Food Network Obsessed

Britt Rescigno, the Authentic, Ambitious “Angry Italian”

Episode Summary

Pop-up restaurateur, culinary show competitor and Jersey Shore chef, Britt Rescigno dives into the roots of her nickname, the “Angry Italian.”

Episode Notes

Pop-up restaurateur, culinary show competitor and Jersey Shore chef, Britt Rescigno dives into the roots of her nickname, the “Angry Italian.” The intense chef opens up about the rush she felt stepping onto her first set kitchen, her competitive background and family ties to food. Caught red handed with a Ratatouille tat, Britt shares the special meaning behind her ink. She reflects on her upbringing, raised by a chef father, waitress mother, family restaurant-running grandparents and why it’s fitting that she scrambled her first egg by five years old. Britt talks about the classical French training, Italian cooking experience and New Jersey punch she brought to the Tournament of Champions and Chopped competitions. Then she reveals what the biggest challenge was, despite her meticulous calculations, strict study schedule and years of experience. She shares what made her time on the shows so emotional, the best advice she’s ever been given and the positive feedback she’s gotten from fans. Finally, she dives into her pop-up restaurant tour, why people can “go eat crow” and her perfect food day.

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Episode Transcription

Jaymee Sire:

Hello, hello and welcome to Food Network Obsessed. This is the podcast where we dish on all things food with your favorite chefs, food influencers, and food network stars. I'm your host, Jaymee Sire, and today we have a Jersey Shore chef talking about her rise from an East Coast eight seed to a force to be reckoned with on the finale of this season's Tournament of Champions. She is the fierce chef, affectionately known as the Angry Italian. It's Britt Rescigno. Britt, welcome to the podcast and congratulations on reaching the finale of TOC.

Britt Rescigno:

It's so exciting, . It's so, so exciting.

Jaymee Sire:

It is so exciting. I cannot wait to watch. It's just in two days. We're gonna talk all about that later. But first things first, the angry Italian. Where did the nickname come from?

Britt Rescigno:

. So, you know, in the kitchen I tend to be a little intense, and my sous chef used to refer to me as the angry Italian. He'd be like, Hey, anyone know where the angry Italian is? ? And everyone would be like, who's that? And he'd look at them and just be like, who's Italian? And who's angry? put 'em together. Where is she?

Jaymee Sire:

. And it just stuck, huh?

Britt Rescigno:

Yeah, it, I guess it took him like almost a year to tell me that he had a nickname for me, .

Jaymee Sire:

Oh, so it was his own nickname behind your back for a little while.

Britt Rescigno:

Oh, it was totally behind my back. And when he told me, I just started like laughing so hard and he was so nervous to tell me it was so cute. He was like, yeah, you're the, you're the angry Italian. It's fine. Oh my

Jaymee Sire:

Gosh, I love that. I love it because I feel like you're not angry when we see you on tv. You're so full of joy and so excited, you know, to be in whichever competition we're, we're watching you at the time. So it's, it's, it's nice to hear, uh, the behind the scenes, I guess a little bit too. Well, speaking of which, you are no stranger to competition or Food Network. You recently won Guy’s Grocery Games. You are a Beat Bobby Flay and Chopped champion. When did this journey into cooking competitions begin?

Britt Rescigno:

I did a lot of cooking competitions when I was in high school. Oh, really? Um, I, I'm, I've been competitive my whole life. , I've played sports and everything, so it's kind of just in my blood. It's like what gets me going and what gets me pumping. And then, you know, as you grow up and become an adult, less and less of those things are around. And I was like, all right, I guess let's do the Food Network thing if I can see how it all works out. Cause I missed that adrenaline rush and the first day stepping into the kitchen on Chopped and I was just like, oh my gosh, my heart is gonna explode out of my chest. I am actually here. I'm so excited. This is so surreal. So yeah, that started in like 2017 and it's just been a crazy rollercoaster since.

Jaymee Sire:

What, what do you you like about that atmosphere and that adrenaline rush and like you said, the, the competition that, that you've grown up with your whole life?

Britt Rescigno:

It, it's, it's that just that rush. Like, it, it's not like anything I've ever felt in my life. And at the end of the day, you're like making something beautiful and elegant and delicious and sexy out of nothing in literally 30 minutes. Like, that's just impressive.

Jaymee Sire:

No, it's so impressive. I'm, I'm constantly amazed by all of the chefs that, that we get to watch on Food Network. And you said something in an interview once that I wanted to bring up. You said there comes a point in your career when you decide I need to do some things for me. So was diving into these opportunities with Food Network kind of part of that?

Britt Rescigno:

Yeah, it definitely was. It makes myself more available for whenever I have the opportunity to do these things. Mm-hmm. , but, you know, it, it's my happiness. Like, I love giving people a little piece of me. It's really fulfilling. And to see all the support of like people just supporting me is what's giving me all of that motivation to be able to do what I have to do for me to feel fulfilled in life. 

