In today’s episode, I talk to chef Leia Gaccione of South and Pine, a restaurant located in Morristown, New Jersey. She has appeared on several popular cooking shows, including Iron Chef America, Beat Bobby Flay, and Top Chef.
You’ll hear about her cooking competition experiences, her food concepts at South and Pine, and how she goes about her creative process. She also shares some recipe guidelines for cooking the perfect pork chop.
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What you'll learn with chef Leia Gaccione
- The smell that reminds chef Leia Gacione of her childhood (2:45)
- Why food became so central to her life (4:06)
- Chef Leia Gaccione's first on-camera accident (5:17)
- Why she loves cooking on television (6:56)
- The obscure Scandinavian ingredient that gave Leia Gaccione PTSD (8:38)
- Two major career influences she’s worked with (10:16)
- Her spontaneous first sous chef role (10:46)
- The business skills she learned from Bobby Flay and his team (12:41)
- Her seasonal food supplier (13:49)
- The food concept at South and Pine (16:27)
- How she’s using seasonal ingredients right now (17:33)
- Her top priority when she travels (19:07)
- How the pandemic is still affecting the restaurant business (21:09)
- Staff mistreatment since the pandemic (22:56)
- New menu inspiration to watch out for on her menu (26:00)
- Exciting collaborations with other local restaurants (26:52)
- Her goal for the upcoming year (28:32)
- A classic pork chop and apple dish you can make at home (29:20)
- One of her best career experiences so far (31:09)
- How imposter syndrome creeps up (32:30)
- Where to eat and drink in Morristown (33:59)
- Guilty pleasure foods she loves (35:49)
- Cookbook recommendations (36:49)
- Kitchen pet peeves (38:10)
- Series of rapid-fire questions.
- Link to the podcast episode on Apple Podcast
Links to other episodes in New Jersey
Links to most downloaded episodes (click on any picture to listen to the episode)
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- Morristown – South and Pine
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- Seasonal salad at South and Pine
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- South and Pine restaurant
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- Lamb meatballs from chef Leia Gaccione
