The Quiet Work of Belonging in Hospitality with Marina Baronas and Chef Carl Riding

Belonging is not something you arrive at. It is something you build.

In this episode of Walk-In Talk Media, Carl Fiadini sits down in studio with Marina Baronas, hospitality leader and author of A New Life, A New Menu: An Almanac of Belonging. Raised across Lithuania, Russia, and Azerbaijan, Marina came to the United States at nineteen without speaking English and built a life through the unseen work of hospitality. Her journey moves through kitchens, dining rooms, leadership, motherhood, burnout, and reinvention, offering an honest look at service as lived experience, not performance.

Joining the conversation is Chef Carl Riding, who came up through hotels and kitchens before stepping away from the line to build Crab Island Seafood, a small, independent, chef-driven company producing elevated crab dips. Together, they explore dignity in invisible labor, identity beyond titles, redefining success without leaving hospitality, and why this industry continues to feel like home even after it takes its toll.

This episode is for anyone who has carried their roots across borders, worked until they were unseen, or searched for belonging inside the hospitality industry.

What to Expect From This Episode

• Immigration, identity, and finding belonging through hospitality

• The emotional cost of invisible labor and long-term burnout

• Front of house and back of house perspectives shaped by hotels and kitchens

• Redefining success without walking away from the industry

• Why hospitality continues to feel like home, even after reinvention

Brand Partners

Crab Island Seafood https://www.crabislandseafooddip.com

Metro Foodservice Solutions https://www.metro.com

RAK Porcelain USA https://www.rakporcelain.com/usa

Pass the Honey https://www.passthehoney.com

Trade Show & Event Partners

New York Restaurant Show https://www.nyrestaurantshow.com

California Restaurant Show https://www.californiarestaurantshow.com

Florida Restaurant Show https://www.flrestaurantshow.com

Pizza Tomorrow Summit https://www.pizzatomorrow.com

U.S. Culinary Open (NAFEM Show) https://www.usculinaryopen.com

Cause Partners We Support

The Burnt Chef Project https://www.theburntchefproject.com

Operation BBQ Relief https://operationbbqrelief.org

Hogs for the Cause https://hogsforthecause.org

Sustainable Supperclub https://www.sustainablesupperclub.org