For years, I’ve had the privilege of sitting across from some of the most thoughtful people in hospitality—chefs, restaurateurs, hoteliers, winemakers, founders, creatives and cultural leaders—and asking them questions.
About food, yes. But also about creativity. Leadership. Place. Ambition. Failure. Culture. Belonging. And what it takes to create something meaningful enough that people want to return to it.
Over time, I realized something: there is far more wisdom inside these conversations than could ever fit into a single podcast episode.
A great chef can teach us about leadership. A hotelier can change the way we think about a place. A restaurateur can teach us about building community. And sometimes a meal, a city, or a conversation can remind us of something about ourselves.
That’s why we created Notes From The Pass.
Think of this as the connective tissue of the On The Pass world—a place where everything we’re discovering, learning and creating can come together.
Each week, we’ll take you deeper into the conversations we’re having and the places we’re exploring. We’ll distill ideas from the podcast, share lessons from the people shaping hospitality, bring you discoveries from restaurants and cities around the world, and occasionally invite you behind the scenes of what we’re building at On The Pass.
Some weeks, I’ll write to you directly about an idea I can’t stop thinking about. Other weeks, we’ll revisit something a guest said months or even years ago, that suddenly feels more relevant than ever. We’ll share places worth traveling for, people worth knowing, and perspectives from contributors whose voices can help all of us see this world a little differently.
Because whether you work in hospitality or simply love what it creates, I believe there is so much we can learn from the people who dedicate their lives to bringing others together.
My hope is that Notes From The Pass makes you a little more curious. A little more knowledgeable. A little more connected. Maybe even a little more interesting at the dinner table.
And above all, I hope it brings you closer to the extraordinary people, places and ideas shaping how we eat, travel, gather and belong.
We’ve always believed that hospitality is humanity’s universal language.
This is another way for us to speak it together.
And because every great gathering begins by knowing who is in the room, I have one ask:
Hit reply and tell me who you are, where you’re joining us from, and what brought you here.
I genuinely want to know.
Whether you’re a chef in Los Angeles, a hotelier in Mexico City, a young cook dreaming about opening your first restaurant, or simply someone who plans entire trips around where you’re going to eat—I’m glad you found your way here.
There’s a lot more to come.
Welcome to the community.
Gabriel Ornelas
Founder, On The Pass
onthepass.com · @itsonthepass