Jaymee Sire:

Mm-hmm, what, what does fulfill you?

Britt Rescigno:

Making people's bellies completely happy? . It's that first bite where, you know, you're hunched over about to take a bite of, you know, my pasta or a burger or some pizza. And like, you take that bite and you're like, oh man. And you sit back and you're like, damn, what am I eating right now? . Like, that's what I'm looking for. That's what I wanna do. It's the gtu moment. I have a tattooed on my hand. It's bringing people back to a familiar place with like, something so unfamiliar. And doing that is just life goals.

Jaymee Sire:

Wait, I wanna know more about this tattoo. So is it actually rat or is it like a quote from the show, from the movie, or what, what's, what's the tattoo?

Britt Rescigno:

So I have Anton Ego tattooed on my hand of like, when he first took a bite of the ratatouille. And he like sat back and it, he went right back to his mom's kitchen sitting at her table. And this like, rustic stew gets put in front of him, but when he's eating at the restaurant, it's this beautiful, elegant plate of ratatouille. But just that one bite brought him right back to being a little boy and just being completely happy with whatever his mom made him.

Jaymee Sire:

And why did you decide that that needed to be on your body forever? Like, what, what, what made you wanna like look at that every day, I guess?

Britt Rescigno:

It just reminds me of like my motivation and my goals. Like, you wanna achieve this every time, so make sure whatever is coming and being produced out of your hands is gonna achieve that moment.

Jaymee Sire:

I love that. And I wanna go back a little bit to kind of your, your beginnings, because you are a Jersey Shore chef. You grew up in the industry, kind of cut your teeth in your family's place, Alan's Clam Bar, which they still own. Who taught you to cook?

Britt Rescigno:

My dad is a chef. Mm-hmm. , he went to culinary school, so I learned a lot from him, but also I grew up like hand in hand with my grandmother. My family's restaurant is literally right next door to my house, . And then on the other side of that is my grandmother.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh my gosh.

Britt Rescigno:

. So, you know, I grew up just like, what are you doing? Let's hang out. Like, let me get my steps stool, I wanna see what you're doing. Like this looks fun. We used to make clam pies together. It was like our thing. Mm-hmm. We wear black pants because it always showed all the flour everywhere, . And then we would wear our aprons and we'd made clam pies together and it was like the most fun. And she would tell me stories and teach me things and why we do things. And I just loved spending all of that time. And, you know, I'm also Italian, so like the kitchen is the center of all entertainment. So it's just like, if I wasn't gonna be a chef, what the heck else was I gonna do?

Jaymee Sire:

.

Britt Rescigno:

This is my life.

Jaymee Sire:

Do you remember like the first dish that you really like mastered and, and felt like this is, I can do this, this is my dish.

Britt Rescigno:

This is gonna sound really funny, but I'm really proud. I was, my mom and dad divorced when I was younger. So like, I, I guess I was younger than five and I made my first scrambled egg by myself. Gosh. Like my dad, gosh, was watching me, but like, I made my first scrambled egg and it was so delicious. And that was like the start of my whole egg obsession . And I remember like being able to drag the chair over to the stove and like my dad was coaching me what to do, and it was just so amazing. And that's like my perfect dish. Some scrambled eggs.

Jaymee Sire:

Some scrambled eggs. Yeah. Uh, no, I mean, I think it's, I think it's like, uh, you know, it's one of those things that everybody, it's, it can be hard to master and and do really well, but it's, it's definitely a skill that everybody should have. Right. Absolutely. Apparently you g you you developed that skill at a very much younger age than most people. You know, there's, I think there's learning to cook, there's also understanding, you know, the business side of the industry. How much exposure did you get to both growing up, especially with your family, having the, that restaurant so close to you?

Britt Rescigno:

Oh man. I mean, I remember when I was little, like before I could actually work, I was like hostessing with my grandmother, like standing with her and she'd be like, okay, take 'em to table four, take 'em to table 15, and like doing all that stuff. And then, you know, the end of the night, my mom was a waitress, so like she'd have me organizing all of her money. So like, even at a very small age, I was always in the front while being obsessed with the back mm-hmm. and then, you know, obviously became a cook and then moved up the ladders in the family restaurant business. And then you get more exposure to business and the front of stuff and, but I, I just, I just, I don't want my hands on the money. I want my hands on the food.

Jaymee Sire:

, you wanna be in the back, I wanna be in, be on the actions happening. Um, I mean, was was there, did you ever consider anything else? Or, or was this always like, this is what I'm doing, this is what I was made to do.

Britt Rescigno:

. I used to think back in the day that I was gonna be a basketball player.

Jaymee Sire:

.

Britt Rescigno:

Which is so funny because basketball wasn't even my number one sport that I played.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh, really? What was your number one sport? 

