Chef “Panini” Pete Blohme has been fascinated with the art of cooking since he began working in restaurants at the age of 14. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, NY in 1986, Pete spent more than 20 years in the restaurant business learning from some of the best in the industry. He opened Panini Pete’s Café & Bakeshoppe in Fairhope, AL, in 2006, and has spent the past 17 years building a restaurant company and hospitality brand that today operates four award-winning establishments on the Gulf Coast.

Pete has headlined with Guy Fieri on his Live Road Show performing in 25-plus Road Shows and been featured on a host of Food Network shows such as Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives; Guy’s Grocery Games; Guy’s Big Bite and The Great Food Truck Race with Tyler Florence, as well as CMT’s Sweet Home Alabama.

Always looking to dig deep and give back, Pete is a founding member of The Messlords, a group of passionate chefs that travel around the world, cooking and entertaining American troops, as well as co-founder of the PR Foundation that works to help veterans, adults with developmental disabilities, and no-kill animal shelters.

Spatula Success is his first book.

Connect with Pete on social media and by subscribing to his podcast, “The Raw Ingredients,” available on all streaming platforms.