August 2, 2025 • 48 mins
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In the season 12 premier of CURVA MUNDIAL, we get a taste of la dolce vita with one of New York City's best pasty chefs. Palermo and Azzurri supporter Chef Bilena Settepani joins us to talk about her Sicilian and African heritage, her family's legendary bakery, baking for icons like Buffon and Del Piero and making calcio so much sweeter in New York.
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(00:01):
What is that noise? It's my sack of nuts.
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(01:52):
Sounds like a one-of-a-kind snack and a one-of-a-kind deal
to me. Welcome to Kurva Mundial.
Ciao. This is the season 12 premiere
of Cover Mondial and we're coming to you from one of the
sweetest spots in New York City.I'm your host, Sal Bono.
My next guest is the viral sensation as well as one of the
(02:13):
greatest bakers in this city, ifnot all of America, maybe the
world. She's the multi talented
entrepreneur and pastry chef of set the Pani Bakery in Brooklyn,
NY. It's actually where we're
recording this episode, so, you know, you hear some bells going
on and the people coming in. We're actually live in a bakery.
So this is a first. This is a first for all of us.
So please welcome on the show ACMilan and Palermo Supporter.
(02:36):
No, it's not me, ladies and gentlemen, but it's Belena.
Set the pani Ciao Belena. Ciao Vanessa, how are you guys?
See, it's, it's already starting.
Thank you so much for having us in your incredible office here,
which is this amazing bakery right here on Lorimer St. in
Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Ish Williamsburg that makes some of
(02:57):
the best treats on the humankind.
Your parents are also restaurateurs owning the Sette
Pani, the Italian restaurant in Harlem, and you've got the
bakery here. So what prompted you to bake
instead of going to the cooking route?
So I basically, I always say this, I feel like I grew up in
the bakery. It was always kind of like my
(03:18):
playground. You know, people come, go to the
park after school. I got to hang out of the bakery
and if they needed help, I was always an extra pair of hands.
But I also have a very big sweettooth.
My favorite thing ever, our cannoli our in canola or plural
cannolis. And I remember very clearly as a
(03:38):
little kid, my grandmother and my nun that would work behind
the counter. And I would say none that can I
have another canola And she'd say, no, but you can make them.
So I'd say, OK, can I take the orders that have to do cannolis?
And one no one was looking. I I mean, I must have been in
middle school or elementary school old enough to be a wise
guy. But what I would do is I would,
you know, make one for the order, eat one, make one for the
(03:59):
order, put one in my mouth. So by the end of it, I made
double the amount of cannoli that needs to be made.
But I was very happy. As someone that grew up in his
father's pizzeria, I know this. Oh, I know this very well, very
well. It's also incredible that like,
and I like to think it's the Sicilian genes that were not
(04:20):
like morbidly obese because it'slike not saying like we probably
don't have cholesterol issues. I know I did, but you caught my
attention with the ultra decadent Nutella panettone and
Oh my goodness, my wife got me one for Valentine's Day.
I must have gained about like 30kilos.
All worth it. All worth it.
(04:41):
But it was an what is an incredible way.
Oh I'm sorry, what is incredibleis that anyone can actually get
this panettone. So First off, let's plug for the
non Italian audience what Panetone actually is, how they
can get it in America and yeah, just to plug the gold Belly
account here. And now you can also get it in
Canada. But panettone is an Italian,
(05:02):
traditionally an Italian holidaybread. 20 years ago, my family
started making it all year round, which is like blasphemy
in Italy. And I actually got a lot of hate
when I started making different flavors.
You know, we every month we had come up with a different flavor.
So the Nutella is so popular that we now keep it all year
long. We have viral sensation
(05:24):
panettone, like our rainbow cookie panettone, which I'll
never forget. The minute we posted it, I had a
hater. Hey, you think you're Italian?
I'm like, listen, I am Italian. I speak the language fluently.
Papi Italiano. Sun Italiano, but I also grew up
in New York, you know, New York City, where we have so many
different cultures like we we came up with the rainbow cookie
(05:47):
panettone and yes, that's an Italian American cookie.
But if you know the history of the cookie, it was invented by
Italian immigrants who came hereand they just missed home.
It's the flag represents Italy and it's made with almond paste,
which is something that is very Italian and used often in
cookies in Italy. Then we did a, you know, for
(06:08):
Thanksgiving we do a pumpkin pecan punnett on it.
For the month of January, we do a pistachio punnett on it.
For Mother's Day, we do a Peach punnett on it.
Like we change it up and we liketo have a lot of fun with it,
but it's all based on tradition.So we obviously know how to make
the traditional way. And then we just enhance it
every month and we change it up to keep everyone on their toes.
(06:31):
I love it. It also kind of reminds me of
what Dominic Genzel was doing with the cronut, or still is
doing with the cronut. But so good, So good.
But that's such a compliment. Oh my goodness.
I mean. You're.
Welcome SO. Honored actually.
So there was like when when, when the city was empty during
lockdown, like we would drive inand that was the only place that
was open. So like Soho was empty.
(06:51):
I'd get in no line. And we're just.
And like that place was like my saving grace every Sunday for
like 2 years just going in thereand just like, OK, a little
sense of normalcy. When I finally got to meet the
man, I thanked him and broke down crying.
But it's like I love what he does because he takes
traditional French things. What you're similar to what
you're doing here to taking the tradition, using it as an
(07:13):
inspiration and a platform, but also more than anything,
recreating it and reconfiguring it.
And I think that's the thing that traditionalists get annoyed
with. Like, look, pizza here is
different a lot. The pizza in Italy, it's
different. But listen, my father came to
America from Italy. Like, my dad is a true
traditionalist. Like I almost gave him a heart
(07:35):
attack when I started pumping Nutella into our nachola.
And he was like, what are you doing?
You're gonna like, we woke up early to make this.
Why are you killing it? I was like, Dad, this is what's
gonna make it so delicious. He's like, it's already
delicious as it is. Like you don't need to change it
or we made once we did M&M Panetta on it, my dad was about
(07:56):
to throw me into the oven. Like I, I swear to God, I could
see his steam coming out of his ears and he was like, why did
you just do that? You just ruined the mix.
I said, no, we're changing it up.
We're doing a we'll try it out if it doesn't.
And it's not like I ruined the whole mix.
