On the Job Marathon: What It Takes to Feed New York City | NYT Cooking

Bodega Owner. Hand-rolled Bagels. Hot Dog Distributor. Street Vendor. “O.K., O.K., O.K., oh, wow.” “These jobs are hard.” “Yes, young lady? May I help you today?” “Could I get one New
York Times special, The ‘ocky’ way?” “Sure!” – [LAUGHS]: “Sure!” So let’s rewind a
couple of weeks. [WHIRRING FILM] As a food journalist,
oftentimes for me, The most interesting stories
aren’t the ones that take Place in the four walls
of the restaurant, But rather the ones that tell
the story about the labor, Often unseen, that keeps
us fed in different cities. And here in New York, that
often starts with the bodega. Bodegas are the
lifeblood of this city. They are community centers. They are the place to pick
up your morning breakfast Sandwich, that can of
chickpeas that you forgot To get on a grocery run. They’re a place to meet
colorful characters And funnily named bodega cats. [UPTEMPO MUSIC] So I wanted to meet a bodega
owner and understand what Stakes they’re up
against every day, How they basically run a
grocery store, restaurant, Community hub, all
at the same time. And for this particular
bodega owner, how they also

Manage being TikTok famous. “(ON VIDEO) Sure! Sure! Put the burger on the grill. Then we put the
steak on the grill.” “These like abrupt cuts. I love it.” [KEYS JINGLE] “Take a good smell. You should be well-rested.” [GRINDING] "Good morning.” “How you doing, my man?” “Ah, hey, mama.” “Good to see you.” “How you doin’ Auntie?” “Sandwich, King of Red Hook.” “My name is Rahim Mohamed. I’m a manager of
603 Clinton Street. You have a blessed day, mama.” “You too.” “I’m trying to
serve the community, Making sure everything
is in my bodega.” “I can’t believe they
make Dunkaroos cereal. This is news to me.” [SCRAPING] “Nice to meet you. I’m Priya.” “Likewise. Nice to meet you, Rahim. Let me make his
breakfast really — I gotchu.” “Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure. Do you now get a lot of
customers requesting Rahim

Make my –” “Yeah.” “– sandwich?” “Especially the ‘ocky’ way.” “Can I get one bacon, egg
and cheese the ‘ocky’ way?” “Sure! Sure!” – [LAUGHS]: “’Ocky’ in Arabic is
like a brother, [ARABIC]. ‘Ocky’ way basically is my
way to designing the sandwich, Making it look nice. I always make sure, Are you
allergic to this or that?” [GENTLE MUSIC] “She got me like fries,
with the mozzarella sticks?” “Fries.” “O.K. Yes, sir. May I help you today?” “Chopped cheese on a French
toast pancake, the ocky way.” “Sure!” “The ocky way.” “Sure!” “BLT the ocky way on this.” “Sure.” “The ocky way is just
like, made with care.” “I like to add up what
I think is correct. Sometimes I know I make
it crazy, but, [LAUGHS]:.” “Oh, my god, how do you
eat that in one bite?” “Now we wrap it up. And the result is O-M-G can’t
forget the best, never, never, Never. Now we serve it to the — (ON VIDEO) Serve
it to the customer. There you go, young man.” “Cheese French toast
the ocky way, bro.”

“Sure!” “Tell me about how
the TikTok started.” “My little brother,
he downloaded it. I don’t even know my password. Just –” – [LAUGHS]: “I don’t even know,
that’s how I just, I don’t even know my
TikTok password, nothing. He did it. I was like, let’s
do a bacon, egg, And cheese on a honey bun. Yes, sir. May I help you today?” “Yo, let me get a bacon,
egg, and cheese, yo.” “Yo, what the?” “On a Honey bun, bro.” “Oh –” [SIZZLING] “The first day it went up
to, I think, 100,000 views. I was so hyped, crazy, ah! I had only like 16,000
followers by December. Now thanks god, it’s is
2.4 million followers. That’s a lot.” “Rahim, how old were you
when you came from Yemen?” “I was 10.” “He’s really not the
age he say he is. He ages backwards.” “I’m assuming you have
a ton of regulars.” “I’ve been in this
community for like 22 years. What do you mean? Come back, come back,
come back, come back. Uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh. Came straight to North from
Atlantic and my stepfather. And he had a store over there.

