Guest Bio
Erik Pettersen / Founder Evo Italian
Chef
and restaurateur Erik Pettersen opened Evo Italian in March 2007. He currently
hosts a recurring weekly cooking segment on CBS12 in West Palm Beach called
"What's For Dinner With Chef Erik?" and won an episode of the Food Network's
"Guy's Grocery Games" in 2020. Erik grew up in Oyster Bay, Long Island, and his
Italian heritage played a significant role in what would become his passion and
career. As a fourth-generation Italian chef with over 30 years of culinary
experience, he was exposed to Italian food preparation by his Sicilian
grandmother, whom Erik would watch and help cook whenever he visited her. He
learned the authentic, farm-to-table recipes passed on from generation to
generation, and the respect and attention to detail that each dish merited. She
taught him the family secrets that still influence his cooking to this day.
While working at a pizzeria as a teenager, this made him aware of his keen
sense for quality that he saw in his own family's cooking, which led him to
become more and more attuned to the nature of his true calling. With the
knowledge of knowing how to cook, Erik's mother constantly reminded him to
explore this natural ability further. He climbed the ranks of some of the most
well-respected and popular restaurants in New York, working as a sous chef in
Manhattan restaurants for revered restaurateurs the Scotto brothers and
renowned chef Brendan Walsh. As the years passed, his dream took full shape, as
he knew he wanted to go back to his roots and start showcasing the family recipes.
But Erik's dream was put on hold when success came knocking and he was brought
in as executive chef and working partner for Ciao Baby!, an upscale four-star
restaurant in Commack, Long Island. The restaurant took off with Erik, age 29,
at the helm, and his sauces and recipes were being raved about in reviews from
the New York Times and the New York Post. First time customers became regulars,
a line was out the door to get a table, and after the first six months in
business, a second Ciao Baby! location broke ground in Massapequa. He was on
his way to becoming one of the hottest chefs in New York, until his mother in
Florida called to tell him she had stage-four lung cancer. It took a while for
this horrific news to set in, but when it did, he sold his share of the
restaurant and moved south to Delray Beach. While living in Florida, Erik
focused on being his mother's caretaker. In her final months, they would visit
relatives together in Jupiter and Tequesta, and she would remark, "when I get
better, we're going to sell the house in Delray, open a small place in
Tequesta, you'll do the cooking and I'll handle the business."
ABOUT EVO ITALIAN
After his mother's passing, Erik lived out both his mother's dreams and his own
with the opening of Evo Italian on Saint Patrick's Day, March 17, 2007, in
Tequesta. While adding the title "restaurant owner" to his credentials, his
one-room small restaurant had only eight tables and 35 seats. Erik served his
first customer, legendary ice hockey player Bobby Orr. Evo soon was the talk of
the town, and Erik was once again building his reputation like he did back in
New York. After two years, he added a bar area and expanded into a second room,
and by the fifth anniversary, Evo moved into its current location with 150
seats, a full bar, lounge and outdoor patio area. Evo Italian, now 14 years in
business, offers a contemporary interpretation of authentic Italian recipes.
Evo, short for evolution, brings time-honored, old world traditions evolving
full circle into fresh new beginnings with the freshest and highest quality
ingredients. And Erik's chef jacket has the name Nancy scripted on the back, as
he knows, his mother Nancy always has his back! Years ago, in the Italian
village where his grandparents lived, there were no supermarkets to shop for
food, so dinner came fresh from the farm to the table. Today, this is the
philosophy Erik continues to practice, and he does not simply wish to just feed
his guests but nourish the body and mind with culinary experiences that set a
new standard in dining. At Evo Italian, Erik embraces this area's rich farming
and fishing heritage and celebrates the remarkable seasonable bounty. The
climate supplies him with a year-round steady stream of stunning ingredients
from which he crafts the menu. He sources and handpicks the finest products to
incorporate into contemporary variations of his family's secret recipes, and
traditional treasures with a new twist and the warmth of the Italian way of
living. Evo's beef, chicken, veal and pork are prime grade, all-natural and
hormone-free, and fish is delivered every day from local fish purveyors.
Imported Italian products play a major role in Erik's unique approach to
cooking. In partnership with his family in Italy, Erik has the ability to
import only the finest D.O.P certified products, from San Marzano tomatoes to
Sicilian and Tuscan first cold pressed extra virgin olive oils, bufala mozzarella
a pugliese, "rocca" Reggiano parmigiana, aged balsamic from Modena and the
finest fresh and handmade dried pasta Italy has to offer. Evo Italian, Erik's
dream come true, is Palm Beach North's most elegant and upscale Italian cuisine
dining experience and welcomes guests from all over the country, snowbirds, and
regularly serves the Tequesta, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, and Juno Beach
areas. https://evoitalian.com
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