Meet George Cano Jr | Chef / Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with George Cano Jr and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi George, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
“When you’re good at something, you’ll tell everyone. When you’re great at something, they’ll tell you.” – Walter Payton

I read this quote several years ago and it has just stuck with me. It’s a reminder to just keep doing what I love, what I am passionate about. In my industry, if you want people to talk about you, if you want to get recognition, you have to serve them. It’s all about service and bringing value to others, in my case it’s mostly in the form of food and our seasonings. I take to heart the idea that my service and products will speak for themselves; I do not need to brag on myself, where I have been, the experience I have. It will all come out in my products.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
GC Seasonings LLC came to be in 2019, but the original product was already a 30 year old tradition. My dad loved to barbecue and over time he developed his own flavor, his own rub. People would always talk about how much they loved his food. I didn’t start to really get into barbecue seriously until 2019 and started to make it my craft and it was then that I decided to take my dad’s creation and turn it in to a business. After about 6 months of researching and developing a product, we (my brother, my dad, and myself) decided to launch GC Seasonings.

Starting a business comes with many challenges, especially in the food industry because of all the red tape and hoops, laws and regulations you have to follow and of course they are not always easy to understand. It took a lot of reading, research, and talks with people already in the industry to get the business up and running. Outside of producing a product, other challenges were learning the intricacies of running a business. As a small business, I am the accountant, the sales department, the receiving department, the tax department, the fulfillment department. There are so many moving parts to running a business that I just did not full grasp until diving into it head first. I am lucky to have my wife who helps tremendously with the operations of the business.

What sets us apart, I think, is our story. We are a chef inspired, veteran owned, family tradition. I have kind of gone into my story of pursing the culinary field. I studied at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY where I earned my bachelor’s degree. My brother is a Marine Corps. veteran after 10 years of service, most of them spent with 3rd and 4th Reconnaissance battalions. His story alone could be a book full of trials, tribulations, and triumphs. And my dad, who is the creator of the Original seasoning. It was his passion the initially started this whole thing. I was the one that kind of took the recipe and ran with it to create what we have now, but it was my dad that gave us the foundation of our current products. All three of us bring something different to the table and I think all three of us get something different out of it and together we have created of culture, a brand that stands on gourmet products, family traditions, honoring our veterans.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well I am all about eating good food and good barbecue would be at the top of that list. Being in Texas, there is no short supply of amazing barbecue spots but, what I think separates them are the people, the owners. that being said we would have to go eat at Barrel & Bones in The Colony, Derek Allan’s in Ft Worth, and The Patriotic Pig in Richland Hills. Now, there are many, many others that we could go to but, I have developed a relationship with these places and I would put them at the top of my list. As far as entertainment, North Texas does not have a shortage of thing to do. We have the Dallas Stars hockey team, by far the most entertaining sporting event in North Texas, followed by the Mavs, Cowboys and Texas Rangers. With the Rangers having a new stadium this year and the Cowboys playing in one of if not the largest stadium in the NFL, they are both a sight to see. We would also need to do some axe throwing, and kart driving and Andretti’s in the Colony.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My parents deserve a lot of credit for my success and career path. I started cooking at a young age with my great grandparents, my grandparents, and my Mom & Dad. Cooking has always been a happy time for me in my life. I remember being 10, 11, 12 years old, chopping mesquite wood to start a fire so that it was ready to cook when my dad got home from work. Cooking is such a passion for my entire family, its part of our culture. My grandparents had a restaurant when I was young. My Uncle Ray owned several Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises and in my teens, I would spend some time every summer working under the management of my grandmother, who managed his stores. After high school, it was my mom who further feed my culinary desires, even though at the time I didn’t really know I had them. At 19, my mom flew me out to California where we got to take a tour and sit in on a cooking demo at the Culinary Institute of America in Greystone. After that experience, I was dead set on pursuing a career in the Culinary field.

Website: gcseasonings.com

Instagram: @gc_seasonings, @txbrewnquejunkies

Facebook: GC Seasonings

Youtube: GC Seasonings

Other: You can also check out my Facebook BBQ group where I do live how to videos and share my culinary knowledge, Tx Brew N’ Que Junkies.