MY FOOD STYLE IS? I take a light and healthy twist on home style Mexican cooking without forsaking flavor. MY FOOD PHILOSPHY IS? The restaurant should be a place to heal and nourish through food and good conversation. I CAN’T COOK WITHOUT? Avocadoes – they're a huge staple. We use them to make our fresh guacomole and slice them for most of our dishes. RESTAURATEURS I ADMIRE? Danny Meyer. He can key into people's perceptions and knows how to create an amazing product consistently that keeps people coming back and trying his other restaurants. WHY I'M A RESTAURANT OWNER? Food is central to everything! I want to spread joy through hospitality and food and offer the experience of being cared for here by my staff, of being in this really comfortable environment and perhaps turning someone's day around. MY STYLE OF BAKING IS? We do classic American, baked-from-scratch sweets. Nothing overly fancy, no French pastries or breads. IN MY KITCHEN I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT? Just about everything we make is some combination of butter, sugar, egg, and flour. (For Passover/ Easter week, we ordered 3,000 eggs!) If we’re going to talk items, it's the Hobart mixer. We have two, and when one breaks down it's a total crisis. MY FAVORITE ITEM ON THE MENU? It's a tie between espresso shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate, and blueberry pie. FAVORITE MOMENTS IN THE KITCHEN? I love the kitchen when it’s empty. Quiet. Often on holidays or busy Saturdays, I come in before the 5 a.m. crew. It’s dark outside, warm inside, and I have the table all to myself. MY FAVORITE COOKBOOK? Too many to count. I collect vintage ones, and love to read them…like a novel. Julie Pauly The Able Baker 187 Maplewood Avenue Maplewood, NJ theablebaker.com 973-313-1133 MY FOOD STYLE IS? Home style Italian cooking. WHY I'M A CHEF? I've been in the kitchen working with my father since I was 12 years old. I loved spending the weekends there and decided it was what I wanted to do for a living. FAVORITE DISH ON THE MENU? Sicilian pesto pizza. We make a thin Sicilian crust with fresh mozzarella, homemade pesto, cherry tomatoes and bocconcini on top. MOST EMBARASSING KITCHEN MOMENT? When I was about 18, Elizabeth Shue [the actress] came in and ordered a pizza. She was so beautiful and I must have been looking at her instead of the pizza because when it was time to put it in the box I totally missed it and it landed on the floor. FAVORITE MOMENTS IN THE KITCHEN? Friday night at about 5:30 when the rush comes and the pizza starts flying and the phone is ringing like crazy. Vinnie Loffredo The Roman Gourmet 153 Maplewood Ave. Maplewood, NJ theromangourmetpizza.com 973-762-4288 Cassie Fishkin Casita 321 Millburn Avenue Millburn, NJ casitamexican.com 973-218-9500