I I took a little part out and Isaid, you know, if it goes well,
then we make it for the next batch and we test it and it was
so good. We did a chocolate fudge M&M pan
(08:17):
iton it and it was incredible. Oh my goodness, maybe we should
bring it back. I, I look, I'm not going to
object. My stomach's not going to
object. So you let me know if you need a
taste tester, I'll be here. The, the interesting thing too
is that, you know, when it comesto food, people get so Vaclamp,
(08:37):
if you will buy it, right? But like the Italian food here,
like we're in a block where likethere's number of Italian
restaurants, number Italian delis, but none of them are like
anything that you can get back in the peninsula.
So like, people have a weird acceptance with that, but the
second you try and do something new, it's like people.
(08:58):
Who really appreciate it becauseat the end of the day, like we
are in New York, I'm not in Italy trying to sell my
panettone or trying to sell my cookies or my croissants or
whatever. We make different pastries as
well. We make different things.
We don't just make panettone andI think it's important to you
have something that will make mycustomers excited because at the
end of the day, they're, they'remy community.
(09:19):
So I want them to be happy. And of course, like I, I'm proud
of my Italian heritage. I'm, I'm so proud to be Italian,
but I also am proud that I am a bit creative.
So, you know, and there's sometimes like we make
something, it's not great. And I'm like, OK, we'll, we'll
try again. I mean, we made a fig in
chocolate panettone, which was so, so, so good.
(09:39):
And I mean, last year we, we also always do a summer
panettone a few was it last yearor the year before?
But I got a message from a reporter in Rome who said,
Blaine, I want you to see this bakery in Rome is doing a Esteva
panettone, a summer panettone. But I've been following you for
a while. You've been doing this way
before. They these masters in Italy have
(09:59):
been doing it, which to me, that's such an honor.
I'm not going to steal anyone's Thunder.
But I mean, that's so cool. Like I'm, I'm so honored.
And when people notice that, like, it makes me feel really
proud. You should like, you should be
proud because it's that you're reinventing the wheel into some
degree. It's something as simple as like
making a rainbow cookie panettone that might actually
(10:21):
get someone that's never tried ponatone to go and be like, you
know what, I'm going to eat thisnow because I like it.
It's it's incredible and it all tastes wonderful.
So as I nosh right now on this foyatella and I promise you it's
it's it's phenomenal bakery. It's phenomenal.
What do you think? How's this foyatella?
(10:41):
I mean, you know, it's basicallygone.
I, I'm, I'm going to probably eat some more and take some
more, but you know what's incredible too?
And again, a testament to your hard work, your labor of love,
and more importantly, your talent is, is that you're the
official Baker for city eye herein North America.
(11:04):
If I'm the official. Baker That would be really cool,
I said. Yeah, if you want an official
Baker, I am here waiting for a phone call.
You know where to reach me. City outlook I look I do do do
something right for a change andgive her the official title and
just you know call me and bring me to events they'll ask but but
(11:26):
we're we're going to go with today.
You're the official Baker because no one else is baking
cookies for them and whatever. But any time a player from Italy
comes or a club comes to the States, they're eating your
treats from Del Piero, the Buffon, the Killini.
So how did you link up with the league and what was that
experience like? So I think that might be a
little bit of an exaggeration. I haven't made so many treats
(11:49):
and stuff for Buffon, but but that would be really cool.
I have made been at events wherethey've been served.
OK, so this is this is my thank you for the clarification now.
OK. Cool.
I mean I will never forget beinga little kid and watching Italy
win the World Cup. And I looked at the camera and I
looked at the TVI said mom. But with I want to be a goalie
(12:11):
now I'm in love. And Bufon was my first crush
like as I can remember, like my first crush.
So if he ever wants me to make him a gig, I am more than happy
to make him a. Gig Gigi.
Come on, Joan, don't pass the cherry.
You come Want the Brock about yours?
It's so funny, but but you got but so you get to go to these
(12:32):
events. You you made the cupcakes.
You alright, but but you did geta chance to meet him though,
didn't you? I.
Did I was invited to a NAF eventand I, I really wanted to, I was
like, I'm not going to be at an event by myself and not meet the
players. And it was crowded.
Like it was a very crowded event.
Obviously it's the absolutely are in New York, everyone and
(12:53):
they're like my whole everyone Iknew from the neighborhood was
there. I was walking around and I was
like, oh, hey, oh, hey, oh, I got pizza at your shop this
morning. Like, hey, guys, what's going
on? Hey, where's your dad?
I'm like, I can only come by myself.
So anyway, so I get there and I'm trying to get to the front
to the podium. It was it was jam packed.
It was such, it's a beautiful event.
(13:13):
But then I said, you know, if it's sham packed and the those
players are behind the stage, there has to be a way that they
got there. Let me figure this out.
So I went in the hallway when I saw the chef of the event who
had the, you know, the logo of Yatsuri.
And I looked at him. I was by myself.
So that's probably how this happened.
(13:35):
But I looked at him and I said, Santi, where are the players?
Are they in in the kitchen? Like how, Like, how do I, how do
I get to them? I said, I just really want a
selfie with Buffon. And he goes, well, they're right
there. So I went into the kitchen and
I, you know, hung out until theywere starting to leave and they
were going to the elevator and Istopped Buffon.
(13:57):
And then I got a selfie. I stopped Donna Roma.
And I was like, Oh my God, I can't believe you left Milan.
He was, he was the nicest out ofall of them.
I saw. Who else?
Killini. I saw Fabio Canovato.
I mean such a beautiful looking person.
(14:18):
I mean, yeah, look between like you can't miss Killini because
of the nose, you can't miss Canovato because of the aura,
you can't miss Donoroma because of the height, and then like.
It's the nicest. And then I saw Misa, she signed
my jerseys. I had my jersey from the jersey
I wore when Italy won the World Cup, World Cup.
Then also before all of this, I was in the hallway and I saw
(14:40):
Zanyolo. And I used to date a guy that
looked so much like Zanyolo. I mean, everyone thought that.
And so I at the time, I was dating this guy and my
background was obviously a picture of us.
And I stopped Zanyolo. I was like, Oh my gosh, I have
to stop you. But I I'm dating a guy who looks
a lot like young people sometimes.
Stop him and think it's him, youknow?
(15:02):
And he was like, oh, let me see a picture of him.
And I showed him on my background and he goes, oh, say
bellissima like like, oh, you got he he's you're beautiful.
But Sophie like I'm like, well, people say he looks like you
just say you look good. I was like, whatever, but it's
kind of funny. But he and then we chatted for
like a few minutes and then I was like, OK, then someone
(15:24):
called him that he had to go to something or whatever.
But we did chat in the hallway for a few minutes.
It was kind of cool. This, this is great.
So now you know, what do you think?
