One thing you don't know about me is that I can sing exactly like Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam.
If I could trade places with one chef it would be Marie-Antoine Carême. He got us to see food as an art form and not just as a necessity to survival. Plus it would be cool to be known as “The king of chefs and the chef of kings.”
One of my most memorable meals was at a tiny French restaurant in Quebec City when I was 10 years old. It was the first time I ever had French onion soup and it changed my life. I wanted to learn how to make it so I could stuff the bowl of heaven into my face forever!
If there were no wine, I'd have no reason to live. A wine can make a meal and a meal can make a wine.
My go-to drink is vodka soda with a lime or Maker's Mark bourbon. But then, whadayagot?
My death row last meal would be pork schnitzel smothered in sautéed morels, cognac cream sauce and crispy spaetzle. For dessert? A large Mack and Manco's Pizza washed down with a birch beer.
My worst culinary creation was a cucumber chutney. After I tasted it I looked at my then general manager and said ‘Well, you shouldn't cook a cucumber.’
If I could change one thing about me it would be my desire to procrastinate on everything.
My favorite junk food is Cool Ranch Doritos by a landslide. I can still remember my first one like it was yesterday.
If I wasn't a restaurant operator, I'd love to be a food show host! Oh, wait ….
San Francisco-based Tom Pizzica is the former executive chef of the Front Room Restaurant at the Imperial Hotel in Chestertown, MD. After 15 years, he took a hiatus from restaurant work and became a finalist on The Next Food Network Star Season 6. He currently is the host of Outrageous Food, which also airs on the Food Network.