Britt Rescigno:

Soccer. 

Jaymee Sire:

Okay.

Britt Rescigno:

Soccer and baseball were my two sports. And I was like, I'm gonna, I'm gonna be in the W N B A. Yeah. And then I was like, no, I'm not. I'm gonna be a chef. . That was fun for about two seconds.

Jaymee Sire:

. Well, it seems like it was a, a pretty good backup plan, you know? What about your personality and perspective do you think has made you a successful chef?

Britt Rescigno:

I think just like always being true to myself. It's, it's actually hard to sometimes get lost in the culinary field because you want to do so much. And I think me always focusing on what I want to do and what I want to cook, and honestly at the end of the day, what I want to eat, it's not really about anyone else. Because if, like, I'm always cooking for someone else, I'm never gonna put my best foot forward. So I always wanna cook for myself because I mean, nobody's palate is better than my own from my own food.

Jaymee Sire:

Britt Rescigno:

So it's like, all right, let me cook what I want to cook and be me. And that's what I'll always do when it comes to my food.

Jaymee Sire:

How would you describe your cooking style? Like, is there a certain, you know, cuisine or, you know, type of ingredient that you gravitate towards? Or is it, like you said, just whatever you feel like, you know, eating on that particular day?

Britt Rescigno:

? Yeah, it's kind of like whatever I feel like eating on that particular day. I mean, I definitely have my pantry staples. I don't think I've ever not had anchovies in my cabinet ever. , canned tomatoes, pasta, like, you know, I, I gravitate towards Italian cuisine, but that being said, like Jersey cuisine as well, because if you actually draw a line from New Jersey to Italy, they're on the same wavelength. Really? Yeah. So that's like, the climates and everything is so similar. The terroir is a lot different. But like, I get to eat Italian food from New Jersey, all the time. , and it's like the best. So that's definitely my cooking style. I'm classically trained in French cuisine as well. Mm-hmm. . But there, there's no limitations to what I like to cook because I love to teach myself something new every day.

Jaymee Sire:

For, for anybody listening that doesn't know, like, how would you describe what is like New Jersey style food? Like what does that encompass?

Britt Rescigno:

Just like really fresh. I mean, it's the garden state, so you know, the, the philosophy from where I'm from, which is in South Jersey, which is basically like the woods meet the beach. Okay. It's a bunch of farmland. So like, we literally just grow all of our crops. Like I have a huge garden in the summer and I don't go to the grocery store in the summer. Like, I live live, I live out of my garden.

Jaymee Sire:

, what is your favorite thing? Like, what are some of your favorite things to plant in your garden?

Britt Rescigno:

Jersey Tomatoes. Of course.

Jaymee Sire:

Of course.

Britt Rescigno:

I will fight anyone. Jersey tomatoes are the best tomatoes you'll ever eat in your entire life.

Jaymee Sire:

. Period. End of story.

Britt Rescigno:

End of story. There's nothing else to say. .

Jaymee Sire:

I always have to ask people from Jersey when we have them on are, do you say Taylor Ham or do you say pork roll?

Britt Rescigno:

I would love for you to go to the store. . Do me a favor, go to the store, pick up a, a thing of Taylor Pork Roll.

Jaymee Sire:

It's the same thing.

Britt Rescigno:

and tell me where on that label you find the word

Jaymee Sire:

Ham. Ham. Okay. So, so that, that's the answer to your question. I, I, I have a feeling.

Britt Rescigno:

. That's the answer to my question.

Jaymee Sire:

. Oh no, I love it. Great. Reveals how she prepared for the insane head-to-head matchups on this season of Tournament of Champions and what it was like going up against the raining champ. That's coming up next. Well, let's get into TOC because as I mentioned at the top, we are so excited to talk to you about it. And also see what happens in the finale. You, you get to the competition, which I think is just an incredible feat as it is to be selected and, and put up against, you know, the, the, the talent that is in that bracket. And not only that, they put you up against the reigning champ, Tiffani Faison. Um, what was going through your mind when, when they revealed that first matchup for you?

Britt Rescigno:

I'm going home.

Jaymee Sire:

Britt Rescigno:

I made it. She thought that, I literally like, looked up at the bracket and I was like, I looked around and I was like, all right, Britt like, soak this up. You did good. You made it, you hit your goal of making it onto TOC. Your name's up there, take a second look around, take a deep breath because you're going home,

Jaymee Sire:

Britt Rescigno:

And it was like, all right, like, I'm proud of myself. Like yeah, I made it there. I, I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would ever be on that stage. So like, the fact that I was there, I was like so emotional, like I was fighting tears nonstop.

Jaymee Sire:

And you didn't go home though, is the thing.

Britt Rescigno:

I somehow did not go home.