Like their reception of America was because for especially for
like a lot of the younger players, Italy hasn't played
here in like 20 some odd years. When they came in March of 2024,
(15:46):
I mean, sold out Red Bull Arena for the, the, the poor
Ecuadorians that were there was just like it was like a 5%
contingent and then 95% US. And it was just like, so like,
I'm wondering, I'm curious like,yeah, like what do you think?
Like that reception was like seeing, especially at the NYEF
event. Sure.
They were so excited. I mean, Can you imagine being in
(16:07):
a room full of people who are like your biggest fan?
Like there? I think there's a statistic that
there's more Italians unless so like outside of Italy than they
are within Italy. So I'm sure they were just like
amped up and excited. And also like Italian Americans,
we are full of energy, like we are proud to be Italian.
And you could feel that in the room.
Like the minute they sang the Italian I used, I went to La
(16:29):
Squad Italia, which is an Italian school here in New York
City. And I know the Italian anthem
because I went to the Italian school, right?
So I know the whole I could sing.
I wish this is what you see likethat in a moment right there is
where I wish I'm like, why am I not doing a video podcast?
Because your hand gestures and the gesticulations and all of it
(16:51):
is the. Cool thing about this was
everyone in the room was singingman but even you 100% did not
know the words. They were just like excited to
be there like the room. I'm not going to say it felt
like San pseudo because that might be a little bit of an
exaggeration, but the energy wasthere.
Like I'm sure that the players were just excited and honored
(17:12):
and definitely overwhelmed. I'm sure they were also
exhausted because they were going through one meet and greet
to another to this. And then also they're in New
York City. It's we're the best city in the
world. Like I'm sure they wanted to go
see, you know, Times Square and do all this and go around Soho.
So I'm sure they were overwhelmed and excited.
There was just like all the emotions going on, you know?
(17:32):
Yeah, absolutely. It's again, like I love all of
this because the energy that youput into telling these stories
and to your baking is also it's it's totally genetic thing
because meeting your parents, they the passion that they have
for just about everything, but also their food.
(17:54):
And you all have cooked for all these huge names, everyone from
Dapper Dan to Trevor Noah to Pamela Anderson to Sal Bono from
Cover Mundial. Only here.
Bill Clinton. Holy shit, only the big names.
I'm in a fucking sentence with all them.
Celebrated one of his birthday parties at my family's
restaurant. And, you know, his office used
to be in Harlem, so we did a lotof cooking for him.
(18:16):
But, you know, Bill Clinton, I have had some Billy like,
elaborative conversations with Bill Clinton.
I was a kid because he was one of our customers.
And I didn't, you know, as a kid, I didn't realize that he
was, you know, our old president.
So I, I was just and I there wasone time I couldn't attend an
event. I said he was, he had his annual
Christmas party and whatever. And I, I didn't make it, but I
(18:37):
went to something else. And at this event he goes, your
mother told me that you weren't at our Christmas party because
you were in a gingerbread makingcompetition.
I was in 4th grade. And I said, yeah.
And he said, so did you win? And I said, yes, but how did you
know this? How did you like for me, like
(18:59):
like my own mother, probably, I mean, my mom would remember, but
like, I don't think my brother would remember that I was in a
gingerbread comedy like just to but it was really cool.
You know, our customers, we growwith our customers.
We do so much with our customers.
I spend more time at the bakery or at the restaurant than I do
at home all the time. So often times like our
customers who come in every single day, I see them more than
(19:19):
I see my friends. And so we really, it's important
to have a community. And my parents are so, so I
mean, the proof is in the pudding.
Like my parents, my dad started doing this and he moved to
America in 1973. He bought his first bakery in
the Village in 82 when he was a student at NYU, He opened up a
bakery with his parents. The whole family was involved.
(19:41):
And then they outgrew that space, about this space 10 years
later. In the meantime, they opened up
a restaurant. Like we're very passionate about
all of it. And it's also getting people
together. And I always say this like,
that's something genetically in me, possibly from my Italian
heritage and definitely from my Ethiopian side, is food brings
(20:03):
everyone together. And we are so lucky that we do
that. Like, imagine going to a
birthday party and there's no cake.
Is that even a birthday party? No.
It's like, I've been to weddingswhere there's no cake and I
thought, like, people were goingto riot, like, you know?
To weddings with that cake that I'm like how could they do like
I one day when I get married I want like 7 wedding gigs.
Also, like one day when you get married, hit Dominique Ansel.
(20:26):
I know I mentioned you earlier, but like I feel like the finest
Baker only deserves like the finest Baker.
So like that's just but you know, for for you, though, what
again, like all these huge namesand all these accolades are
incredible. But what I love about the set,
the panda story, which also translates the seven breads,
which you're food is in your name.
Food is literally in your name. So for you, the thing that I
(20:52):
love the most for your entire family, not only you all
beautiful people inside and out,is is that you also give back to
your community in so many big ways.
So mind you, I've seen a look into your schedule.
OK, it's absurd. There's no way anyone human
being can keep that schedule andyet you do it.
And we're here and we're talkingabout it, but also like you find
(21:16):
time to also give back. So no one listening to this has
any fucking excuse to not be able to do anything, including
myself, including the host here.But what is it?
Why is it so important to give back to that Harlem community
that has given so much to you? It's.
Not just our Harlem community, it's any community that we're a
part of. And that's so important.
(21:36):
You know, we are in, we have, we're able to keep our lights on
and have a business and be around for so many years and
generations because of the community that surrounds us.
And you're only as strong as theweakest person in your
community, right? So we want to help and build our
community for each other, right.So like back in the day when my
parents opened up in Harlem, they opened in 1999 or I think
(22:01):
our doors open in 2000. We had no neighbors, but we had
Native and Sylvia's like my mom,right?
Yeah, My parents were like The Pioneers of Harlem hospitality
as we know it right now. And that is so important.
I mean, I remember my mom in an interview saying that Sylvia
(22:23):
from Sylvias, she said to Leia, you know, she said my mom dealt
with a lot of issues in Harlem. You know, like, it wasn't the
Harlem that we know now. I mean, back in the day, real
estate agents used to come and try to describe what the house
could look like at Sete Pani. And every ad for a building,
every ad for anything for sale was like in relation to how far
(22:45):
it was from Sete Pani or the subway, how quick it can get
you. Downtown Harlem is such a
beautiful neighbor and I grew upmost of my life in Harlem.
We when I was first born, we lived in Williamsburg and then
we lived in Harlem. We lived in Westchester for a
little bit, but where I spent most of my actual years of my
life growing was in Harlem. And I've seen the neighborhood
(23:06):
change so, so, so much. I mean, it's so nice that we
have neighbors. People are always like, oh, how
do you feel that there's a, a new restaurant that open up?
