, you're IN it13:25 Screw the scripted interview — real conversation keeps your brain aliveSara Causey Contact Info: Website: https://saracausey.com Books: https://saracausey.com/my-books Podcast: The Causey Consulting Podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-causey/ "Decoding the Unicorn" on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DSCS5PZTFollow Matthew Gray:   50 Tastes Of Gray — Broadcasting from Honolulu. One guest. No rules. New episodes weekly.50TastesOfGray@gmail.com Instagram: @50tastesofgray Facebook: facebook.com/50TastesOfGrayPodcast LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matthew-gray-hawaii Substack: 50TastesOfGray.substack.com YouTube: @50TastesOfGray#introvert#careerchange#highlysensitiveperson

What if numbness isn't apathy — but overload?
In this episode of 50 Tastes of Gray, I sit down with writer and journalist Maria Cassano (The Good Girl Recovery Guide, upcoming memoir Numb, Party of One - Feb 2027) for an honest conversation about depersonalization, derealization, and the cost of being the "good girl."
Maria shares what it was like to feel gone for years, why people-pleasing and hyper-empathy can tip the nervous system into shutdown, and how everyday rituals — coffee, boundaries, and yes, magic shell — became tools for coming back.
We get into:
The real lived experience of depersonalization vs. the clinical definitionGood Girl Recovery: unlearning performative careBoundaries as a nervous system practice, not just a conceptFinding safety and pleasure in small sensory ritualsReclaiming "I'm Good Now" without pretending you were never hurtMaria's writing: The Good Girl Recovery Guide on Substack — https://mariacassano.substack.com/
If you’ve ever felt numb, checked out, or “too much” and “not enough” at the same time — this one is for you.

Jenny Linford grew up across Ghana, Trinidad, Singapore, Italy, and London, experiences that shaped her lifelong fascination with flavor, markets, and regional food traditions. In this episode, Jenny explains the difference between British supper, dinner, and pudding; shares her family’s Queen of Puddings recipe; and tells the story of Nigella Lawson DM’ing her to say she was a fan.
We explore her self‑taught path into food writing, her global childhood, the immigrant food shops that taught her how to cook, and how she researched London’s food scene before the internet. Jenny talks about Singapore hawker centers, regional Italian food, the rise of British cuisine, the decline of fishmongers, and why markets matter more than ever.
She also discusses cookbook production, writing for Kew Gardens and the British Museum, artisan cider and cheese, AI’s impact on food publishing, and her cheese podcast A Slice of Cheese. This conversation is warm, generous, nostalgic, and full of food stories that last.
 
Follow Jenny Linford:
info@jennylinford.co.uk
https://JennyLinford.co.uk/
https://www.instagram.com/jlinford
 
Follow Matthew Gray:  🎙️ 50 Tastes Of Gray — Broadcasting from Honolulu. One guest. No rules. New episodes weekly.
📩50TastesOfGray@gmail.com
📸 Instagram: @50tastesofgray📘 Facebook: facebook.com/50TastesOfGrayPodcast💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matthew-gray-hawaii✍️ Substack: 50TastesOfGray.substack.com▶️ YouTube: @50TastesOfGray
 
#foodwriter #britishfood #globalflavors #homecooking #foodstories

A delightfully unhinged conversation about sourdough, butter wars, cat cuddles, Pittsburgh fries, and the chaos of being human.
He paid fifty bucks to mail sourdough to Canada — and somehow that wasn’t even the strangest part of the conversation.
This episode is pure, delightful silliness. It’s food, life, marketing, cats, Pittsburgh fries‑on‑everything culture, Dan Aykroyd, poop, and the kind of unexpected stories that only happen when two people stop trying to be serious and just hang out.
We talk about homemade sourdough, the cold‑butter debate, gluten‑free cornflake chicken, and why Will’s smoothie is measured like a NASA experiment. We wander into Pittsburgh comfort food, childhood memories, outdoor adventures, and the existential question of whether cornflakes should be allowed to “sing.”
But the episode also gets surprisingly useful:Will breaks down why marketing is storytelling, why sales is not marketing, and why home buyers respond to emotion more than specs. We get into real estate humor, home‑buying psychology, and why “new vs. used” is more of a feeling than a feature list.
Along the way, we hit:
Gluten sensitivity and the hidden places gluten lurks
Cats with human names and the art of cat‑armpit cuddling
Why adults should go outside and act like kids
The smell of rain (petrichor) and why it makes people feel alive
Celebrity chefs, BLTs, avocado toast, and Pittsburgh fries‑on‑everything culture
Chainsaws, yard work, and the joy of doing something physical
Neurotic New York Jew humor, childhood nostalgia, and cultural identity
Travel stories, music memories, and the food that reveals who you are
If you like food, weird stories, sharp conversation, and a little observational nonsense, this episode is your jam.
#Sourdough
#FoodPodcast
#Marketing
#Storytelling
#podcastinterview #50TastesOfGray

