cooking classes

Imagine opening a restaurant that becomes a local legend - a place where the dishes are made with love, where the ambience feels like home, and where memorable stories are shared over plates of delicious Italian food. This is the inviting world our guests, Maria C. Palmer and her father Joseph Costanzo Jr., welcome us into as they share their story about the legendary Primadonna Restaurant that Joseph crafted in Pittsburgh.

For seventeen years, Joseph owned and operated The Primadonna Restaurant in McKees Rocks, PA. The Primadonna was frequently voted the best Italian restaurant in Pittsburgh, receiving glowing acclaim in local the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and City Paper as well as national publications like The New York Times, New York Daily News, and Playboy. Joseph used his marketing genius to create his own bottled Italian salad dressing sold in stores and offered a Primadonna apparel line, essentially turning supporters into walking billboards. The restaurant’s recipes have been published in many cookbooks, including critically acclaimed food critic Mike Kalina’s Pittsburgh Cookbook. In 2001, The Primadonna became known across the nation as one of the premiere Italian restaurants, earning the prestigious DiRōNA Award. In 2005, after a targeted public investigation, Joseph lost his restaurant and spent time in federal prison. His life and the lives of his family members have never been the same.

Writing a book isn't a walk in the park, as Maria and her co-author Ruthie Robbins found out. Spending many years to meticulously put together their labour of love, On the Rocks (The Primadonna Story).  they faced many challenges along the way. Maria opens up about the changes they made, the feedback they received, and the cutthroat competition they faced in the book publishing world. She also gives us a generous helping of the secrets behind the unique recipes included in the book, most of which are family heirlooms or inspired by the vast menu of their restaurant.

Joseph, shares his encounters and experiences and stresses the significance of creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere and how it contributes to a restaurant's success. Maria discusses her experiences teaching Italian cooking classes and provides some invaluable advice to budding restaurateurs and authors. This episode is a savory mix of insights from the worlds of cooking and writing, garnished with personal anecdotes and lessons learnt along their journey. So, pull up a chair, and join us for this heartwarming chat with Maria and Joseph.

Links:
https://mariacpalmer.com/
https://www.instagram.com/joecostanzoprimadonna/
https://www.facebook.com/JoeCostanzoPrimadonna/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rocks-Primadonna-Story-Maria-Palmer/dp/B0C67L5P2Y
https://www.amazon.com/Rocks-Primadonna-Story-Maria-Palmer/dp/B0C67L5P2Y

www.undercurrentstories.com

This podcast used to be called Time Management Insider. It is now Jump to Recipe. Jump is the show for busy people who love to cook!

This week I'm talking to Jordan Hamons, owner of the Cincinnati-based cooking school, Tablespoon Cooking Co. We're talking about how she helps home cooks find more inspiration in the kitchen through her hands on cooking classes. In addition to sharing tips on making cooking more efficient, she also shares tips on choosing the right cooking class for you.
The meal plan that I walk you through in this episode has so many fun meals. You'll love Hot Dog Sliders with Tropical Salsa and an easy-breezy recipe for Air Fryer Pizza. Head over to COOKtheSTORY.com/MealPlans to get the meal plan with links to recipes, and the printable grocery list that goes with it. This one is Meal Plan #90.

Have a great week!
Christine xo

Links from this episode:
Tablespoon Cooking Co
Instagram: @jordanhamons
Instagram: @tablespooncookingco

In this week’s episode, we hear from Lisa Gross, owner of League of Kitchens. She is one such human. She’s the founder of a business that at every level values women in ways that are revolutionary. Packed into one company, she has managed to capture what America needs most right now: meaningful cultural exchange, putting women at the center of the story, celebrating diversity, celebrating immigrants, and being revolutionary by paying women for their talents (talents, I will add, that have been taken for granted historically as household “duties”). 

As the daughter of a Korean immigrant and a Jewish New Yorker, Lisa Gross was raised on one grandmother's denjang-guk and the other's matzoh ball soup. Her company, The League of Kitchens, which employs immigrant women as in-home cooking instructors, is borne out of her passion for New York City, her love of cooking, and her connection to the immigrant experience. Lisa is an artist, educator, and social entrepreneur.

