Growing up from as far back as I can remember the world revolved around three things: Family, Food, and Football. Having three brothers and Italian and Irish American parents from Brooklyn, It was in my blood.
As a high school student I was poor to say the least. I always say my GPA would have made a Hall of Fame ERA. I spent most of day thinking about football practice, the team we where playing, Off-season work outs, and state championship dreams. That lead me to only get into one college. Johnson & Wales University Culinary school. My family had amazing cooks in it however , my diet back then didn’t have much variety. In Fact my first vegetable I ever ate was in college. I had a culinary nutrition class and we had to prepare sauteed green beans with fresh garlic and olive oil. Needless to say I haven’t turned down to many meals I have disliked since then. Both my variety and waste line have expanded since my time at culinary school. I always joke with my Dad that we spent 40,000 dollars so I could learn how to eat and meet the love of my life my wife Michelle. Not a bad investment at all. Family and Food!!!
After Graduating from Culinary school I really wanted to live out a dream of playing college football. I went to Western Connecticut in 2001, worked hard, tried out, and quickly realized I was a real solid high school football player. This realization didn’t make it any easier after being cut from the team. That same day I went to watch my brother John’s scrimmage at Bethel High School. After the game I spoke with my old high school football coach Steve Kaplanis. He asked me if I wanted to help out that year with the football team. I reluctantly agreed thinking it would be a one year thing and I would finish my Bachelors degree and get a job at a restaurant. One year turned into 18 with 5 different schools. I got to coach my two younger brothers, Start my own program from scratch at Abbott Tech, and got to coach at private, public, and technical high schools. Not to mention both my children spent their early years of growing up on the practice fields every fall.
All these experiences has led me to here. Trying something different. Seeing Football from a coaches prospective but through a different lens. Writing about the game, food and the atmosphere that surrounds it all. Family, Football, and Food.