We started with him, because
he can’t do it by himself, Since I was like, since
Mohamed’s age, learning.” “You’re 10 and you work cash
register like you’re 25 years Old.” “Yeah.” – [LAUGHS]: “That’s my nephew. He used to be a
TikToker, yeah. He had 150,000 followers
and they banned him.” “Because you were a kid on
the grill, they shut it down?” “Yeah, yeah, I do
like what he does.” “But you say you
don’t like cooking.” “I mean, yeah, but
it was like –” “If it’s for TikTok. Oh, my god. Doesn’t like cooking
unless it’s for TikTok.” “When I started doing
the deli first time, I think I was in
the age of 13, 14.” “Wow. Do people now come in just
because they’ve seen you On TikTok?” “Yeah.” “Came from Baltimore
to do the ‘ock.’” “Drove four hours
to get here.” “Yes, sir. We’re from Cali,
representing.” “Ocky way.” “Yes, it is.” “Shout out to Brooklyn.” “Shout out to Dallas, Texas.” “Woo!” “Rosemount.” “Rosemount?” “Minnesota.”

“Minnesota.” “And we’re going to get one
with all of us outside.” “Hell yeah!” “Chopped cheese on a grilled
cheese, the ocky way.” “Bacon, egg, and cheese
on the hashbrown.” “Sausage egg and
cheese on a waffle.” “Chopped cheese, grilled
cheese with Hot Cheetos, The ocky way. And he put mozz
sticks in there.” “Yeah, it’s really good.” “Have you made a good amount
of money from TikTok?” “Yes, I did. Not as bad. I did. It was good.” “Like a game changing
amount of money?” “I don’t even need
to become a show. I could come, just do
the video, and leave.” “Business is hopping. He doesn’t seem that
stressed, though.” “Chopped cheese?” “He’s super chill.” “Did I miss anybody
with the chicken? You got — everybody got one? On the –” “There’s like a line already
all the way into the cereal.” “Takis the ocky way.” “Sure! Sure!” “Can’t forget the bev.” “Never, never, never!” “I got you, Mommy. I make a nice steak.” “All right.”

“O.K.” “100 sandwiches of ocky way. Regular sandwiches, I do
over 200, 300 sandwiches. This is yours right here.” “I ordered the chopped cheese
with fries and runny egg On a hamburger bun.” “Like, what are some of the
weirder requests that you’ve Gotten for sandwiches?” “I had a bacon, egg and
cheese with gummy worms.” “What?” “Chopped up bacon, egg,
and cheese inside the roll. Now, that was not bad. Yes, young lady? May I help you today?” “Could I get one New York
Times Special the ocky way?” “Sure! Sure!” – [LAUGHS]: “We going to make
something special for you.” “You like cannot help but
be so joyful when he says, ‘Sure.’ [LAUGHS]:” “We got some nice
shrimp and salmon.” “Whatever you want. I eat everything.” “All right.” “What’s the hardest
part of your job?” “You see how I just got a
big order to next door.” “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.” “I gotta go fix that. So, basically, I
work in both stores. I don’t just do this. How you doing, Pops? Chicken Chipotle, we
have one on a wrap. Every day, I stock and work.

I work all over. It’s like, I don’t have a
main position on inside. I do everything.” “You do everything.” “Yeah.” “Wow.” “There’s one thing what my
dad told me about running A bodega. He told me, son, if you
not on top of what you own, You will lose. Because ain’t nobody going to
do exactly what you will do For your own store. I’m a good stocker. I like to stock. I will make you
think it’s a board. Usually I will put
like the Pop Tart Next to these fruit snacks. The cookies, we will leave
in one spot all together.” “I feel like you have a
uniquely good selection Of flavors. Are you really into cereal?” “They love cereal.” “Yeah.” “It really sells. Because, look where
I’m at, like.” “Yeah, no, no, no.” “It’s not a big, there’s
no big like supermarkets Or things out here.” “I didn’t know Arizona iced
tea made that many flavors.” “Yeah, we do. We have all flavors.” “Bacon, egg and cheese
with Takis the ocky way. No other way.” “This is a New York
Times Special.”

“Why does this sandwich
feel like the New York Times Special?” “It just came popped
up to my mind.” “[LAUGHS]: This one’s mine. I have very little idea
of what I’m about to eat, But I’m sure it’s
going to be delicious. All right, let’s
check it out.” “You got your ‘bev.’” “Can’t forget the bev!” “Can forget the bev.” “Never, never, never!” “I don’t get the bev.” “Never, never, never!” “Can’t forget the bev.” “What a bev?” “I don’t know. What kind of bev,
do you think?” “You gotta grab a
bev, young lady.” “All right, uhh, O.K.,
let me go find one.” [UPTEMPO MUSIC] “What do we have? Uhh. This is really hard. So many options! I don’t know.” “What do you think
about this, man?” “It looks interesting.” “I’m going to
get one of these. All right. All right, got my beverage.” “And the result is –” “That looks pretty awesome.” “O-M-G, can’t forget the bev.” “Got it.”

