Episode 128: Shanna Pacifico & Zak Kell

01/29/12 • 47 min

On a lively episode of The Main Course, Patrick Martins is joined by chef and friend of the show Shanna Pacifico, who has just announced she’ll be leaving Back Forty for Back Forty West, and Zak Kell chef du cuisine at Community Food & Juice. Tune in for a conversation on everything from the culture of destination restaurants to the process of changing venues as a chef. Hear what Shanna expects from her new gig and why she’s so obsessed with the cumari pepper right now. Listen as Zak explains what makes his catch of the day so important to him and how he had to make adjustments coming from Clinton Street Baking to Community Food & Juice. This program was sponsored by Fairway Market.

Photo 1: Shanna Pacifico, Photo 2: Community Food & Juice

“The new space [Back Forty West] has three floors, a basement, the main floor and a prep kitchen upstairs. I’m in for a challenge.”

“For me, a lot of times its about recreating a dish I grew up with.”

“I’m hoping that people go back to carnal eating.”

–Shanna Pacifico of Back Forty West on The Main Course

“Anything at any point should be appetizing. The meat should look good off the truck, while I’m grinding it, when it’s on the grill, etc.”

–Zak Kell, chef du cuisine at Community Food & Juice

Photo 1: Shanna Pacifico, Photo 2: Community Food & Juice

“The new space [Back Forty West] has three floors, a basement, the main floor and a prep kitchen upstairs. I’m in for a challenge.”

“For me, a lot of times its about recreating a dish I grew up with.”

“I’m hoping that people go back to carnal eating.”

–Shanna Pacifico of Back Forty West on The Main Course

“Anything at any point should be appetizing. The meat should look good off the truck, while I’m grinding it, when it’s on the grill, etc.”

–Zak Kell, chef du cuisine at Community Food & Juice

Previous Episode

Episode 127: A16 Restaurant & Farmstead Restaurant

This week on The Main Course, Patrick takes listeners to San Francisco with three very important players in the sustainable food movement out West. Hear from Shelley Lindgren, Chef David Taylor of A16 Restaurant & Kip Ramsey, farm to table coordinator of Farmstead. Find out how Bay Area dining differs from The Big Apple and discover what it takes to run a successful Southern Italian food and wine program. Sicilian wine and southern dishes may have been overlooked 20 years ago, but the team at A16 has helped dramatically change the perception of this regionally driven cuisine. This program was sponsored by Cochon555.

“As somebody once told me, the most important ingredient is often the one you leave out.”

–Chef David Taylor of A16 Restaurant on The Main Course

“The hospitality you get in Italy is something we try to re-create at A16. It’s our interpretation at being as authentic as you can.”

“There’s always more than one wine option to pair with a dish.”

Shelley Lindgren of A16 Restaurant on The Main Course

Next Episode

Episode 129: Nicholas Wilber of The Fat Radish

This week on The Main Course, Patrick sits down and chats with the head chef of The Fat Radish, Nicholas Wilber. Nicholas talks about the vegetable-first approach he takes at the restaurant and how an incredible cabbage can stand up next to a heritage pork chop. Learn about his football tailgate cooking tradition with Bradford Thompson and hear everybody’s Super Bowl predictions. Also hear what Patrick and Nicholas think about farmers markets, Paula Deen and the locavore movement. This episode was sponsored by White Oak Pastures.

“Even with a dish like our pork chop, the focal point is the vegetable.”

“Organic was a trend that caught on. If people start caring more about sourcing products and farmers markets, you’ll get better products that don’t have to travel so far to get here.”

–Nicholas Wilber of The Fat Radish on The Main Course