I had the great pleasure of meeting the TOP CHEF Fabio Vivani at a local area HEB for a quick interview and cooking demonstration.
The atmosphere was light and very fun. He speaks with an Italian accent, which was Very Hard to Listen too… LOL! His voice was dreammy and so was his cooking. He definitely knows how to speak to a crowd.
He spoke about his childhood in Italy and how hard it was growing up without money and food. He started work at a local bakery when he was only 10 years old. He worked nights and then went to school during the day. He did this to help his family. But, after a while in the restaurant business, in Italy, he wanted to come to America to help others find their love of cooking. He speaks about his journey to help others create good, healthy food without spending hours in the kitchen. For the demonstration, he created fresh pasta with meatballs in marinara sauce. I have to tell you that after seeing him MAKE pasta, I really think I can do that!!!! I will be looking for a pasta press asap! (If you have one you no longer need let me know;) He stressed batch cooking to save time and money. If you are going to make fresh pasta, make triple the amount and freeze for next time. He said we all should be utilizing batch cooking in our everyday meal planning. Hey, that makes a lot of sense to me! I can spend an hour or so making meatballs and then have them in the freezer for the next month. That will save me a ton of time, and as we all know, TIME IS MONEY!
Chef Fabio has a FREE E-Cookbook on his website and will be adding different categories every month. Sign up for his free newsletter to take advantage of his free recipes.
Pictured (from Left) Jennifer from Still Living The Dream, Nora from Coupon Contessa and Christina from Rant Rave Roll. We are showing off our $9.99 Saute Pans and I am also holding the cookbook to giveaway. I enjoyed our time together.
At HEB they have a really inexpensive line of cookware that Chef Fabio endorses. It is Taste of Italy BIALETTI. I got a 12.5 in deep, nonstick saute pan for ONLY $9.99! They have many more pans to choose from, but the 12.5 in pan was the best value and the one I needed. You can find these pans at your local HEB.
Now, for the Giveaway!
To WIN an Autographed Copy By Chef Fabio Viviani of the Cookbook Cafe Firenze Food and Drink Recipes from the Tuscan Sons, just enter below. Winner will be chosen on Feb. 15, 2012! Good luck! This would make a GREAT GIFT for the cook in your life!
Thanks to HEB and Chef Fabio!
Hurrah, that