“Never, never, never.” – [LAUGHS]: “Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” “O.K., I can frankly say,
I don’t think I’ve ever had A sandwich like this. It’s on knish. It’s got salmon, shrimp,
broccoli, potatoes. He calls it the New
York Times Special. I think he thinks we’re like
seafood and veggie people.” “Honestly, that’s really good. Mm! Oh, my god. I just — any sandwich
with griddled fried bread And spiced potatoes. Oh, my god, that’s awesome. Rahim, this is awesome. This is so good.” “It tastes good?” “I was a little skeptical
of salmon with potatoes, But it’s a really good combo.” “Come on, it’s nice.” “Excuse me?” “Yes, young lady? How you doing, Auntie?” “At this point, you’re just
running the bodega because you Love it.” “I love — this is my
brother’s, my store, Getting ready, and God’s
willing, Inshallah, Before Christmas.” “Do you mind showing me
the store next door?” “Yeah, sure.” “Let’s check it out.” “No problem.

Every Saturday or
Sunday, I get this crowd. Like, even Friday,
it be busy.” “And you feel like it makes
it hard to do like the other Parts of your job?” “Because if I had
more help, I could do. You see now, I’m still
doing everything.” “Yeah. And people expect to
see you as the guy At the griddle making
the sandwiches. Do you consider your job
to be really difficult?” “To some people, don’t know,
but to me, I do anything here. I do sodas, anything,
clean up, stocking.” “But do you feel like
your job is really hard?” “My job is very
hard, yes, it is.” “I’m glad you recognize
that, because it is. It is a really hard job.” “It is very hard.” “That feels, I don’t know, it
feels a little unsustainable. Like, I feel like you need to
get to a place where you can, Do it all, right? Like, there’s so
many customers, And having to say that, to
do that every single time For every customer, like.” “Sure! Sure! Sure, sure! Sure, sure! Sure, sure!” “It’s exhausting.” “Hopefully it’s going to
be just that part now soon. When I move to Manhattan,
maybe they’re going to, you Know.” “Like all you’ll
do is just like.” “Like Salt Bae doing it.

There’s the salt in the –” “Is being Salt Bae, is
that what you want?” “When I seen Salt Bae, my
heart got a little stronger And I was like, I’m going to
continue doing what I’m doing, Because look where the
position where he started From. Look where he’s at. I started in the store. Hopefully now my location is
going to be good when I open It.” “It’s a lot of work.” “We’re gonna have the Never,
Never, Never Sandwich, Can’t Forget the Bev Sandwich. We gonna have all that.” “What are going to be on
the — what’s on the –” “Crazy, crazy. I can’t tell you, young lady.” – [LAUGHS]: “Yes, young lady? May I help you today?” “Can I get the New York
Post Special the ocky way?” “Sure! Sure!” “Yes, sir, may I
help you today?” “Yo what’s good, Ocky? Let me get a chopped cheese
on this green pepper, The only way, that ocky way.” “Sure!” “Yes, young lady, may
I help you today?” “Yeah, can I get Fruity
Pebbles pancakes ocky style?” “Sure, sure!” “Yes WWE Champion Big E,
may I help you today?” “What does your
stepdad think?” “My stepdad was laughing
at me in the beginning.

He’s like, what
are you doing, huh? He would think that I’m
going to get lost, you know? How he see rappers
with the chain. Like this is against our
religion with chains, Whatever.” “Yeah.” “Told, dad, this
is a cooking part. Rappers might come to me,
Dad, and order some food.” – [LAUGHS]: “He realize it
now, looking at it, And seeing people
really tell him, Your son is doing very good. And he’s seen me in the news. He’s really happy now.” “Rod, serving the community
since he was little.” “You see?” [LAUGHS] “I’ve been dreaming
about this bite.” [MUSICAL FLOURISH] “It’s just so
tender and silky. This is like the best
comfort food ever. Holy cow.” Let’s rewind here. [TAPE WHIRRING] When I think of the unseen
food workers of New York, I immediately think
of street vendors. ‘Unseen’ seems pretty
ironic, though, Since food carts are
everywhere in New York. Hot dogs, coffee,
halal food, mangoes. There are 20,000 street
vendors working across New York that fuel the
city on a daily basis. Yet, the work of
a street vendor Is layered, complicated,
and always at risk. With the city cap on permits
since the early ‘80s,

Most of today’s street
vendors are deemed illegal, Leaving their jobs and
livelihoods vulnerable every Single day. That’s how I met Sonia, a
vendor and activist who’s been Serving her legendary tamales
in Brooklyn for over 25 years. Her job of making
tamales takes days, But her work
doesn’t end there. She is a leader in the
fight for vendors’ rights. Her goal is simple, for her
and other vendors to be able To sell the food
they love freely — “Gracias.” — without their mere
existence being threatened On a regular basis. [EASYGOING INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC] “Hola.” “Si, New York Times.” “Oh, O.K., sorry, Ma.” “O.K.” “O.K.” “Oh, O.K.” – [LAUGHS]: “Let me get a tamale, Mommy.” “Spicy, no spicy?” “No spicy.” “No spicy?” “Yeah.” “Gracias, Mommy.” “O.K.” “Bye-bye.” “Thank you.” [BLENDER GRINDING LOUDLY] [BUBBLING GENTLY] “Oh.” “That’s the secret.”