Like competition is good, but it's not competition.
It's literally building a community.
It's helping each other. And so when we, we've been
working with so many different organizations in both, in all
locations. I mean, we have a location in
(23:26):
Dumbo. We have been here in
Williamsburg for a while. We work not only with, you know,
soup kitchens, churches. We'd work a lot with churches
because we're also Catholic. And my dad's very, very, very
religious. I mean, I'm also pretty
religious, but no one can compare to my dad.
I mean, look at our, but you know, you always want to help.
(23:48):
Who needs to be helped? I think that is the backbone of
everything. And also not just in, you know,
providing a meal or this and theother, but like if you see
someone who might need a second chance in a job or, you know, a
student, and we work with a highschool who a lot of times these
students have, no, they don't think they're going to go to
(24:11):
college. They don't know what they want
to do. And what we'll do is we'll work
with high school to get them like credit and they'll come
once a week and have hands on experience.
And it's kind of like a taste ofthe real world.
Like they have to be in uniform,they have to be on time, they
have to get tasks done. And they're only here for a few
hours of the day. They're not doing a full work
(24:32):
day like any of our bakers or anyone in the store or our
office manager or whatever. But they are getting a taste of
reality because they might not be planning to go to college or
maybe this is their way to be like, OK, I don't want to cut
cookies all day long. I don't want to mix dough.
Maybe I should go work, go to college and get an education and
work in finance or work in law or whatever.
(24:54):
But I, I mean, I wish I had thatopportunity when I was a kid,
but that it's, you know, I don'tknow.
Yeah, I see. Yeah, it's, it's incredible that
you all are doing that because Ialso know how hectic the
restaurant world can be. So to allow like some novices to
come in who some might care and some high school kids, I'm not
(25:14):
esparaging anybody. They don't give a shit.
So it just like it, it's that like the patients there, I mean
your family are just a bunch of Saints to begin with just for
the patients alone like. One of my favorite, one of my
customers came in who's probablyone of our youngest customer.
And that's not true. She's not one of our most young,
youngest customers. However, there are a bunch of
(25:34):
schools in the neighborhood. Yeah.
So we do work closely with the schools in the neighborhood.
You know, they are teaching an Italian class and they want to
come in and ask us questions in Italian for Italian hair.
Just one. Like we love to do that.
Like we love to be, we love being a part of our communities
because that's really what makes, I mean, our job is
hectic, but at the end of the day, we're making cookies.
We're not over here. We're making cookies.
(25:54):
We're making cakes. We're making things that make
the event that you're attending sweet.
We're making it a little bit sweeter even Sometimes you're in
a conference, right? You get cookies.
Sometimes they're from us. You're starting your day with a
croissant, fresh, flaky, buttery, delicious croissant
that came out of the oven a few minutes ago.
There's we are giving you that 2-3 minutes of joy in your day
(26:16):
when you might be on your way to, I don't know, open heart
surgery or whatever. What like our job at the end of
the day is not so serious, but we are at the end.
We're all a community. We all have to work together and
that's kind of our that was how I was raised with my parents.
Like they just like just be niceto your neighbor.
You're a stranger because that'smaybe tomorrow's never promised.
(26:39):
Right not to be so. Mormon.
But it's but it's a fact. And it's like, I think like as
I've gotten older, I keep thinking that a lot.
And also what all this sounds like is that traditional pasta
cheria in the baisa where like, everyone's at a meeting point
hanging out in the Piazza. Yeah.
(26:59):
I'm down from them Cafe. And it's just like it's bringing
that like old world idea, which is very simple and beautiful to
a giant city like New York and making it work.
But you also have the best of both worlds when it comes to
food because your family is you're biracial, but also you
(27:23):
have such a unique background because your mom is Etrian, born
in Ethiopia, dad is Italian. It's such an amazing makeup, but
also very different cultures. But how similar are they?
The family is the root of right.Everything they are, the
cultures are a little different,but I honestly don't think
they're that different, right? For both my Italian side of the
(27:44):
family and my every training typing side of the family.
Our family is like, and what keeps us grounded, It's and I
have family that lives all over the world, all over the world.
But at the end of the day, we'realways family and that's what
keeps us together. And also both families.
Guess what? We are eating lasagna for
(28:06):
Christmas. We are food is so important.
I mean, Ethiopian food is one ofmy favorite things.
Like my grandma makes shuttle which is like this.
It's so you have to come over for dinner.
I would. There is, there is never, never
a chance where I'm going to say no to that, but.
There are some things like to methat I always joke like there's
(28:26):
a dish in in Ethiopian culture in Ethiopian dish called
Dorowet, which means like chicken Stew, I guess.
I was in Tropea this summer in Calabria and I had an anduya
with nut nut Anduya with calabre.
(28:47):
Sorry. I had a anduya and onion spread
on some bread and I bit into it and I looked at my friend.
I was like, doesn't this taste like that's to my grandma makes
they taste so similar, but they're made out of complete
different things. Whatever, but it's so delicious
to me that transferred to me to my grand, my Ethiopian
(29:09):
grandmothers kitchen and I was in Calabria.
And then there's another dish. It's called the Pasa general
visit, which is a Neapolitan dish.
It's made a lot of onions. Again, it's meat ragu with
onions. And the history behind this dish
is the sale. Sailors from Genoa would go to
(29:30):
Napoli and they would want the specific pasta because they had
been living on a boat for God knows how long and they'd get to
land and they would want meat. And the Napolitani would say,
oh, the Genovese, they vote. They want their pasta Genovese,
which is how this pasta dish gottheir thing.
So one of my other favorite dishes in Ethiopia or in
Ethiopian cuisine is electric and it's made.
(29:57):
It's very similarly. And I had my mom's brother
visiting not too long ago, and Itook him to a restaurant that
has. And I said, you have to try
this. What does it remind you of?
And he said the same dish. Then another thing is I'm
Sicilian. Yeah, my dad's.
Only the best. Only the best, sorry, the best
part of Italy. My dad's from Palermo or
(30:18):
Provincio de Palermo, small towncalled Ventimiglia.
But you know, in Palermo we havePanella, which is a chickpea
fritter. So good.
When you come over, I will make you Panadol.
OK. All right.
You have to. We have to get this in the
county. Yeah.
Ask your wife when you guys havea night free.
We're having dinner at my place.Sounds good.
(30:39):
And panadol is made out of chickpea.
There's another dish that my grandmother makes called chudo,
which my mom's grandmother used to make for my mom or whatever.
It's one. It's one of the most comforting
dishes. It's also made with chickpeas.