Katie and Chris Bowick sit down with me on 50 Tastes Of Gray to talk openly about addiction and the ways it shaped their lives. This conversation is not a recovery seminar. It is not a redemption arc. It is two people telling the truth as they remember it, even when those memories do not match.
We explore how addiction rearranged their timelines, how humor survived the hardest years, and how storytelling becomes a way to hold conflicting truths at the same time. The episode moves between laughter, tension, and reflection. It stays human. It stays honest. It stays in the gray.
Follow Chris & Katie:
Coloring Outside the Lines: A Love Story in the Gray of Addiction, Recovery, and Redemption​
Available https://shorturl.at/uxhcj
📘 Facebook:  @LoveThroughTheGray 
📸 Instagram:  @LoveThroughTheGray  TikTok: @lovethroughthegray
▶️ YouTube: @LoveThroughTheGray Follow Matthew Gray:
🎙️ 50 Tastes Of Gray — Broadcasting from Honolulu. One guest. No rules. New episodes weekly.
📸 Instagram: @50tastesofgray
📘 Facebook: facebook.com/50TastesOfGrayPodcast
💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matthew-gray-hawaii
✍️ Substack: 50TastesOfGray.substack.com
▶️ YouTube: @50TastesOfGray
 
#SoberLiving #AddictionRecovery #MarriedCouples #RecoveryJourney #50TastesOfGray

Decadent & Notorious pretty much sums up Mindy Crosato.
She's the force behind Decadent Creations and the creator of Notorious B.A.G.E.L., two very different expressions of the same obsession: making food interesting.
On 50 Tastes Of Gray, Matthew Gray sits down with Mindy for a wide-ranging conversation about macarons, champagne, unconventional bagels, food waste, culinary creativity, French food, family and building food businesses.
Mindy talks about the precision behind her macarons, including her memorable “happy elf” meringue test, and why she personally still makes roughly 1,000 macarons a week.
Then there's Notorious B.A.G.E.L.
Mindy explains why she created a separate business around her bagels and why she deliberately went in an unconventional direction. Chicken soup bagels, Frito pie bagels, furikake, kimchi egg and inventive cream cheeses are part of the mix.
The conversation also gets into champagne and sparkling wine, including Mindy's love of Spanish traditional-method sparkling wine, her reputation as a food snob, and the memorable story of her “divorce bottle” of Dom Pérignon.
One of the most fascinating parts of the conversation is Mindy's approach to food waste. Her bakery has developed what she calls “carryover pathways” and “utilization pathways,” finding new uses for products that might otherwise be discarded. Brioche and croissants become bread pudding. Cookies become crumble. Whole leftover pies can become filling for cinnamon rolls.
Mindy also talks about:
Decadent CreationsCollective MarketPortland food and bakingMacarons and meringue techniqueChampagne and sparkling wineNotorious B.A.G.E.L.Unconventional bagel flavorsBrisket and “salt beef”French culinary cultureCooking for familyHer cookbookFood photography and creative directionA French-Pacific Northwest supper clubFarmers markets and building a food businessCulinary classesFood waste and creative reuse
And then Mindy takes over the interview.
She turns the questions on Matthew, getting into what he cooks at home, his spice pantry, roasting coffee, Hawaii and the years he spent building Hawaii Food Tours.
It's a conversation about food, but it's really a conversation about how people think, create, build businesses, and decide what makes life worth tasting.
This is 50 Tastes Of Gray.
00:00 — Decadent & Notorious00:39 — The early-morning baker02:09 — Champagne, dosage & Spanish sparkling wine05:01 — What does “decadent” really mean?06:02 — The divorce bottle09:03 — Working with your husband10:00 — When the dishwasher catches fire14:47 — French food culture & being a food snob18:15 — The art of making macarons19:37 — Mindy's “happy elf” meringue test21:24 — Why macarons cost so much22:44 — The fight against food waste23:05 — Mindy's utilization pathways26:16 — The Raccoon Baker28:14 — Mindy's first food memory29:36 — Burgers, fries & beef suet32:31 — What do you do with peach skins?33:15 — Collective Market36:03 — Mindy's secret smashed-potato seasoning38:05 — Cooking for people you want to impress41:32 — The ultimate dessert for her husband43:09 — The French-Pacific Northwest supper club46:03 — Speaking French47:28 — The blended family49:30 — The next generation of cooks51:06 — What's Mindy eating today?53:07 — What makes a great bagel?54:51 — Notorious B.A.G.E.L.56:29 — Brisket and salt beef57:36 — The cookbook & creative life01:00:19 — Squab, binchotan & French tomatoes01:02:19 — Mindy takes over the interview01:02:42 — What does Matthew cook at home?01:03:13 — The spice pantry01:04:05 — Roasting coffee the homemade way01:06:14 — Hawaii Food Tours01:10:40 — Mindy's cooking classes01:12:39 — What will Aurelien think?01:16:10 — Mindy's final pitch01:16:45 — Aloha