[BRIGHT PERCUSSION MUSIC] [WATER RUNNING] “Those are my first memories. I would be underneath
the stroller And she would have the
warm drinks (CHUCKLING) On top of me, basically. Basically like a heater
for me right there.” “Gracias.” [EASYGOING MELODY] “How many tamales do you
think you’ve wrapped?” “Oh, wow. At first, I couldn’t, and she
would tell me to step back. So when my older
sister would make them, I would just watch her to see,
because she was a pro first.” “So you’re helping now?” “Well, we’re — I’ve been handed gloves. We’ll see. I’m not doing great.” “Eh, no.” “How do you do that so easily? Wow.” [MUSIC FADES] [UPLIFTING INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC] “We just got to
Sonia’s apartment. She’s going to be cooking for
the next few hours and then 6:30, 7:00 AM,
she’s out selling. Buenos dias, Sonia.” “Buenos dias.” [METALLIC SQUEAL] [CRINKLING PLASTIC] [UPTEMPO MUSIC] “Wow, that’s so good. Oh, my gosh.”

[GROANS PLEASURABLY] “I’ve been dreaming
about this bite.” [ROMANTIC MUSICAL FLOURISH] “It’s just so
tender and silky. This is like, the best
comfort food ever. Holy cow!” “Her clients are here and
they’re loving the food, Right? She has people who she
knows comes every day. There’s this hypocrisy. People who are street vendors
are seen as part of the heart And the culture of the city,
but then also being persecuted For their work.” “Harassing innocent people.” “So to be a street vendor,
you need a permit, a license, And then there’s a whole
litany of other rules.” “There’s been a cap on the
number of permits in place Since the late ‘70s and early
‘80s on the number of street Vendors, which makes it
nearly impossible for anyone To become a legal
street vendor. The only way to
get a permit is To essentially rent one from
somebody who got it back In the day. And right now, because
there’s such a high demand, You have to rent one on
the underground market For somewhere between
$20,000, $25,000. So it’s a very
difficult system.” “Hola, buenos dias.” “It’s an industry that
suffers from a huge lack Of investment, and it’s also
an industry that is primarily Made up of people of color and
immigrants in New York City. We actually see more
investment in enforcement Than we do in outreach
and education. There’s not even a city
program through small business

Services that supports
street vendors specifically. So you really see people who
are trying to do the right Thing, who are trying
to start a business, Who are trying to share
their talents of cooking with The world, and are not
getting the support to do so.” [UPTEMPO MUSIC] “Rob? Great to see you, man. We’ll see you next week. Tickets, we get anywhere from
two to three tickets a day, Which range anywhere
from $65 to $110 a day. That’s every time the
food truck goes out. When pandemic happened,
it was food trucks That were being able
to be mobile and feed Essential workers. So we participate in so many
of the city disasters that Happen. And we really contribute
as a community. But the laws, and the rules,
and the enforcements doesn’t Necessarily go
in favor for us.” [GENTLE MUSIC] “So we’ve been out here for
about wow, uh, [CHUCKLES]: About 10 hours. We’re wrapping up for the day. You truly have no idea how
many tamales you’re going To sell, even on a really
beautiful day like this. But just incredibly
impressed by her ability To do all of this
with very little sleep And to do it with such grace. I’m so tired. I’m just so amazed by her. [LAUGHS]:” “(ON MEGAPHONE) Vendor power!” “Vendor power!”

“(ON MEGAPHONE) Vendor power!” “Vendor power!” [CHEERS, APPLAUSE]: [FOREBODING MUSIC] “A lot of people will come
up to her and be like, I’ve seen you in
the news, like, Keep up doing
what you’re doing. It makes me feel
proud of her, seeing How she uses her voice now. It’s very inspiring
for myself as well.” [HORNS, NOISE MAKERS RATTLING,
CLANKING]: “Wow! It’s just a
waterfall of hot dog. I could literally
watch this for hours.” “Oh, yeah? [LAUGHS]:” “It’s amazing.” Let’s rewind here. [TAPE WHIRRING] I often think
about the process Our food has to go
through before it Arrives on our plates. How many hours went
into making it? “I’ve been dreaming
about this bite.” “I’ll have the
mozzarella sticks.” How many hands
helped perfect it? No food makes me wonder about
this quite like hot dogs. Before it’s a hot dog, it’s
meat shoved into a casing. Before it’s in a
casing, it’s a paste. And before it’s a paste,
it’s an extremely large slab Of beef. This is New York’s
favorite dog, Sabrett. Much like the
New York skyline, It’s ubiquitous to the city.

