COMPETITOR

Rocko's Deli

COMPETITION: World Sandwich Championship

QUALIFYING EVENT: Sandwich Wars 2013

My name is Adam Kahn. I am a Jewish kid who grew up in Westchester New York. I own an Italian deli in Las Vegas. . . Huh, what, an Italian Deli? If this helps you to understand, My wife is Chinese. I'm sure that clears things up. A Chinese lady and a Jewish kid from Westchester who own an Italian deli that was picked as best deli by the review journal, and won a competition on Fox called Sandwich Wars. Yes, that is correct. We have a passion for food, love what we do, and work hard. I find the chains and the "machines" of the world have really hurt the shops that I grew up with as a kid, and really wanted to bring a taste of that back. We make great New York deli sandwiches of the past. The ones where people don't count 4 slices of meat with 2 pounds of lettuce. We make our own bread, our own roast beef, turkey, and so much more. It's like a throw back to what New York deli's were in the 70's and 80's. My wife and I met in Chicago when I was trading currency futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. We both love to cook, and have always had fun in the kitchen. We were foodies and ate out a lot as well. We both have different backgrounds and try a variety of things. We're not averse to trying something and failing. I figure you have to fail many times to get something right. It's just part of the process When we moved to Las Vegas, we took over an Italian Deli, Rocco's New York Italian deli, and added our love for food and background. The shop specializes in Italian food and specialty items, but we definitely have added our own personality to some of the dishes. We are not classically trained, but quite honestly, I find I don't want employee's who have gone to the culinary schools because they tend to have learned the wrong things. It's our passion and love for food that has pushed us to where we are. I have been very fortunate in life and I don't know how I have been so blessed. I think if you are lucky enough to be able to do what you love, and have the means to do it for a period of time, people will find you and you will find success. I have been so fortunate that my wife supports what I do, and enjoys the business as well. I work there most every day and she helps out. She often helps on the creative side either coming up with new dishes or making little changes to what we already serve. We work as a good team.