In today’s episode, I talk to Joe Sasto, a Celebrity Chef, pasta expert, creator, and consultant. He has had a vibrant and fulfilling career so far, having worked at Michelin star restaurants in the Bay Area, including Quince and Lazy Bear. Today, he expresses his culinary creativity in a myriad of other creative endeavors.
You’ll hear about the intricacies of pasta making and why he loves to break the rules of traditional Italian food. He shares his thoughts on the future of the restaurant industry, why he’ll never be a culinary master, and who really decides when someone becomes a “chef”.
Listen to my conversation with chef Joe Sasto on Apple Podcasts here!
Listen to my conversation with chef Joe Sasto on Spotify here!
What you'll learn with chef Joe Sasto
- How Joe Sasto branched out in his career (3:44)
- A full circle career moment (5:28)
- The most important question Thomas Keller would ask prospective employees (8:01)
- Why Joe Sasto will never be “done” cooking (9:21)
- Chef Joe Sasto's obsession with learning new things (11:43)
- What he’s learned from the puff pasta snack he just launched (12:38)
- How his pasta snacks came to be (14:57)
- How the TV show appearances have influenced him (17:35)
- Designing a dish Joe Sasto-style (21:07)
- Why Chef Joe Sasto doesn’t like the word “traditional” (22:40)
- Why his upcoming cookbook might upset some Italians (25:01)
- What most Italian-American restaurants get wrong (28:55)
- His #1 tip for making pasta (33:10)
- What to know about your pasta machine (34:28)
- What it’s like working in the Michelin world (38:17)
- Seeing the Michelin dining experience from the customer perspective (41:27)
- The backstory behind Lazy Bear (42:27)
- How Lazy Bear changed the way Michelin-star ambiance was seen (43:09)
- Joe Sasto's view of how the industry is evolving (45:35)
- How social media is changing the culinary world (47:03)
- The widening opportunities for young chefs (49:33)
- How you become a “chef” (50:00)
- What he’s working on now (51:18)
- Where to eat in SF (53:55)
- His guilty pleasure food (54:55)
- Top 3 cookbooks (55:34)
- His biggest kitchen pet peeves (57:16)
- His top condiment (58:57)
- Series of rapid-fire questions.
- Link to the podcast episode on Apple Podcast
Links to other episodes in San Francisco
Links to most downloaded episodes (click on any picture to listen to the episode)
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- Raw beet striped dough by Joe Sastto
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- Melon weiser soup by Joe Sasto
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- Raviolo truffle bubbles by Joe Sasto
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- Raw green yellow strip triangoli by Joe Sasto