You cannot escape the famed
blue and yellow umbrellas. They’ve appeared in countless
films and television shows And throughout
popular culture. This nearly 100-year-old
family run business is The sixth largest hot dog
distributor in the United States, and so I wanted
to see the complex process And skilled labor that it
takes to make that happen. And well, it’s mesmerizing. “Oh, my god!” [GENTLE MUSIC] “Ooh, it’s really cold. That’s just a
tub full of meat. It literally smells exactly
like a New York hot dog In here. It’s remarkable.” [SWELLING ORCHESTRAL MUSIC] “Usually, when you
come into a factory, They tell you not
to touch anything. But I really want
to touch everything. I’m so excited for today. [LAUGHS] So to enter the factory,
you need this fly coat, Which I actually really
love, and, like, would Wear this in real life. Hairnet, shoe covers, so
they don’t get meat on them. Oh, gloves, very important. I feel extremely comfortable. I feel like I’m Dexter
in his laboratory, About to go do some crazy
experiments, but with meat. [GIGGLES] I’m also wearing so many
layers underneath this. I’m wearing a thermal shirt,
a fleece, and a puffer. It’s 44 degrees in there and I
think below 30 in other parts, Just another day
at the factory.”

[JAUNTY MUSIC] “I’m going to show you how
we make a Sabrett hot dog, That way, you’re able to
see the whole process, How everything works. All right?” “O.K. Let’s do it! How many hot dogs do
you make every day?” “Anywhere from 800,000
to 1.2 million.” “Every day?” “Every day. I’ve been here
for eight months. I like the whole process. I like how
everything’s moving, How it’s mass production. I was in the military for
12 years, active duty, So I’m used to making
sure the job gets done. And hot dogs, I
found interesting.” “Your whole day is just
keeping the process moving And putting out fires.” “Yes, [LAUGHS]: that’s it. There’s our loading dock. We just had to
load that came in. Meats, the spices, the
casings, the boxes, Everything that we need
comes in right here through Our loading dock.” “Oh, my god. I’ve literally never seen so
much meat in one place –” “Oh, no?” “– and I’ve been
to a slaughterhouse. The logo is so fun. It’s so iconic. It’s a very playful logo.” “And it’s nice and simple.” “Nice and simple.

Can you tell me how the
company got started?” “Well, our father-in-law
started it after he came out Of the service. He had a small bakery. He just had the idea of
get bigger, and bigger, And bigger, and make the best
product that he possibly could With $2,500 that he borrowed
from his GI insurance. And just, it just took off.” “This is what Phillip’s
talking about. This is the company
that he started.” “Oh, it was called
House o’ Weenies.” “Yes.” “It wasn’t always Sabrett. Sabrett came along in 1989.” “’89. They were –” “It was an acquisition.” “Yeah, they were one
of our competitors. So we took the House o’
Weenie logos off of 18 trucks And four trailers, and within
24 hours we had the Sabrett Logo put on it. Sabrett had a bigger presence
in the city than we did At the time.” “House o’ Weenies did
triple the sales of Sabrett, But everybody knew
that umbrella.” [GENTLE PIANO MUSIC] “So let’s go to
the chopping room.” [MOTORS WHIRRING] “Does this meat have bones?” “Yes, it does.” “O.K.” “Our chopper has six
different blades in it. Then after those blades, it
has an emulsifier that has More blades in it, so making
sure that everything gets cut

Down.” “Turning it into toothpaste.” “Correct, turning it
into toothpaste, yes. And that’s 500 pounds
that they’re pushing Of toothpaste.” “Look at how it jiggles. How many hot dogs
will this make?” “This one batch will make
anywhere from 600 to 1,000 hot Dogs, so, depending
on the size.” “It’s like a soft
serve machine.” “It is! Like a nice frosty, a
strawberry frosty, yes.” – [LAUGHS]: “O.K., we’ve got
cocktails, hot sausage. That’s my favorite. So many kinds.” “Everything gets labeled
and checked by X-ray, And then it gets
pushed out here.” [MUSIC INTENSIFIES] “It’s like the TSA at the
airport, but for hot dogs.” – [LAUGHS]: “What does it
usually pick up?” “All kinds of stuff, a piece
of bone bigger than it was Supposed to pass. When two blades
hit each other, A little piece of metal. So we have to
throw all that out. My biggest challenge is not
having a recall, something From the government saying
that we need to recall back All the hot dogs. And then the stress will be
trying to find out the origin, Why it happened, and when, and
then try to get to the bottom Of it to make sure it
never happens again.” “Do you see your
job as difficult?”