Jaymee Sire:

. What was, I mean, what was your reaction? What was going through your mind? You know, I asked you what you was going through your mind when you, you found out who you were facing, but what was going through your mind when you, when they said you were moving on, when God said you were moving on? I

Britt Rescigno:

Honestly couldn't think. I was like, wait, wait, what? What? Wait, what, what? And then the next thing I know, like Tiffani's hugging me and I'm crying and Guy is like looking at me with an open mouth and I'm just like, what just happened? What is going on? This is a joke. Pinch me. Somebody slap me anything cause let me know this is real cause it can't be.

Jaymee Sire:

What do you think, you know, was your edge or the reason that you were able to come out victorious in that first round?

Britt Rescigno:

I just stuck to the plan. Like, you know, I have this strategy where whatever is thrown at me and whatever I think of first, that's what I'm making. Hmm. And you know, if you change or you pivot halfway through or a quarter of the way through, you've already lost so much time. So whatever you're cooking, just, just do it. Whatever your idea is, don't second guess yourself. Stick to your gut and just make it yummy and make it sexy. Like, that's all I think about.

Jaymee Sire:

. I like it. I I, I've read that quote from you before too. Just sexy food. That's all, that's all you are, are trying to do. Right?

Britt Rescigno:

Sexy food, man. Everyone wants to eat some sexy food.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. Why not? You know, the the interesting thing that we've talked about a lot as it relates to TOC is, you know, it is a blind tasting, but on top of that, you, you don't find out who's judging until you're all done. What kind of challenges does that present or does it kind of take some stuff out of the equation for you?

Britt Rescigno:

For me, it takes thing, everything out of the equation for me. Mm-hmm. , it really makes me, you know, cook for myself, like cook for my own palate instead of, you know, if you know who the judges are, you're gonna try to lean towards them to try to sway them. Mm-hmm. . And then sometimes you just get lost and flavors get muddled. Like, don't worry about who your judges are. Don't worry about who you're competing against. Don't worry about the cameras, don't worry about Guy , you're in the kitchen. Just make food that you wanna make.

Jaymee Sire:

And Alex Guarnaschelli was one of those first judges, you know, fellow obviously Italian chef, and you were obviously very thrilled with her reaction to your food. How does it feel to have that recognition from some of these iconic chefs that you admire?

Britt Rescigno:

It's, it's surreal. It really is absolutely surreal. I have looked up to Alex since I was a little kid. I've watched every single show she's ever been on. I've watched her almond commercials over and over and over again. , like I have her cookbooks, I've eaten at butter. Like I, I love Alex and the fact like, I'm even getting emotional just talking about it. Like the fact that she had so many wonderful things to say and like needed a hug after eating my dish. Like that's my goals. Like, that's what I look forward to.

Jaymee Sire:

Hmm. You know, I obviously you're getting a little emotional and just, you know, thinking about it and we've, we saw that emotion come out several times, you know, throughout the course of this competition. And you know, it's very clear that this means a lot to you. You know, what does it, what does it, I mean, if you can put it into words, what does it mean to you to be on this stage, you know, and not only on the stage but excelling on this stage.

Britt Rescigno:

It's kind of silly to say this, but it's like validation that I really made the right choice in life. Mm-hmm. . And like, you know, you only get . My grandfather used to say, you only live once. This ain't no dress rehearsal.

Jaymee Sire:

.

Britt Rescigno:

So like, whatever you do, make sure do it because that's what you wanna do in life and you wanna be successful and happy and like, this is validation that like, I am doing the right thing. This is my path. I chose the right things and I am Yolo’ing really hard.

Jaymee Sire:

ah, you're making me cry now. You've been such a delight to watch and I feel like people are just rooting for you. You are a person people wanna cheer for, they want you to succeed. What has the feedback been like so far?

Britt Rescigno:

It has been tremendous. I mean my, in February I went to Hawaii and it was the second week in February and I had 300 or 3,980 followers. And I was so excited that I was about to hit 4,000. I'm like, I just need 20 more. Like, this is so cool.

Jaymee Sire:

.

Britt Rescigno:

And now I'm like about to hit 10 K and I'm like, what

What? And everyone has so much nice things to say. Mm. Like I really like it. It's just so humbling and so nurturing to my soul that it's like, wow, people take their time out of their day to watch me on TV and then shoot me a message on Instagram. And like, I try so hard to make sure that I touch every single person mm-hmm. whether I'm liking it or responding. Sometimes it's, I just don't have all the time to be able to respond to every single person. But I really try hard to, cuz it's so important to me and I'm so thankful.

Jaymee Sire:

Is there a particular message, um, or DM or comment that like stands out to you that that really, you know, kind of took you back, you know, made you step back and kind of realize, you know, this is something really special?