So there's so many and it's, it's very different cuz it's not
fried or whatever, but they kindof remind me of each other in a
(31:01):
weird way. But I mean, the food does not,
the food is not inspired by the other.
It has nothing to do with that, which is important to know, but
food is also, it's very important to every culture of
that I'm a part of, right? Cuz also the other thing too is,
is that having done like food tours in South Africa, where
(31:24):
like I've done like, and oh, getto that later, that'll be,
that'll be a topic for later. But where like I've done like
food tours where they have takenus to different cultures that
are in Cape Town. Ethiopian culture was like by
far and large, like my wife and I came back.
Oh my God, this is incredible. But like, is it true that it's
almost like a sin, if you will, to eat with your left hand?
(31:46):
Is that that's what that is a thing?
It's supposed to be, Yeah. I've, I'll never forget the
first time I went to Ethiopia was when my grandfather passed
away. I was like 8 or 9 years old, and
I was eating with my left hand. And this old lady, I was eating
in a room with my great grandmother at the time she was
alive, and my brother and I are both lefties, but you know, they
had the same thing in Italy. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
(32:06):
Yeah, And this lady slapped my hand and started praying for me.
I was like, mom, what just happened?
I was so angry. I was like, Mom, she goes, it's
the hand of the devil. And I was like, what?
What is this Sicily? Right.
So again, leading me back to my point because I was just like,
when I heard that in the restaurant, I was like, all
right. Because I heard stories of like
(32:28):
how my nonna wasn't allowed to use his left hand and he was a
lefty as well but he was forced to be a righty.
And ironically enough my parentsare both righties and my brother
and I are both lefties and they do say the most creative people
in the world are lefties. Are you a lefty or a righty?
I'm a righty. I know, yeah, I know.
(32:48):
I appreciate, I appreciate teaming up for a compliment, but
I'm not. But it's alright.
We can team each other for compliments here because we are
fans of the exact same teams. So obviously your fandom of
Palermo is cuz through dad cuz dad as you mentioned.
Jersey's pink. That's my favorite color.
Right, done. Kid and my dad was like oh we're
(33:10):
going to Arthur Ave. get you a jersey I'm like OK and then he's
like we're gonna get Palermo Jersey's a Palermo back I had a
Palermo pink backpack for like most of elementary school
Palermo used to be in Syria he used.
To be in Champions League too. And we're going to get back
there. And when we get back there, I
want to host like Palermo, watchparties and like be like a Super
(33:33):
Rosa Nera Tifosa. Like we got to have like Palermo
party. Yes, I'm.
I'm down for it. I'll make Shinchana whatever you
want. We'll just have like everyone
and their mother and their grandmother watching the game
together. Barbara Mondial, Citipane
collaboration I'm I'm thinking aRosa Nero Panettone on the
(33:53):
horizon. Do you?
Well, let's. I mean, we've done.
Have you seen the city of Pantone?
We've done. No, I have not seen the city of
Pantone. You're not going to call her
your official bacon. What the fuck is wrong with you
waiting? For the call, you know how to
get in contact with me, but no, we did a we sent our friends at
(34:15):
CBS Panettone with a few different teams on it.
We had UVA Intel, Milan and Napoli and they talked about it.
But we also for the holidays, wedo provide your put your logo if
you call us in advance and you want there is an additional
(34:37):
charge, but we can put your logo, your team's logo on a
panettone. And we also do that for Easter
eggs because it's kind of fun. I love that.
Oh, that is OK, all right. Donut Easter egg.
Did you see that? It was like the biggest Easter
egg we've ever done. And we put Matadona's face on it
and it was like very cool. We've done also other cool
(34:59):
Easter eggs, but that was like abig culture one.
Uzuman, who's the guy with the glasses?
Aussie man, Aussie man. We did a few eggs with him with
his like glasses for everything.That was cool.
They also. I mean, they better, they better
sell and I'm sure they taste just as good as they look.
So, but we talked about Milan, we talked about Palermo, but
(35:22):
what about Milan? So how did you become a fan of
Milan? Kind of embarrassing.
I dated a Milan Tifoso, but I dolike the colors.
So embarrassing. You have a good chasing guys,
It's fun. No, I definitely don't have a
good tasting guys. Yeah, you're right.
Because like, they're all fucking idiots.
Because how are you like not married at this point?
No, I don't mean it like that. I don't mean it like that, that,
(35:42):
that that came out completely fucking wrong.
But like what I'm saying is, is,is that if the if every
gentleman that was listening from the past is smart enough,
they they let a good one go. That's what I'm, that's what I'm
getting at. That was a fucking terrible way
to kind of that come out. Holy shit, the other the the the
(36:05):
staff of the bakery is ready to murder me.
I didn't. Yes, I did not mean for that to
come out to sound like my your grandmother.
It's OK. I it's it's fine.
I don't have the best track record with me, I'm not gonna
lie. But you learn from your
mistakes. Yeah, that's that's where I'm at
right now. But I will never forget going to
(36:27):
my first ever game in San Cedo and it was in January 2021 and I
was like, you know, I I like, I don't dislike that, whatever.
But I love Ibra. Like he's such a good player.
He's so cool. He's like amazing.
And so he just seems like a goodperson.
(36:49):
And it was the first game that he played back.
It was Milan playing Roma. I was there with a mask.
I was with a friend who was super like obsessed with being
like cautious about COVID. I mean, listen, I was cautious
about COVID, but I was wearing like I think 2 masks on.
Like I was like suffocating by the end of this, but we were
(37:10):
wearing jackets or whatever. The whole stadium was like 50%
fill. We actually also left before the
end of the game so we didn't have to be like surrounded by so
many people. We were hand sanitizing for two
minutes, whatever. But the game was sick.
Milan won and just like even though that the the stadium was
only filled to 50%, the energy in that stadium was so cool.
(37:33):
Like it was insane. Then I went another time to
Suncito. I went to the Derby where Milan
lost getting the tickets. We literally were in Milan just
so to go to the game. We had a friend who works for a
friend Francesca who works for, he works at a hotel and he
actually checked to make sure that the tickets we got were
(37:53):
real. We booked our Airbnb like
basically at the minute we landed in Milan, in Milano, we
like because it was also last minute.
We were flying standby. We went to the game, Milan lost.
It was kind of sad. I think were we at the same
game? Was this the game we're into?
Wins the Scudet though in April of no it.
(38:14):
Was the the game before they? Lost.
Oh right, because we didn't win at Derby last year, right?
Of course, Sal. That's right.
I'm still trying to recover frommy massive fumble earlier that
I've completely forgotten every fucking bit of history about the
team that I watched for the last30 years.