“Sometimes, but mostly,
I like what I do. I don’t know, I just like it. I like that
adrenaline feeling. I like that feeling that
something might go wrong And I have to fix it
right on the spot. So I’m all for that.” [PLAYFUL MUSIC] “Whoa! Too cold. [LAUGHS]:” “Now here’s your fun part. It’s going through the hopper. The casings come in
the package of 50, And in each little
strand is 200 hot dogs.” [MACHINERY WHIRRING] “It’s really amazing
how tightly it fits In the casing.” “The belt is six miles long. From where it begins, it goes
all the way around inside.” “I know we’re not allowed to
touch, but I want to touch.” “No, you can touch them.” “I can? It’s like I’m about
to go into surgery.” – [LAUGHS]: [PLAYFUL, JAUNTY MUSIC]: “Look.” “Oh, I put it. Oh, I’m — I, O.K.,
O.K., O.K. Oh, wow. Which? This one? No? O.K.” [WHIRRING STOPS] “O.K., once it ends, O.K.”

[WHIRRING RESUMES] “Here?” “Yes.” “Like that?” “Yeah, good! There you go.” “I got it! [CHUCKLES]: Well, I work here
now, so, see you guys later. This is my job.” “It’s not easy, is it?” “It’s not easy at all!” “It looks easy,
but it’s not easy.” “No, it doesn’t look easy. She’s amazing. You’re amazing. [LAUGHS]:” “That’s the casing.” “And you guys do
a natural casing?” “Yes, this is a natural
casing and this is the manual Process.” [SPIRITED MUSIC] “This is just about the
coolest thing I’ve ever seen. How many employees?” “Between 89 or
90 to like 140.” “We didn’t get where we
are today by ourselves.” “I’ve been here
seven years now.” “I’ve been working
here for 13 years.” “It must be cool telling
people you work for a hot dog Company.” “It actually is, but
everybody’s always hitting me Up for free hot dogs. [LAUGHS]:” “Since you’ve been here,
how many hot dogs would you Estimate that
you’ve helped make?”

“Oh, in the millions, maybe
in the hundreds of millions.” “Millions, I can’t — I wouldn’t be able to count. Millions of hot dogs.” “If you took all the hot dogs
we made in one year and put One in front of another, you
can go to Los Angeles and back 10 times.” “Whoa.” “There’s a lot of manual labor
that goes into this process, Despite the fact that a
lot of it is automated. Humans are really necessary
and really integral To this process. And these jobs are
hard and cold!” “Now we’re going to go
see how it really ends.” “How it ends.” “How the whole
process really ends.” “Wow.” [MISCHIEVOUS MUSIC] “So we’re basically in the
in-between space between The raw portion of the
factory and the cooked portion Of the factory. And so for sanitary reasons,
in case any meat bits got On us, we’re putting on
some shiny new blue apparel. It’s a very sanitary,
regulated process.” “It doesn’t bite. [LAUGHS]:” “Wow. All right.” “You ready?” “Ready to go.” – [LAUGHS]: [BUZZER, MACHINERY WHIRRING,
METALLIC SQUEALS]: [PLAYFUL MUSIC] “People think it’s
just hot dogs,

But there’s like
a science to it. You have to have the right
amount of ice, water, And spices to make it right.” “A lot of people don’t
really know how it’s made. They think we put all sorts
of crazy things into it.” “They think that you had
some type of mystery meat. There’s no mystery to it. It’s just beef.” “What makes a great hot dog? What are you looking for.” “It’s color, it’s
a consistency.” “Texture.” “Texture.” “Flavor.” “The bite that it has.” “You want to try peeling?” “Sure! (GIGGLING) Oh, my god. Cool. What’s next?” “O.K.” “Oh, whoa. Nice. That’s a lot of hot dogs. Nice.” “Vacuum’s nicely sealed.” “It’s very vacuum sealed.” “Yup, this is good. Send it on its course.” “I can’t believe how much
goes into making a hot dog. And how do you all
eat your hot dogs?” “I like mine plain. No mustard, no sauerkraut,
no onions, no ketchup.” “I’m the opposite.