Britt Rescigno:

I actually had a culinary student reach out to me and was just like, chef, I've been very confused over, you know, all of the, the choices that I'm making in life. I wasn't sure if the culinary career was the career for me. I watched you on TOC and I am completely inspired and it's made me put my nose back down to the grind and really fall in love with food and again, and I can't thank you enough. Mm. And it was just like, I read it and I just started crying and it's like, all I want to do is inspire the younger chefs because this is a hard career and this is a hard job, but like, it's so rewarding. And like, if you have the slightest passion, I want to fuel it for you. Mm-hmm. , I want to help you because you can succeed and do wonderful things in this career.

Jaymee Sire:

And you are, you are proving that, you are showing that on this season of Tournament of Champions, looking back at all the battles and, and everything that kind of unfolded during this competition, what stands out to you the most? Like what was the hardest thing you had to do or moment that that came across during this show?

Britt Rescigno:

Honestly, the hardest moment was looking at the randomizer

Jaymee Sire:

.

Britt Rescigno:

It's so daunting.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah.

Britt Rescigno:

I just kept looking at it. I'm like, this thing is gonna kick my butt.

Jaymee Sire:

. Like how do you mentally approach the randomizer? I mean, you can't really, I guess because you don't know what it's gonna be. Right?

Britt Rescigno:

Yeah, you have, you have no idea what the options are gonna be, what it could mix up what it could do. But I had a very strict study session schedule every single day. Like every day I had a schedule. Three, three hours in the morning I would study. And then

Jaymee Sire:

What were you studying?

Britt Rescigno:

All different cuisines, all different ingredients, all different, you know, scenarios that I could have come up with, you know, different recipes for cuisines. Mm-hmm. That like mm-hmm. You know, people don't eat all the time. Okay. So I had different fresh ideas and I just five hours a day every single day. I was very strict. It didn't matter what time I was going to bed. I had two hours before I went to bed. And I was usually up at like four 30 in the morning to study in the morning.

Jaymee Sire:

And then would you also like kind of, do you know simulated cooks were timed or anything like that? Did you prep in that way? Or was it more just like immersing yourself in information?

Britt Rescigno:

For me, it was immersing myself with information because I have, like, I schedule my myself out for competitions, so it's like, all right, I have five minutes to shop, I need four minutes to plate, I need a minute to run and grab my plates. And the rest is just cooking. Mm-hmm. . So like I have my goals that I set while, while it's cooking, so I don't worry about the time that much cuz I know where I need to be. Mm-hmm. , but like some equipment, I definitely did my research and started like playing with, and I watched a ton of cooking competitions to see like different ingredients and made lists. I had, I mean, I had index cards for games, .

Jaymee Sire:

Oh my gosh.

Britt Rescigno:

I loved that. Believe it.

Jaymee Sire:

Did you, I mean, did you watch a lot of TOC and like take notes on, you know, just past battles and judges comments and randomizer ingredients and all that?

Britt Rescigno:

Absolutely. Yeah. I, I, I wrote down notes. I wrote down like how many I was writing down like the silliest things, like how many bites they take of food.

Jaymee Sire:

Britt Rescigno:

Like how much flavor do I have to punch into two bites of food. Your plate could be all beautiful and sexy and everything like that, but you have to remember that at the end of the day, they're gonna have two bites of your food because that's all they need. So it was like, I was writing that down, I was like, all right, two bites, three bites, two bites, one bite. I would watch TOC and then pause and write down all the spices that I could and where they were and where it was organized.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh my gosh.

Britt Rescigno:

Yeah. I like really

Jaymee Sire:

No, you were prepared.

Britt Rescigno:

Yeah. I was so happy to be there. I didn't wanna disappoint anyone.

Jaymee Sire:

. I love that. I mean, when you get there, especially for that first challenge, obviously you haven't cooked in that, that kitchen before. Do you have time to kind of like, look through the pantry and see what's what? Or did you really rely on that, that research that you did?

Britt Rescigno:

I really relied on my research. Wow. I really, really did. I mean, you can see it from afar, like the pantry and stuff like that. And like, you can look at it and, but it's just so hard because you're so over censored by mm-hmm. , like your sensory is overload.

Jaymee Sire:

Wow. As I mentioned, the, the finale is Sunday. So we are two days away from finding out who is the season four champion without giving any spoil spoilers, what can we, what can we look forward to in, in the finale?

Britt Rescigno:

Wow.

Jaymee Sire:

.

Britt Rescigno:

Wow.

Jaymee Sire:

Really.

Britt Rescigno:

Wow. . This is, like I said, I'm a huge like, Food network fan. I'm a nerd. I watch all the competition shows and this is going to be the best one yet.

Jaymee Sire:

Ah, I was so excited. I mean, what have you, what do you think you've learned about yourself throughout the course of this competition? Would you change anything?