He started this and I was like, I'm nervous.
I'm not going to be able to catch like keep up with this.
Yeah, well, yeah. And then this, then, then me
(38:36):
inserting my own foot in my mouth.
I'm never going to live it down.It's fine.
You can poison my food now. It's quite all right.
So but but that so seeing that atmosphere though from 50% to
100%, then did you finally feel like, OK, now I got the real
thing? This is incredible.
The real team thing in the firsttime and the second time and
(39:00):
even like walking like their their version of a tailgate with
like some Chad, the pepperoncini, like everything
like in the street, like you feel like he's like a feast.
Like like like we had the feast on the block here in July every
year and the smell of just walking there like brought me
back to Brooklyn and it was justso funny to me.
It was like every year. I just grew up going to the the
(39:23):
Our Lady of Martin Carmel feast that they do and it's usually
like the second week of July. I remember going with my non.
I remember going with my dad. Now I go with my friends and I
drag anyone who's never been in my friend group, I drag them to
the feast with me and I'm like, look at this so fun walking
there. The first time I was on succeed,
I was like, Oh my God, this is like when I go to the feast in,
(39:43):
in the in Brooklyn or whatever, right, like right down the
bakery from the bakery and my friend who I was with, who was
like, but we're in Italy. Like I was like, but obviously
was inspired by something for sure.
No, I, I I felt the exact same way when I went because I was
just like, wait, I've seen this before.
I felt so familiar. Yeah.
(40:05):
I love soccer. I love college show.
I'm not a great soccer player, but I did try playing it for
many, many years of my life. I've played varsity soccer well.
That's, that's, that's not nothing to, you know, push.
And I was self-proclaimed self-proclaimed MVP of the year
every year on the varsity team because I brought the energy
(40:27):
into the team. If Coach Meningo hears this, I
miss you. That I love this.
I love this so much. There.
I feel like there were there were topics I want to talk
about, but I'm just like we you've covered so much and I
just want people to understand one thing because I feel like
(40:47):
you're the only other person that I can have on here that
would be able to properly explain this.
The city of Palermo because I love it so much, but I also hate
it equally because it reminds meof Mumbai with just the insane
traffic, the congestion, the people, the food, the history.
No, I haven't. So wait, so if you tell me that
(41:08):
Palermo is a con version of Naples, then I'm Oh my God so.
So you, you see people and I love Naples like I love Palermo,
I love Naples. I think I, I mean, I love all of
Italy. All of Italy is beautiful.
There's so many different pockets.
That's just amazing. I think Palermo's just enough
chaotic. I don't.
I think it's man. I mean, we're from New York.
(41:29):
You don't think that driving around?
Like you see, here's the thing, Like everything there for me is
a suggestion. So for instance, when you see
like a speed limit, No, no one'sbothering with that.
You oh, you got the tram that like people are literally
driving on the tracks behind thetram so they can beat the
traffic parking on sidewalks. Like I'm from New York, you're
from New York. I'm thinking I've seen
everything. But then I go there and I'm
(41:50):
like, no, I haven't seen. Nothing but I I do think in
Naples it's on server is like I was eating diet.
Is mental to me like I can just.Seeing this let me paint you a
picture. I'm sitting at a restaurant
eating an amazing pizza fit Tamamami.
I'm so good. And as we were there, we first
of all we see these kids on their Vespas going the wrong
way, the police basically being like you're going the wrong way
(42:12):
and like they go away. Then 5 seconds later we see a
family, the big father in the front.
This little kid in between is like also on a Vespa.
This mother in the back of the Vespa holding a baby that must
have been like a newborn. No one wearing a helmet.
I was like this is crazy. Or seeing these little kids
(42:34):
carrying, you know, on their Vespas, their Moto Dino with
like 3 or 4 pizza box. Oh yeah, yeah.
No time and no nothing like it'scrazy this.
In America, we used to have likethe Ringling Brothers Circus
where they would do all those things, but that's like, but
that's like, damn, that's all. Now, time for a coffee break.
(42:57):
Sort of. A Mundial is sponsored by Mod
Cup Coffee in Jersey City, but you can get it anywhere in the
world from modcup.com. Mod Cup drink modern coffee.
Use code MUNDIAL for 10% off your first order.
Darling, this has been the best.I got 3 questions for you and
(43:17):
then we'll wrap it up. Questions I ask everybody.
If you could pick the team, if you could bring back a retired
player to your club, alive or dead, a former player for either
Milan or Palermo, who would it be and why?
Well. Can he?
Can he have never played for either of the teams?
Yeah, fuck it, why not? Well, I'll, I'll use the
national team, right? Yeah, OK.
(43:38):
Great. We'll go for the national team.
Fine. So I, I, I did briefly mention
this before, my favorite player of all time and the reason why I
tried to be a goalie when I was in fifth grade, 6th grade.
Bufon Gigi is like my first, my first ever crush.
He's just, he's amazing. Like he's just a legend.
(44:00):
Like I mean literally a legend. Like he's so cool.
He's just like demeanor and everything.
He's very handsome, but he's also so talented.
Like, I don't know, he's like inhis 40s now and I'm sure he
would still be an amazing goaliehe played for.
I mean, we might have won some sort of what worked up.
(44:23):
I mean, I know he's part of the coaching staff, but it would it
would be really cool to see him play.
If you could, if any of your clubs could sign an active
player today that isn't on any of the teams, who would it be
and why? Let me think about it one
second. Is Luca Tony still playing
anywhere? He retired.
(44:46):
Yeah. Ibra.
He also retired. I'd bring Ibra.
My answer is I'll bring Ibra back.
Or Maradona. Or a spirit.
Of Maradona. We're going to bring the spirit
of Maradona back. I like this because usually I I
I preface this question where wehave an infinite supply of cash
and like, if you have enough money, you could get a time
machine for sure. Right.
Like so And fine. Yeah.
(45:07):
And Fina Mende. What has been your favorite
moment as a fan of this game? So my answer would be, I'll
never forget 2006, being in Italy when Italy won the World
Cup. And you're watching it with my
mom's best friend who recently passed away.
But this was one of my she. I mean, I love doing everything
(45:27):
at this. It's all right.
She, I lived an amazing life, but she taught me how to make
gnocchi. Like there were so many memories
that I had at that house, at herolive trees, her fresh olive
oil, whatever. But I remember beings like this
close to the TV. Italy wins the World Cup.
I'm on the top of someone's vest.
I'm not No, I was on the top of someone's red Fiat, like Fiat
(45:49):
Chi cuisiento, but like one of the old ones.