I like mustard,
sauerkraut, and onions.” “Mustard and sauerkraut. You can’t beat
the sauerkraut.” “I take my hot dogs
without anything.” “No ketchup, no mustard?” “No ketchup, yeah.” “You guys are anti-ketchup.” “Yeah, not ketchup.” “Plain, just like that. No bun, no nothing. Just eat the hot dog plain.” “Even at, like,
family barbecues?” “Yeah, just grab a hot dog
from the grill and go –” “That was a really
unexpected answer.” [ROMANTIC MUSIC] “A little hot dog necklace. [CHUCKLES]: Oh, sorry. All right, I’ll try it
from the pretty side first. Mm. (CHEWING) That’s
a good hot dog. The flavors are just,
like, really pronounced. It actually, it like
tastes really beefy. You get that garlic
right up front. You get that smoke
right up front. Like everything feels much
more front and center. I look at this
hot dog and I see The tube of meat toothpaste. I see them spewing into that
machine and then spewing out. I see the whole
life cycle now. A hot dog is not just, you
know, this simple hot dog. It’s a really
complicated process.” – [SPEAKING SPANISH] “I’m happy here. I would like to continue
to grow within the company.

That’s definitely my goal,
to retire from here.” “How does that feel, knowing
that you’re responsible For billions of hot
dogs getting to American Consumers?” “It feels good. It feels good. I love being here. If not, I wouldn’t do what
I do every single day.” “If you can come to work every
day and, after a lot of years, Still love what you do, and
wake up every day and get Excited to do it, you ask
us, we have the greatest job In the world.” “One, two, three.” “Like, I can’t even process
how fast you are doing this. 17 bagels in a minute.” Let’s rewind here. [TAPE WHIRRING] “Give me a dozen,
my life’s blood. Without bagels,
what is the day?” If New Yorkers are
passionate about anything, It’s their bagel orders. Mine is usually a sesame
or everything bagel With cream cheese and
tomato, toasted of course. Bagels are everywhere, and
there’s a reason for that. In the early 1960s, the first
bagel making machine was Introduced, automating the
once laborious and secretive Process of crafting
hand-rolled bagels. This allowed for billions of
bagels to be mass produced And sold in grocery stores. “Until now, if you wanted
a bagel this delicious, You had to schlep
to a bagel shop.” But it is said that
bagels made by hand Create a stronger
gluten structure, which Leads to a light
and chewy interior,

Rather than machine
bagels, which Result in a dense,
cake-like texture. Because of this difference,
hand-rolled bagels Are in high demand. And yet, bagel rolling
is a dying profession. This brings us
to Celestino, one Of the very few bagel
rollers in the city who Still crafts bagels by hand. While the city
sleeps, Celestino Hustles across three
different locations To make sure customers never
have to worry about running Out of handmade bagels. [UPLIFTING MUSIC] “This is a Manhattan-bound
S local train.” [METALLIC SQUEAK] [CHAIN RATTLING] [LIGHT SWITCHES CLICKING] [UPTEMPO MUSIC] We got to court street
bagels at 5:45 AM. Celestino was
extremely chipper. “O.K.” “We’re transferring.” It’s now 6:00 AM. We took the G train. We’re taking it to the
L train to First Avenue, And then we’re going to
Harvard Square Bagels. [CLATTERING] [JAUNTY PIANO MUSIC] “No, no, it’s small. Before this, 100 pounds.” “No.” – [LAUGHS]: “Uh-huh.” “When I’m busy, per week,
I’m making about 25,000.”

“Per week?” “Yeah.” “Oh, my god.” “When we’re busy. Yeah.” “That is flour for
only one week.” “One week, yeah.” [UPLIFTING ORCHESTRAL MUSIC] “– the dough?” “I love that squelching sound. The dough is really coming
together so nicely.” “He called this
machine his friend.” “Oh, my god, this man is
straight-up doing squats And weightlifting over here. Oh, my god.” – [LAUGHS]: [METALLIC SCRAPING] [UPLIFTING ORCHESTRAL MUSIC] “Have you always had your
bagels rolled by hand?” “Oh, yeah, always. Yeast is a living organism,
so when you’re working that Dough, you’re activating
the cultures and the yeast. And it has an effect on
the shape of the bagel, The texture, the way
it’s going to feel, How it’s going to bake.” – [LAUGHS]: [METALLIC CLANGING] “Wow. That’s going to
be for the plain. And now he’s
adding whole wheat, Because that’ll be the
whole wheat bagels. O.K. And off it goes.” [TEMPO INCREASES DRAMATICALLY] “(CHUCKLING) Oh, my god!

