Episode 81 – Chef Jeff Michaud of Osteria & La Via Gaia

The CHEF Radio Podcast

Traveling opens up our eyes to other cultures and new cuisines, allowing us to experience the world through a different lens and appreciate what it has to offer. Especially for chefs, learning the history of food and tasting local products can change how we view food.

Today’s guest spent years living and working in Bergamo, Italy, which fed his love for Italian cuisine and changed the trajectory of his career. Jeff Michaud, owner of restaurant Osteria in Philadelphia, sits down with host Eli Kulp and chats about his travels and career working with some of the best chefs in the business.

Now, Jeff shares his love for Italy and its food through La Via Gaia, a luxury tour company he started with his wife, Claudia, who he met in Italy. They’re bringing people to special places they couldn’t otherwise find on their own. Think cooking classes in someone’s kitchen on the side of a mountain or deep underground in a private wine cellar! And for those who can’t afford a tour, but want to taste the true flavors, Osteria offers simple but soulful Italian food, as well as pasta and pizza cooking classes.

Tune in to hear how Jeff crafted an amazing life around his passion for food, and where you can have those same invigorating experiences!

Topics discussed in this episode:

• How Jeff’s experience working in Italy changed his career path
• Bergamo, Italy, polenta, corn and Italy’s superior produce
• What Jeff learned working and living in Italy for years
• Jeff on his childhood and entering the culinary world
• Working at the Caribou Club
• Moving to Philadelphia and joining Vetri Cucina
• Opening Osteria in 2007 and growing business
• Keys to sustaining a restaurant for so many years
• Osteria’s process for making cacio e pepe
• Do chefs need to visit Europe to learn the food and culture?
• Making the perfect panettone
• Dishes that will always stay on Osteria’s menu
• Jeff and his wife’s culinary tour company, La Via Gaia
• Touring Slovenia and tasting the best white wine in the world

Stay connected with Jeff Michaud on Instagram and join one of his tours with La Via Gaia here: https://laviagaia.com/

Listen to more episodes of The Chef Radio Podcast, and be sure to check out our other podcast Delicious City Philly!

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A huge shout out to our sponsors Maxwell McKenney and Singer Equipment for their unwavering support, so we are able to bring these amazing conversations to you. Check out their websites for all the amazing equipment they can supply your restaurant with to make it more efficient and successful.