Britt Rescigno:

I would never change anything. Nothing. I'm so proud of every single thing I did. It was absolutely amazing. But I really learned the amount of grit that I have. Like, I was so proud. You're, you're around 32 chefs. 32 chefs, not only that are so amazing, but that I've looked up to my whole life. Mm-hmm. , that is a very easy distraction, very easy. And we are all staying in the same place. We're all hanging out all the time. And it's like, I didn't care. I needed to go study. I needed to focus. I did my zen work, like whatever I had to do to mentally and it was like, dude, I got grit, man. I can do this.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. And we see that. We see that on every single episode. The, that you are on, how you, you talk about, you know, the, the friendships and the, the other chefs that you look up to. How many of them did you actually like know personally before going on this show? And then how many new friends did you gain from being on it?

Britt Rescigno:

I knew casually Joe Sasto.

Jaymee Sire:

And that's it? 

Britt Rescigno:

Yes. 

Jaymee Sire:

Oh wow.

Britt Rescigno:

Yeah. Like, yeah. Joe Sasto, is it

Jaymee Sire:

Um, and now?

Britt Rescigno:

And now I have 32 awesome friends that I could call or text at any time. I'm actually in Seattle right now, hanging out with Shota.

Jaymee Sire:

Was just gonna say, I've seen, I saw you were hanging out with soda who we also had on the, the podcast a few weeks ago. You, I've, I feel like every, you've been making a point to like go visit different cities and, and hang out with some of these chefs that you were on the show with. What has that been like, I guess?

Britt Rescigno:

It's been so fun and very exhausting. . I get to hang out with some really amazing people and make some really dope food. Like we're making the craziest and most amazing food, but it's really just about like common chef friends that understand like what you're going through through all of this and having that common ground and really truly building friendships and relationships and business relationships with. And it's so, so amazing that I get to hang out with these people and like go to dinner and like, Hey, come over my house. Like, let's have a beer, let's have a glass of wine. Yeah.

Jaymee Sire:

Like, not like, let's go into the most intense arena of all time and and, and compete against each other. You actually get to hang out and have fun. .

Britt Rescigno:

Yeah. And they actually like care, like, like it's friends. It's a real friend and it, it's even more so like a deeper connection because they truly understand your work. Mm-hmm. . So there's no pressure, there's no expectations. It's like, Hey, you text me a week later. Cool. Like, I understand you're busy. Yeah. . So it's, it's, it's really cool.

Jaymee Sire:

No, it's been really cool to watch For sure. And you know, I guess to put it in sports terms, you were definitely the Cinderella story of this tournament. And I'm just curious if you know af after talking to you, you know, for the last 30 minutes or so, like, it seems like you kind of thrive on that role, like that role of being the underdog. Is that, is that accurate?

Britt Rescigno:

Oh, I love being the underdog . Like, I'm not like a big spotlight person. I'm kind of shy . Really? Yeah. I really try to bust out of my skin when I'm on tv. But like, it's so hard , but like, I, I'm shy. Like I just wanna come in and like do me and like be a little entertaining and like next thing you know, I'm like pulling out the sniper and I'm like, bam.

Jaymee Sire:

Gotcha. , , angry Italians strikes again. Right. , you, you also kind of seem to feed off of, of some of that doubt. Can you talk about your affection for the term eat crow and, and how it's shaped some of the ventures you have coming up?

Britt Rescigno:

Yeah. So, uh, there's always gonna be the people that are haters. They hate us cause they ain't us. Mm-hmm. , we get it.

Jaymee Sire:

Britt Rescigno:

And honestly, those are the ones that drive me the, the hardest because they motivate me to be better, to want to be the best that I absolutely can be personally, professionally. And so I had so many doubts of people that were going to, that were saying like, oh, you're never gonna do anything. And December I left my job and I was like, you know what, I'm gonna open up a popup. I want it to be called Crow.

Jaymee Sire:

Britt Rescigno:

Because everyone can honestly eat Crow . You don't believe in me. You don't have to, I don't need you in my life. All I need is support and positiveness. And you know what? Eat crow. And if you don't wanna eat crow, why don't you come in and eat at Crow.

Jaymee Sire:

And actually eat. Yeah. Wait, what's uh, what, what, tell me more about the popups. Like what kind of food are you gonna be serving? Where is this gonna be happening? Where we can we be on the lookout for it?

Britt Rescigno:

I'm doing some popups here in Seattle and basically wherever I travel I'm gonna try to do a couple of popups. Okay. I, I never know where I'm gonna be from week to week. So it's like, this is always an adventure, but I always wanna try someone, like, try to get with someone that I can partner with mm-hmm. and do a fun dinner. And my philosophy is local sustainable food. So wherever I'm at, I want to use whatever is local to them.

Jaymee Sire:

That's so cool. And how, like what's the feedback been so far at the ones that you've done?