I was like literally the little kid just like peeking at my head
with the flag, just going around.
And we went to the closest Piazza.
We partied and but I was like, Imean, I must have been 10.
I don't know how 2029 now, I don't know how old I was, but
you do the math. Let me know in the comments.
(46:10):
It's not how old I was when Italy won the World Cup, but I
still remember that like the coolest moment ever.
I love it, Elena. Thank you so much.
Ladies and gentlemen, go on GoldBelly right now.
Order yourself some set the party treats.
And if you're in New York, stop by the bakery, stop by the
restaurant and just come say hello.
Come hang, we can have an espresso.
(46:31):
Tell me you heard the podcast. Yeah, tell her, tell her you
heard the podcast, that if we decide to get this and if
Palermo gets back to city, expect some parts, expect some
party. It's fucking good.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at Kerva Mundial pod.
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What is that noise? It's my sack of nuts.
Sorry, you're what? My sack of macadamia nuts I
bought with me as a healthy snack.
Where do you get macadamia nuts from?
Aren't they expensive and hard to come by?
They come from one of my favorite places in the world,
South Africa, and they are sold through House of Macadamia.
That's incredible, but you go through all of that for nuts.
(00:23):
These are not just any nut. House of Macadamia offers a
variety of flavors including chocolate, coconut, and even a
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Wow, what did you say the name of that company was again?
House of Macadamia and best of all, Curva Mundial listeners can
(00:47):
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Yep, it's that easy. Also I didn't mention but Kurva
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(01:52):
Sounds like a one-of-a-kind snack and a one-of-a-kind deal
to me. Welcome to Kurva Mundial.
Ciao. This is the season 12 premiere
of Cover Mondial and we're coming to you from one of the
sweetest spots in New York City.I'm your host, Sal Bono.
My next guest is the viral sensation as well as one of the
(02:13):
greatest bakers in this city, ifnot all of America, maybe the
world. She's the multi talented
entrepreneur and pastry chef of set the Pani Bakery in Brooklyn,
NY. It's actually where we're
recording this episode, so, you know, you hear some bells going
on and the people coming in. We're actually live in a bakery.
So this is a first. This is a first for all of us.
So please welcome on the show ACMilan and Palermo Supporter.
(02:36):
No, it's not me, ladies and gentlemen, but it's Belena.
Set the pani Ciao Belena. Ciao Vanessa, how are you guys?
See, it's, it's already starting.
Thank you so much for having us in your incredible office here,
which is this amazing bakery right here on Lorimer St. in
Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Ish Williamsburg that makes some of
(02:57):
the best treats on the humankind.
Your parents are also restaurateurs owning the Sette
Pani, the Italian restaurant in Harlem, and you've got the
bakery here. So what prompted you to bake
instead of going to the cooking route?
So I basically, I always say this, I feel like I grew up in
the bakery. It was always kind of like my
(03:18):
playground. You know, people come, go to the
park after school. I got to hang out of the bakery
and if they needed help, I was always an extra pair of hands.
But I also have a very big sweettooth.
My favorite thing ever, our cannoli our in canola or plural
cannolis. And I remember very clearly as a
(03:38):
little kid, my grandmother and my nun that would work behind
the counter. And I would say none that can I
have another canola And she'd say, no, but you can make them.
So I'd say, OK, can I take the orders that have to do cannolis?
And one no one was looking. I I mean, I must have been in
middle school or elementary school old enough to be a wise
guy. But what I would do is I would,
you know, make one for the order, eat one, make one for the
(03:59):
order, put one in my mouth. So by the end of it, I made
double the amount of cannoli that needs to be made.
But I was very happy. As someone that grew up in his
father's pizzeria, I know this. Oh, I know this very well, very
well. It's also incredible that like,
and I like to think it's the Sicilian genes that were not
(04:20):
like morbidly obese because it'slike not saying like we probably
don't have cholesterol issues. I know I did, but you caught my
attention with the ultra decadent Nutella panettone and
Oh my goodness, my wife got me one for Valentine's Day.
I must have gained about like 30kilos.
All worth it. All worth it.
(04:41):
But it was an what is an incredible way.
Oh I'm sorry, what is incredibleis that anyone can actually get
this panettone. So First off, let's plug for the
non Italian audience what Panetone actually is, how they
can get it in America and yeah, just to plug the gold Belly
account here. And now you can also get it in
Canada. But panettone is an Italian,
(05:02):
traditionally an Italian holidaybread. 20 years ago, my family
started making it all year round, which is like blasphemy
in Italy. And I actually got a lot of hate
when I started making different flavors.
You know, we every month we had come up with a different flavor.
So the Nutella is so popular that we now keep it all year
long. We have viral sensation
(05:24):
panettone, like our rainbow cookie panettone, which I'll
never forget. The minute we posted it, I had a
hater. Hey, you think you're Italian?
I'm like, listen, I am Italian. I speak the language fluently.
Papi Italiano. Sun Italiano, but I also grew up
in New York, you know, New York City, where we have so many
different cultures like we we came up with the rainbow cookie
(05:47):
panettone and yes, that's an Italian American cookie.
But if you know the history of the cookie, it was invented by
Italian immigrants who came hereand they just missed home.
It's the flag represents Italy and it's made with almond paste,
which is something that is very Italian and used often in
cookies in Italy. Then we did a, you know, for
(06:08):
Thanksgiving we do a pumpkin pecan punnett on it.
For the month of January, we do a pistachio punnett on it.
For Mother's Day, we do a Peach punnett on it.
Like we change it up and we liketo have a lot of fun with it,
but it's all based on tradition.So we obviously know how to make
the traditional way. And then we just enhance it
every month and we change it up to keep everyone on their toes.
(06:31):
I love it. It also kind of reminds me of
what Dominic Genzel was doing with the cronut, or still is
doing with the cronut. But so good, So good.
But that's such a compliment. Oh my goodness.
I mean. You're.
Welcome SO. Honored actually.
So there was like when when, when the city was empty during
lockdown, like we would drive inand that was the only place that
was open. So like Soho was empty.
(06:51):
I'd get in no line. And we're just.
And like that place was like my saving grace every Sunday for
like 2 years just going in thereand just like, OK, a little
sense of normalcy. When I finally got to meet the
man, I thanked him and broke down crying.
But it's like I love what he does because he takes
traditional French things. What you're similar to what
you're doing here to taking the tradition, using it as an
(07:13):
inspiration and a platform, but also more than anything,
recreating it and reconfiguring it.
