I have always loved the culture behind food and the ways it brings people together. I started out as a dishwasher in a great little Italian restaurant when I was in high school and got the kitchen bug right away. Before this though I was always asking for kitchen gadgets such as the “Ronco Pasta Maker” and the “Ronco Rotisserie” and loved to know the history of food and how to put a meal together. When I was 22 years old I got the opportunity to go to Italy and live with my parents who were stationed in Napoli. Here is where my passion for Fresh, Seasonal and high quality simple food came from. Meals are respected over in Italy and family time around the table is never missed. This philosophy centered on a good meal and conversation led me to culinary school when I returned to the states. While going to school full time and working in kitchens full time all over Seattle I really got a great education on what chef life was really like. It definitely is not what you see on the food network.  After some time working around Seattle, I found myself in the little town of Gig Harbor for dinner one night with my wife and some friends at an Italian restaurant named Il Lucano. We were the only table in the restaurant and after ordering enough food for 10 people, the owner came out and asked what I did for a living. When I answered I was a chef in Seattle, he then offered me a job with him as his sous chef and guaranteed me  Sundays and Mondays off. I jumped on the opportunity to not have a 18-hour long days and a two day weekend and now I have been with him for more than 7 years. In that time I have learned every swear word in Italian and have really grown as a chef, and My wife and I have gained more family.