Britt Rescigno:

Oh, it's been fantastic. It's really, really fantastic. I just did a dinner in New Jersey for David's Dream and Believe, which is a cancer foundation. And we sold out, there was seven, we actually oversold, there were 71 seats. Mm. And we were able to donate a bunch of money to them. And it was, it was just a magical night and people had so much fun. And that's what it's about. Like, so many people, so many people missed my food. There was like 80% of my customers from the restaurant that I had just left Wow. At that popup because they were just like, I miss I miss your cooking, I miss you, you being out here and talking with us. And they felt like they were right back at home. And that's exactly what my one customer said. He was like, it feels like we're back home. And I was like, dude, that's my goal.

Jaymee Sire:

. That's the goal. Well, I hope I, I hope I have a chance to, to eat some of your crow .

Britt Rescigno:

Yeah, come on too.

Jaymee Sire:

At some point. But more importantly, so looking forward to watching you continue your journey on TOC in the finale and it's been so much fun talking to you about it, so we're excited to watch it. We are gonna finish things off with a little rapid fire round and then we have one final question that we ask everybody here on food Network obsessed. So my first rapid fire question, I feel like I already know the answer based on our earlier conversation, but eggs were a key ingredient in your first challenge. So I am wondering what is the perfect egg preparation in your mind?

Britt Rescigno:

Oh, so I wanna say scrambled. Okay. Because that's my everyday eater. But real life, it's a six minute soft boiled egg.

Jaymee Sire:

Okay. Yes. I love, I mean I love both. You're right. Like the, the scramble is the easy thing that you can just whip up in the mornings, but the, the soft boil is, is so luscious and sexy.

Britt Rescigno:

It's sexy too.

Jaymee Sire:

To take a a page from your book. You have a hashtag we'll travel for food and booze and you've, as we've mentioned, been doing a lot of that lately. Where is it taking you next?

Britt Rescigno:

So I was just in Chicago, currently in Seattle. I have to go home at some point to New Jersey.

Jaymee Sire:

I Guess so.

Britt Rescigno:

Yeah. And then where am I going after that? I think I might go back to Seattle for a little bit. 

Jaymee Sire:

Nice. 

Britt Rescigno:

Um, and at some point I have to go visit Maneet. She uh, she keeps asking me to come down to, uh, Nashville Nashville and do a popup with her so.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh my gosh, you absolutely should.

Britt Rescigno:

That will 100% be in the works very soon.

Jaymee Sire:

I love Maneet so much.

Britt Rescigno:

I do too. She's such a sweetheart.

Jaymee Sire:

Uh, again, she was somebody I remember when, you know, her season that she won. I feel like everybody, like I was rooting for her and, and, and you know, similar vibes with you. So, question you wish you were asked more often?

Britt Rescigno:

Question I wish I was asked more often. What's my favorite color?

Jaymee Sire:

What is your favorite color?

Britt Rescigno:

It's purple and orange.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh, purple and orange. Okay.

Britt Rescigno:

Yeah. I can't pick between the two

Jaymee Sire:

Britt Rescigno:

But I only wear like black and like gray and everything so everyone thinks that like, that's my favorite color. I'm like, no, you should just ask me what my favorite color is cuz it's purple and orange.

Jaymee Sire:

I know. And those are complimentary colors as well? I, I believe like on the color wheel, right? Yes. If I ever remember my art from, you know, middle school . All right. Favorite cocktail?

Britt Rescigno:

Favorite cocktail? It depends on my mood. If I'm in a bourbon mood, it's an old fashioned. Hmm. If I'm in a, like a mezcal mood, um, then I really love a mezcal negroni. Okay.

Jaymee Sire:

Yes. Love,

Britt Rescigno:

Um, and gin, same thing, but I really love a nice gin and tonic. Okay.

Jaymee Sire:

I love all those things. Kitchen tool you can't live without?

Britt Rescigno:

Wooden spoon.

Jaymee Sire:

Okay. I don't know if we've heard that one yet. So I like that.

Britt Rescigno:

Um, I can't cook my sauce without a wooden spoon. 

Jaymee Sire:

That's true.

Britt Rescigno:

It doesn't taste good. .

Jaymee Sire:

You gotta get all the, the bits, you know, from the bottom.

Britt Rescigno:

I think there’s something in the wood.

Jaymee Sire:

I don't know if it's like retain like, kind of like a cast iron, like it retains,

Britt Rescigno:

It's kinda like building grime and like nastiness and I'm like, yeah, get that in there baby.

Jaymee Sire:

So you don't want a new wooden spoon. You want the old one that you've had forever, right? Yeah.

Britt Rescigno:

Yeah, the one that you're like kind of questionable about. Don't worry.

Jaymee Sire:

It’s like burn. There's like burn marks on like the, the handle and all the

Britt Rescigno:

Like chipped . Yeah. I'll take it.

Jaymee Sire:

All right. What is always in your fridge?

Britt Rescigno:

Oh, LaCroix sparkling water.