In this episode of 50 Tastes of Gray, Matthew Gray sits down with former private jeweler and mental‑performance trainer Kendra Lockhart for a raw, cinematic conversation about the diamond industry’s hidden corners, the solar‑eclipse tattoo that changed her life, and the reinvention that pulled her out of burnout.
Kendra opens with a powerful story of loss, intuition, and the white‑ink tattoo she carries as a reminder that “the sun never sets.” From there, she reveals the truth behind the jewelry world — the ethics, the chaos, the lab‑grown disruption, and the emotional toll of working inside an industry built on beauty and pressure.
The conversation shifts into identity, mental performance, burnout, and the psychology of rebuilding yourself from the inside out. Kendra explains how she helps people navigate grief, overwhelm, reinvention, and the invisible mechanics of the mind.
And then Chicago enters the room — food, culture, deep dish, tomato allergies, Midwest emotional etiquette, and the soulful moments that define the city.
This episode is about truth, transformation, and the strange, beautiful ways people find themselves again.
Follow Kendra: https://www.instagram.com/kendra.lockhart/
Follow Matthew Gray:
🎙️ 50 Tastes Of Gray - Broadcasting from Honolulu. One guest. No rules. New episodes weekly. Subscribe for more. 📸 Instagram: @50tastesofgray
📘 Facebook: facebook.com/50TastesOfGrayPodcast
💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matthew-gray-hawaii
✍️ Substack: 50TastesOfGray.substack.com
▶️ YouTube: @50TastesOfGray
#50TastesOfGray
#KendraLockhart
#DiamondIndustry
#MentalPerformance
#ChicagoCulture

Ten years ago, Tricia Baxley's husband of twenty-one years died by suicide. What followed wasn't just grief — it was the complete unraveling of who she thought she was.
In this conversation, Tricia opens up about the addiction and enabling that shaped her marriage long before that night, the eerie moment she felt her husband tell her he was "disconnected," and the minister who broke down in tears hearing her story because it was the exact explanation he'd never been able to give for his own attempt decades earlier.
We talk about telling her sons the truth, the fifty fraternity brothers who left their own families on Parents Weekend to show up for her son at the funeral, the unorthodox therapist who screamed at her that none of it was her fault, and how she rebuilt an entire identity from nothing.
This one goes to some heavy places. It's also, ultimately, about resilience.
⚠️ Content note: This episode discusses suicide and addiction in detail. If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988) is available 24/7 in the US.
Find Tricia: pathforhealing4.com · Books on Amazon under Tricia Baxley
Follow Matthew Gray:
🎙️ 50 Tastes Of Gray - Broadcasting from Honolulu. One guest. No rules. New episodes weekly. Subscribe for more. 📸 Instagram: @50tastesofgray
📘 Facebook: facebook.com/50TastesOfGrayPodcast
💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matthew-gray-hawaii
✍️ Substack: 50TastesOfGray.substack.com
▶️ YouTube: @50TastesOfGray
#resilience #griefjourney #suicideprevention #MentalHealthPodcast #50TastesOfGray