This week on the blog I want to share a little more about the other “big brain” behind this operation. So today I’m writing about Omar.
It was actually four years ago to the day, February 12, 2020, that Omar first asked me to be his girlfriend. Well, truth be told, Omar had asked me to be his girlfriend a few times before that date. But on February 12, 2020 I finally said yes.
So with that anniversary in mind and Valentine's Day landing later this week, this post might end up being a little gushy. Sorry not sorry.
Omar and I have each grown and evolved so much since that day in February 2020. It’s hard to believe that it was only four years ago that we entered this partnership. It seems much longer that we have been navigating the ups and downs of the craziness of this world with one another.
I’ve been catching myself lately reminiscing on the early days of our dating life. Feeling nostalgic for times that seemed simpler and sillier. You see, the pandemic forced the world into lock-down just weeks after Omar and I became “official”. And, as soon as those quarantine ordinances were put in place, Omar moved in with me. Since the whole world was put on pause, Omar and I had a lot of freedom to get to know each other without the stresses of work or dealing with
conflicting schedules getting in the way.
We shared many adventures during those early months including a legendary 41 mile backpacking expedition starting from the little apartment we shared in downtown Ojai all the way back to the Willet Hot Springs along the Sespe and back to Rose Valley where we were met with dark skies and freezing rain. Fortunately we were able to hitch a ride back to town and were spared the discomfort of spending the night in what turned out to be a snow storm.
We’ve been sharing a life together ever since. And I continue to be in awe of how loving and patient Omar is with me. I also continue to be in awe of Omar’s personal evolution. Over the past four years Omar has grown from being a 25 year old line cook at the Ojai Valley Inn rocking Peter Pan shorts and braces on his teeth to the goal-oriented, self-made man he is today running his own businesses and always leading with his heart. I am proud to be his wife.
Omar trained as a professional chef and is now a self-taught mycologist. Years ago, he thoughtfully formulated the recipe for the original Big Brain Bar. In fact, he developed the original original recipe before we met because he was in pursuit of creating a healthy snack that would satisfy his sweet tooth while providing all the essential nutrients to keep him full and focused when working long hours in the kitchen.
Outside of being a wildly talented chef and a brilliant mycologist, Omar is one of the most authentic and open hearted people I know. One of the things that first attracted me to Omar back in the day was noticing how loved and respected he was by so many people within our community. We couldn’t and still can’t stroll through the Sunday Farmers Market without being stopped by several of Omar’s friends and fans that span generations and walks of life. Everyone who knows him will tell you what a great guy Omar is.
I think it has a lot to do with the importance that Omar places on nourishing his community. Omar will often remind me of a piece of wisdom that was passed down to him from one of his elders: “Community is the most important thing. Without community life just isn’t worth living.”
It was this innate desire to nourish others that drew Omar to pursue a career in the culinary arts at the age of 17. And it was the same desire that propelled him to pivot his focus to working within the mushroom kingdom over the past several years. In learning to work with the world's most medicinal foods (mushrooms), Omar has been able to live a life of passion and purpose. While he is driven towards and aspires to be the best at everything he does, Omar balances his drive for success with his inherent humility and tendency to put others before himself. He is soft-spoken, never seeking to be the center of attention, yet always willing to lend his presence and skills to supporting those in need.
Perhaps his eagerness to help others stems from Omar’s experiences of overcoming his own challenges with mental wellness. Omar did not have the easiest upbringing. His parents separated when Omar was only seven years old, much to do with his father’s struggles with alcoholism. Omar was also impacted from being bullied in school as a young boy. And then, when Omar was fifteen years old, he lost his father to cancer of the esophagus. By the time Omar was sixteen he was deeply depressed. Skipping school and angry at the world. He was fortunate to find healing through supportive mentorship as well as plant medicine that has allowed him to overcome his suicidal tendencies and get on a pathway toward pursuing a future as chef.
I think it’s important to distinguish that for Omar the motivation to become a chef had very little to do with ego and very much to do with a desire to heal people through food. His idea is that healing with food goes beyond using high-quality, healthful, nutrient dense ingredients (although he absolutely believes that is a part of it), but he also maintains that how the food is prepared is equally important. Food prepared by an upset person can cause an upset stomach, whereas food prepared by someone who is filled with gratitude will likely have more of a healing quality.
Over a decade into his career, Omar is still committed to the dream of living in a radically nourished world.
As Omar and I work to face the many challenges and roadblocks that exist in the pursuit of building the Big Brain brand, Omar frequently reminds me of the importance of centering care for the community as the central mission for all that we are doing.
Without community, life just isn’t worth living.
With this in mind we have been trying to imagine creative ways to share our healing foods with the community in ways that uphold our values of quality and sustainability. One Idea that we have been exploring is a Big Brain Bar subscription service in which folks could sign up to receive weekly or monthly shipments of our small batch Big Brain Bars. This way Omar and I can continue to preserve the integrity of our products by manufacturing bars in small batches, making only what we need to serve those who are eager to enjoy them.
Think about it like a CSA but for healthy, handmade, high quality, thoughtfully formulated snack foods…Community Supported Snacks.
Please drop a comment below or hit us up via email or instagram if a Big Brain CSS or a Bar-of -the-Week club is something you’d be interested in.
And if you felt inspired by Omar’s story please show him some love by liking this post and subscribing, following us on Instagram, tagging a friend in the captions of one of our posts, and most especially buying a box or two of Big Brain Bars (they make great Valentines!).
Before I sign off I want to end with a reminder to SPREAD LOVE this week!
Write a love note to someone special or write a love note to yourself. Write a list of all the things you love about your partner, your kids, your parents, your local farmer, your pilates instructor…someone, anyone, everyone!
Tell your people that you love them.
Okay, signing off now.
Until next week, be well and stay curious.
With so much love and gratitude from,
Chrissy Dasco-Uribe
I'm not crying, you're crying !