Jaymee Sire:

All right. Same ,

Britt Rescigno:

Pamplemousse all day.

Jaymee Sire:

Pamplemousse is definitely the, the number one for sure. 

Britt Rescigno:

Or apricot. 

Jaymee Sire:

What's Okay, I was gonna ask what's your number two? Cuz I feel like Pamplemousse is kind of like the, you know, consensus favorite, but everybody has a different number two, so Yeah. Apricot. I have not tried, so I'll have to get on that. I feel like they don't sell that one as, as often in as many places. 

Britt Rescigno:

It's so good. 

Jaymee Sire:

Okay. I'll have to get on that. . Um, advice you would give to your younger self.

Britt Rescigno:

Just keep working your butt off.

Jaymee Sire:

.

Britt Rescigno:

That's all I say. Like, put your nose down, do it while you're young because one day you're gonna wanna enjoy life.

Jaymee Sire:

Yep. No, that's excellent advice for sure. All right. This last question is not rapid fire. This is just whatever you, whatever you, whatever comes to your mind. We wanna know what's on the menu for your perfect food day. So we want you to take us through the day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert. There are no rules. You can travel time, travel, spend as much money as you want. Anybody can prepare these meals, you can prepare them. No calories counting in this. Yeah, it's it's your day. You can, you can do whatever you want it. We just wanna hear about it.

Britt Rescigno:

Snacks count, right?

Jaymee Sire:

Yes. Snack. Yes. You can throw in some snacks too. Like lunch can be like three courses in different places. There's, there's no rules.

Britt Rescigno:

, no rules, no holds barred. So I would like to start off my day. I have a new obsession with lavender oat milk lattes.

Jaymee Sire:

Ooh. Okay.

Britt Rescigno:

Yeah. So I would love to start my day off with that. And a nice queen amann.

Jaymee Sire:

A what?

Britt Rescigno:

A queen amann. 

Jaymee Sire:

What is that?

Britt Rescigno:

It's like a, it's a croissant pastry.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh yes.

Britt Rescigno:

And then they, like, before they roll it up and shape it, it's kinda like pinched together. They put salt and sugar. Ooh. So it makes like this sweetened savory, like crispy layer.

Jaymee Sire:

Yum.

Britt Rescigno:

Oh gosh. That's the best pastry.

Jaymee Sire:

I need to seek this out immediately.

Britt Rescigno:

Oh my gosh. You take one bite and you're like, ugh

Jaymee Sire:

Gosh.

Britt Rescigno:

That was so good. And then I would like to have a late lunch with Anthony Bourdain. Oh yes. Eating mapo tofu.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh yes.

Britt Rescigno:

Sweating, , nose dripping. Couple of beers, maybe a joint.

Jaymee Sire:

Yep.

Britt Rescigno:

. And then I would like to have dinner with both of my grandparents. Hmm. Both my grandmothers. Okay. I want my grandmother to make her meatballs, sauce and sausage. Like, that was like one of my favorite things. And then I want my gr my other grandmother, I want her to make shrimp and macaroni salad. Mm. Taco salad her ribs. And then I would love to have my Italian grandmother make her did dolls for me because like I can make the dodos. I have her recipe.

Jaymee Sire:

What is that?

Britt Rescigno:

It’s just not as good. It's an Italian cookie. Okay. Kind of like a tea cookie. Mm-hmm. . No, it's got a very light glaze on it with non pearls on it. So good. But nobody can quite make 'em the way she did. There was just something so good. And then I would like to have my other grandmothers meringue pie. She always made me a key lime meringue pie.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh, okay. Yeah.

Britt Rescigno:

And then I would need like something savory after dessert, right?

Jaymee Sire:

Of course.

Britt Rescigno:

So my grandmother, every Christmas Eve we have pasta Alia and she makes it with a ton of anchovies and garlic and a ton of Parmesan pecorino cheese. And it's probably like the most simple and delicious decadent bowl of pasta . And I would like to finish my entire night with that.

Jaymee Sire:

. I love it. I love that you are finishing your day with pasta. I feel like that's very on brand .

Britt Rescigno:

Who doesn't wanna, who doesn't wanna end their day with a nice sexy baked pasta?

Jaymee Sire:

I mean, yeah. Now I must do that immediately as well. All your, your whole, your whole food day has given me lots of inspiration, so thank you for that. For sure. Uh, and thank you so much for taking the time again. We have loved watching, watching you and cannot wait to see what happens next in the TOC finale.

Britt Rescigno:

It's gonna be exciting. And thank you so much for having me. This was so much fun.

Jaymee Sire:

You can see how Britt does on the finale of Tournament of Champions, this Sunday, April 9th at eight seven Central on Food Network and Discovery. Plus make sure to follow us wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss a thing. And if you enjoyed today's episode, please rate and review. We love it when you do that. That's all for now. We'll catch you foodies next Friday.