For as long as I can remember, I have been interested in food. This is not necessarily unusual for a guy who grew up in an Italian family. Food was always a topic of conversation, part of celebration (and mourning), and something that I always found interesting.

I first realized that everyone was not as interested in food as I was during the late 1980s when I was in the Marines. I was deployed as part of a field exercise at Fort Picket, Virginia. Twenty or so guys shared an open squad bay. At the end of the day and after chow, we were allowed to relax. If we weren’t going to drink our body weight in the nearby town of Blackstone, it meant hanging out in the barracks. During this time, I noticed the magazines my comrades were reading. The subjects ranged from cars to tattoos to hunting and fishing. Not one guy had copies of Bon Appétit and Gourmet magazines, as I did. I had no one to discuss a neat recipe for Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic or the opening of Le Madri in New York City. Go figure! When I was in the service, finding other guys whom I could discuss food were rare. But when I met them, I was always happy. To this day, I fondly recall a conversation I had with a bartender I met in Houma, Louisiana. During a slow night at a comedy club, he tutored me on a few different types of roux and its importance in making a proper etouffée.

When my time in the military was over, I entertained going to the Culinary Institute of America. However, it was not to be. Instead, I chose to go back to Buffalo, New York where I had gone for my undergraduate degree. While I have a few guy friends who share the same interest in food, I am sure there are more to be had. This podcast/blog is an effort to create that community. It’s my hope that this corner of the internet could be an intersection where guys could talk about food.

I have had the typical food service jobs in my life but I don’t work in the food business. There are people much smarter than me on the subject of food. However, I remain an enthusiastic student of food, cooking, and (to my doctor’s chagrin) eating.

If you are too, then welcome aboard!

Hey, if you get the chance, I’d love to hear from you!

Best–

Gabe