Ojas & I is Angela Piovesana (Ojas Oven), Breanna Grassl (Domestic Goddess), Janis Collins (Tech). Sitting down with all four of us at the kitchen table to discuss how we could be changing the way we approach food and cooking. How much of poor diet chooses are do to lack of planning and know how? Let these ladies guide you through a different approach that just might be a key that you have been missing. Teaching cooking classes through the  Ayurveda way of life and cooking. Bring you a unique connection to the foods you put in your body. Ayurveda is a 500 + year old technique from India. Angela has studied Ayurveda, and now she has combined this Janis & Breanna to have a powerhouse team ready to help others learn. Let's face it cooking with allergies or just items you don't wish to eat can be a lot of work. Having classes online gives you such a massive step up in motivation to make fun and healthy meals for yourself and others. Come to a pot luck with one of these meals and you will surely have some new best friends.   

Dosha Quiz-www.banyanbotanicals.com

Let's get well together!

Host: Karla Turner
www.KarlaTurner.ca
IG: @theansweriselephant & @karlaturner.wellnessadvocate
FB: @The Answer is Elephant Podcast & @Karla Turner.Wellness Advocate

Guest: Ojas & I (Angela Piovesana, Breanna Grassl, & Janis Collins)
www.ojasandi.com
IG: @ojasoven     FB: @Ojas Oven
Podcast: Ojas & I

Sponsored By: 

As bloggers, we often forget that there is a whole world outside of our blogs. We get so caught up being online, writing our recipes and relying on ads and affiliate links that we forget there are things offline, whether it's tours, demos, events or classes. There's a lot of things you can do in the real world; at least when the pandemic is finally over.

Join Jason as he interviews Chef Debbi from Debs Kitchen, Edible Gardens & Cooking Tips and they chat about everything you need to know about running food tours, demoing with brands, and hosting live cooking classes!

For the show notes and links to more information, check out Running Food Tours with Chef Debbi Dubbs.

VFCT welcomes Chef A'Donna! She is a Chef Coach, Chef Consultant, and Chef Educator with a passion for delicious, healing foods. She previews her upcoming virtual  cooking class for kids and gave listeners a special discount code for $20 off: VEGANFAM.

Chef A'Donna is experienced in using food to heal and consults with individuals and families as part of her work.

Find out more!
https://www.askchefadonna.com/

https://alignhealthgroup.com/

Lauren McElwain from Cooking as a First Language comes on to talk about how to host cooking classes, the challenges in growing and brand, and how cooking can bring communities together.

Full Transcription: Lauren McElwain Cooking Classes and Community Building Interview

On this week’s episode of Inside Julia’s Kitchen, host Todd Schulkin speaks with Linda Novick O’Keefe, the Founding CEO of Common Threads, a national food literacy program for children supported by the Foundation. Todd and Linda discuss the vital link between teaching kids to cook and kids' health. As always, Linda shares her Julia moment.

Inside Julia's Kitchen is powered by Simplecast

Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

On this week's The Speakeasy, Damon and Sother have a special guest: Harry Rosenblum of Heritage Radio Network's Feast Yr Ears! Harry is the co-founder of The Brooklyn Kitchen, which he started in 2006 with his wife Taylor Erkkinen. Interested and creative home cooks, Harry and Taylor recognized an opportunity to create a community space in their Williamsburg neighborhood. In 2009, following the insane success of the Pig Butchering classes, they founded the Meat Hook with partners, and moved to the 100 Frost Street location.

This week on Feast Yr Ears, host Harry Rosenblum is joined in the studio by Stacey Ornstein, founder of Allergic to Salad. Since 2007, Stacey has developed curriculums, recipes, and taught healthy, international cooking classes in New York City public schools, after-school programs, camps, and more for all age groups. Allergic to Salad began as a blog in September 2010, following Stacey’s after-school cooking classes for elementary-aged students. The program increases skills, techniques, and familiarity with healthy foods, and creates a platform for a lifetime of nourishing exploration through hands-on, activity-filled classes.

This week on Feast Yr Ears, host Harry Rosenblum is joined in the studio by Michael Cirino of A Razor, A Shiny Knife – an internationally-acclaimed entertainment company specializing in event design, multimedia production, and cuisine. According to Cirino, it is "a culinary performance arts group that hosts social, educational, and theatrical events around the world. These events take many shapes and forms, but they are all designed to create a unique environment around the preparation, service, and enjoyment of food."

A Razor, A Shiny Knife is also exploring ways to incorporate cannabis into cooking spaces. Their cannabis cooking classes are now being offered at The Brooklyn Kitchen, for which they will demonstrate the process using totally legal herbs.