Where It All Began
This is what shaped Richard Jarocki into who he is Today
Long before I ever stepped into a car dealership…
Long before Formula 1…
Long before Michelin stars, cocktail bars, and international travel…
There were my grandparents’ kitchens.
My maternal grandparents lived just a few blocks from where I grew up, and I spent countless hours at their house.
My grandfather was a retired attorney, but in my eyes, he was also an incredible home cook.
Whenever he was in the kitchen, I wanted to be there too.
I wasn’t the chef.
I was his helper.
He taught me the basics that every cook should know.
How to fry an egg properly.
How to make scrambled eggs.
How to cook bacon… even if I burned more than a few slices while I was learning.
At the time, they seemed like simple lessons.
Looking back, they were the foundation of everything that came later.
He taught me that cooking wasn’t something to rush.
It was something to enjoy.
Going out to dinner was part of their routine too. They weren’t chasing the newest restaurant in town or the latest trend. They had their favorite places—restaurants where everyone knew them, where they knew the staff, and where every visit felt familiar.
It wasn’t about finding something new.
It was about enjoying good food with the people you loved.
My grandmother was Italian, and her cooking is still the standard I compare comfort food against today.
Her ziti.
Her meatballs.
Her sausage.
Her pot roast.
Those weren’t just family dinners.
They became family traditions.
As I got older, I realized those recipes wouldn’t last forever unless someone learned them.
So instead of just showing up to eat, I started showing up to cook.
I wanted to learn exactly how she made the meatballs.
How she seasoned the sauce.
How she knew the pot roast was finished without ever looking at a recipe.
Today, those recipes are among my most treasured possessions.
Not because they’re complicated.
Because every time I make them, I’m back in her kitchen.
My father’s side of the family shaped me in a different way.
They were Polish, and family gatherings meant homemade pierogies, traditional Polish dishes, and incredible baked desserts.
My Polish grandmother loved to bake.
Today, our family still has many of her handwritten recipes.
My Polish grandfather had a family herring recipe that had been passed down through generations. Before he passed away, he made sure my father received it.
I have a copy too.
When I was younger, I didn’t understand why both of my grandmothers spent so much time cooking and baking.
Now I do.
It was never just about the food.
It was how they showed love.
Looking back, I realize my appreciation for food didn’t begin in a Michelin-starred restaurant.
It didn’t begin while traveling.
It began around my grandparents’ tables.
Then Life Took Me Somewhere Else
Like most people, I needed to build a career.
I never planned on selling cars.
I walked into a dealership looking for a bookkeeping position. Instead, I was offered a sales position. I took a chance, and that decision changed the course of my life.
The majority of my career was spent with Nissan, where I worked my way from salesperson to Finance Manager, then General Sales Manager, and eventually General Manager.
Along the way, I also had the opportunity to work with Ford, BMW, and Ferrari.
I’ve always loved cars.
I still do.
But after twenty-five years in the automotive industry, something changed.
Cars gradually became more of a commodity than a hobby.
Instead of admiring them simply as incredible machines, I found myself thinking about inventory, financing, deliveries, staffing, month-end objectives, and everything that comes with running a dealership.
Cars became my profession.
Food never stopped being my passion.
Building Something That Gave Me Time
Throughout my automotive career, I was also building another business.
Year after year, it continued to grow.
Eventually, it reached a point where it gave me something I hadn’t had in a very long time.
Time.
For the first time in years, I was able to step back from many of the day-to-day responsibilities that came with managing a dealership.
I wasn’t leaving the automotive industry.
I was creating the freedom to pursue another part of who I had always been.
The Trip That Changed Everything
A few years ago, I traveled to São Paulo for my first Brazilian Grand Prix.
Like every Formula 1 fan, I couldn’t wait to experience the race.
The speed.
The atmosphere.
The history.
But when I came home and looked through my photos, something surprised me.
Some of my favorite memories weren’t from Interlagos.
They were from the restaurants.
The cocktail bars.
The conversations around the table.
The neighborhoods I explored because I had a reservation there.
The race brought me to São Paulo.
The food helped me understand it.
That’s when I realized something I’d been doing for years without ever thinking about it.
I wasn’t planning vacations around attractions.
I was planning them around restaurants.
Before I booked a hotel, I researched where I wanted to eat.
Before I picked a neighborhood, I looked at the restaurants, cocktail bars, cafés, and markets nearby.
Reservations came first.
Everything else fit around them.
Without realizing it, food had quietly become the center of almost every trip I’d ever planned.
Why I Usually Choose the Tasting Menu
People often ask why I order tasting menus so often.
The answer has very little to do with luxury.
It’s because I want the chef to challenge me.
When I visit a restaurant for the first time, I don’t want to order only the dishes that sound familiar or comfortable.
I want to experience the restaurant the way the chef envisioned it.
A tasting menu removes that decision.
It forces me to trust the chef.
It introduces me to ingredients I probably never would have ordered on my own.
Some of the best dishes I’ve ever eaten are things I would have skipped if I had been ordering à la carte.
That doesn’t mean I only enjoy tasting menus.
If money—and my stomach—weren’t factors, I’d happily order almost the entire menu at many restaurants.
I genuinely want to know what a kitchen is capable of.
But ordering every dish becomes expensive, and after a certain point you’re simply too full to appreciate what you’re eating.
A well-designed tasting menu solves that problem.
The chef has already decided the progression, the pacing, and the portions.
Every course tells part of the story.
That’s why, whenever I visit a restaurant for the first time, I usually let the chef decide.
Because some of the best meals I’ve ever had weren’t the dishes I wanted to order.
They were the dishes I never would have ordered at all.
More Than Great Food
People sometimes assume I chase Michelin stars or expensive restaurants.
That’s never been the point.
Some of the best meals I’ve ever had weren’t the most expensive.
What fascinates me is the story.
The chef.
The history.
The ingredients.
The culture.
A restaurant can teach you as much about a city as any museum or famous landmark.
Food isn’t just something I eat while I travel.
It’s how I experience a destination.
Why I’m Sharing My Journey
When I first started posting photos online, I wasn’t trying to become a food blogger.
I simply wanted to remember the places I’d been.
Then people started asking questions.
Where should I eat?
Which restaurant is actually worth the reservation?
What cocktail bar shouldn’t I miss?
Over time, I realized I wasn’t just sharing restaurants.
I was helping people experience destinations through food.
That’s what RichardJarocki.com is becoming.
A place where I can share honest stories about restaurants, cocktail bars, luxury hotels, Formula 1 destinations, and the people who make them special.
Not just telling you where to eat.
Helping you understand why it’s worth going.
Looking Ahead
I’m still in the automotive industry.
I still love cars.
I always will.
But today they’re no longer the only thing that defines me.
For twenty-five years, I built a career that gave me stability, opportunity, and experiences I’ll always be grateful for.
Now I’m investing in the passion that has quietly been part of my life since I was standing beside my grandfather learning how to fry an egg.
Because I finally realized something.
Food has never just been about eating.
It’s about family.
It’s about culture.
It’s about travel.
It’s about memories.
It’s about the people sitting around the table.
If my stories inspire someone to learn a family recipe before it’s too late, book the restaurant they’ve been debating, or discover a city through its food instead of a checklist of attractions, then every mile I’ve traveled and every article I’ve written has been worth it.
Because the greatest meals aren’t always the most expensive.
Sometimes they’re the ones that remind you where your story began.
Then I created my brand Richard Jarocki