This is like the dictionary
definition of ‘in the zone.’ It’s like watching
a TikTok video, But instead of
it being sped up, This is just your normal pace. Do you ever get
tired of bagels?” “No. [CHUCKLES]:” [BELL JINGLES] “Next up, on down, please.” “Who is getting their bagel
with espresso cream cheese? I want to know. Could I just get a
sesame bagel toasted With scallion cream
cheese, please? All right. I’m so hungry. Oh, my god. Mm. The bagel itself is
just really good. Bready, not too dense.” I truly love bagels. They’re pretty life changing. “Yum. What makes their bagel so
good in terms of the texture, The flavor?” “They’re fluffy. You can’t get that
from a store bagel.” “What do you love about the
texture of the bagels here?” “The fluffiness,
that’s what it is.” “What you don’t see
is, there’s a guy down In the basement who’s
literally rolling 17 bagels A minute.” “17 bagels every minute?” “I had no idea. That’s so awesome.”

“He’s down there churning
out plain bagels right now.” “Kudos to the bagel man!” “His name is Celestino. He’s great.” “Celestino, that’s
a fantastic name.” “You know what? Thank you, Celestino.” “What do you think makes
Celestino so good at his job?” “He has a great,
great work ethic. He’s very responsible. He takes his job seriously. And he comes in and he gets it
done day after day, after day, After day.” “I imagine your dad probably
worked pretty long hours when You were growing up. Has he always been like that?” “He never taken,
like, a break. Like, at least a
30 minute break. You know, like, sit down? He’s never done that.” “Yeah, my father
has a lot of energy. Gets up about 2:00
in the morning, Works straight ‘til like 6:00. Worst case scenario, up
‘til like 8:00 o’clock. And he still gets up at 2:00
in the morning the next day.” [UPTEMPO ORCHESTRAL MUSIC] “He’s amazing. He doesn’t miss a day. We’re like, how does
this guy not miss a day. [LAUGHS]: We have a backup
guy that we’ve never used.” – [LAUGHS]: “I have a backup guy
that knows what to do. It must be like being that
second guy in the Broadway Show that just like never
gets to go on stage.”

“Does he take vacation?” “No. My whole life, he’s been
working the seven days.” “Why do you think
he’s like this?” “He’s the one that
provides for us. He’s the one that pays rent. He’s the one that brings
food home, you know?” “He’s working really, really
hard so that his kids could Have a better life. His kids are going to
have a better life. They’re really sharp,
they’re well-educated.” “His daughter Jessica, I
believe she wants to be A nurse.” “Enjoy it.” “Aldo, I think he will
probably stick with me And become a manager and maybe
even run a store one day.” “It is 10:30 in the morning. Upstairs is absolute chaos. It is Friday at a bagel shop. It is just filled
with customers. Celestino has been
awake for eight hours. He is absolutely cranking. He was supposed to be done
with this round of bagels At noon, but he’s going to be
done an hour early at 11:00 AM. And then he will go to another
location of Tompkins Square Bagels and do it
all over again.” “Yeah why not?” “He’s like, don’t — did
you see how I did that?” “Look at this.” “You did it too fast.” “(LAUGHING) No.” “What? I literally just missed it.

You blink and miss it!” “O.K., yeah, yeah, yeah. I got one.” “It’s not easy.” “[LAUGHS]: Now he
says it’s not easy. He finally admits it.” – [LAUGHS]: “O.K.” “Yeah, you see?” “Eh?” “You see? Put here. Don’t worry.” “Somebody take it.” “It’s acceptable.” “Yeah! I want to roll maybe
six more year.” “Six more years?” “Yeah, I think that’s it.” “Then retire?” “No, but –” “Do something else?” “Yeah, somebody, or I
work less, I think so.” “Work less.” “Yeah.” “O.K. O.K.” “Yeah, because next
month I turn 59.” “59?” “Oh, yeah.” “You’re 58.” “58, yeah.” [LAUGHS] “I asked him why he
works such insane hours, And he said it was
because of his kids,

And he just wanted to
make sure that you all had Everything that you needed.” “Yeah, you know, he came to
this country with like nothing (CHOKING UP) on his back. [SOBS]: But he did the
most of it, you know?” “There’s no other person
I could be more proud than My own father for
doing what he does.” “(CRYING) I’m really lucky to
have him as a dad, you know?” “1,700?” “Wow.” “Yeah.” “Today?” “Just now, yeah.” [UPTEMPO MUSIC] “That’s it?” “Yeah.” “Wow.” “O.K. He’s done. Let’s go.” “O.K., see you!” “I’ll see you!” “He’s my nephew.” “Oh!” “Yeah. [CHUCKLES]: Here’s the order.” “Not wasting any time.” – [LAUGHS]: “Yeah.” “I’m tired and I’m ashamed to
say I’m tired because I rolled One bagel. Celestino’s smirking. I see the smirk, Celestino. He’s like, kids these days
don’t know how to do hard Work.

Celestino was saying that when
he goes to a new location, He has new energy. He’s like, got a
pep in his step.” [UPTEMPO MUSIC]