And I think that's the thing that traditionalists get annoyed
with. Like, look, pizza here is
different a lot. The pizza in Italy, it's
different. But listen, my father came to
America from Italy. Like, my dad is a true
traditionalist. Like I almost gave him a heart
(07:35):
attack when I started pumping Nutella into our nachola.
And he was like, what are you doing?
You're gonna like, we woke up early to make this.
Why are you killing it? I was like, Dad, this is what's
gonna make it so delicious. He's like, it's already
delicious as it is. Like you don't need to change it
or we made once we did M&M Panetta on it, my dad was about
(07:56):
to throw me into the oven. Like I, I swear to God, I could
see his steam coming out of his ears and he was like, why did
you just do that? You just ruined the mix.
I said, no, we're changing it up.
We're doing a we'll try it out if it doesn't.
And it's not like I ruined the whole mix.
I I took a little part out and Isaid, you know, if it goes well,
then we make it for the next batch and we test it and it was
so good. We did a chocolate fudge M&M pan
(08:17):
iton it and it was incredible. Oh my goodness, maybe we should
bring it back. I, I look, I'm not going to
object. My stomach's not going to
object. So you let me know if you need a
taste tester, I'll be here. The, the interesting thing too
is that, you know, when it comesto food, people get so Vaclamp,
(08:37):
if you will buy it, right? But like the Italian food here,
like we're in a block where likethere's number of Italian
restaurants, number Italian delis, but none of them are like
anything that you can get back in the peninsula.
So like, people have a weird acceptance with that, but the
second you try and do something new, it's like people.
(08:58):
Who really appreciate it becauseat the end of the day, like we
are in New York, I'm not in Italy trying to sell my
panettone or trying to sell my cookies or my croissants or
whatever. We make different pastries as
well. We make different things.
We don't just make panettone andI think it's important to you
have something that will make mycustomers excited because at the
end of the day, they're, they'remy community.
(09:19):
So I want them to be happy. And of course, like I, I'm proud
of my Italian heritage. I'm, I'm so proud to be Italian,
but I also am proud that I am a bit creative.
So, you know, and there's sometimes like we make
something, it's not great. And I'm like, OK, we'll, we'll
try again. I mean, we made a fig in
chocolate panettone, which was so, so, so good.
(09:39):
And I mean, last year we, we also always do a summer
panettone a few was it last yearor the year before?
But I got a message from a reporter in Rome who said,
Blaine, I want you to see this bakery in Rome is doing a Esteva
panettone, a summer panettone. But I've been following you for
a while. You've been doing this way
before. They these masters in Italy have
(09:59):
been doing it, which to me, that's such an honor.
I'm not going to steal anyone's Thunder.
But I mean, that's so cool. Like I'm, I'm so honored.
And when people notice that, like, it makes me feel really
proud. You should like, you should be
proud because it's that you're reinventing the wheel into some
degree. It's something as simple as like
making a rainbow cookie panettone that might actually
(10:21):
get someone that's never tried ponatone to go and be like, you
know what, I'm going to eat thisnow because I like it.
It's it's incredible and it all tastes wonderful.
So as I nosh right now on this foyatella and I promise you it's
it's it's phenomenal bakery. It's phenomenal.
What do you think? How's this foyatella?
(10:41):
I mean, you know, it's basicallygone.
I, I'm, I'm going to probably eat some more and take some
more, but you know what's incredible too?
And again, a testament to your hard work, your labor of love,
and more importantly, your talent is, is that you're the
official Baker for city eye herein North America.
(11:04):
If I'm the official. Baker That would be really cool,
I said. Yeah, if you want an official
Baker, I am here waiting for a phone call.
You know where to reach me. City outlook I look I do do do
something right for a change andgive her the official title and
just you know call me and bring me to events they'll ask but but
(11:26):
we're we're going to go with today.
You're the official Baker because no one else is baking
cookies for them and whatever. But any time a player from Italy
comes or a club comes to the States, they're eating your
treats from Del Piero, the Buffon, the Killini.
So how did you link up with the league and what was that
experience like? So I think that might be a
little bit of an exaggeration. I haven't made so many treats
(11:49):
and stuff for Buffon, but but that would be really cool.
I have made been at events wherethey've been served.
OK, so this is this is my thank you for the clarification now.
OK. Cool.
I mean I will never forget beinga little kid and watching Italy
win the World Cup. And I looked at the camera and I
looked at the TVI said mom. But with I want to be a goalie
(12:11):
now I'm in love. And Bufon was my first crush
like as I can remember, like my first crush.
So if he ever wants me to make him a gig, I am more than happy
to make him a. Gig Gigi.
Come on, Joan, don't pass the cherry.
You come Want the Brock about yours?
It's so funny, but but you got but so you get to go to these
(12:32):
events. You you made the cupcakes.
You alright, but but you did geta chance to meet him though,
didn't you? I.
Did I was invited to a NAF eventand I, I really wanted to, I was
like, I'm not going to be at an event by myself and not meet the
players. And it was crowded.
Like it was a very crowded event.
Obviously it's the absolutely are in New York, everyone and
(12:53):
they're like my whole everyone Iknew from the neighborhood was
there. I was walking around and I was
like, oh, hey, oh, hey, oh, I got pizza at your shop this
morning. Like, hey, guys, what's going
on? Hey, where's your dad?
I'm like, I can only come by myself.
So anyway, so I get there and I'm trying to get to the front
to the podium. It was it was jam packed.
It was such, it's a beautiful event.
(13:13):
But then I said, you know, if it's sham packed and the those
players are behind the stage, there has to be a way that they
got there. Let me figure this out.
So I went in the hallway when I saw the chef of the event who
had the, you know, the logo of Yatsuri.
And I looked at him. I was by myself.
So that's probably how this happened.
(13:35):
But I looked at him and I said, Santi, where are the players?
Are they in in the kitchen? Like how, Like, how do I, how do
I get to them? I said, I just really want a
selfie with Buffon. And he goes, well, they're right
there. So I went into the kitchen and
I, you know, hung out until theywere starting to leave and they
were going to the elevator and Istopped Buffon.
(13:57):
And then I got a selfie. I stopped Donna Roma.
And I was like, Oh my God, I can't believe you left Milan.
He was, he was the nicest out ofall of them.
I saw. Who else?
Killini. I saw Fabio Canovato.
I mean such a beautiful looking person.
(14:18):
I mean, yeah, look between like you can't miss Killini because
of the nose, you can't miss Canovato because of the aura,
you can't miss Donoroma because of the height, and then like.
It's the nicest. And then I saw Misa, she signed
my jerseys. I had my jersey from the jersey
I wore when Italy won the World Cup, World Cup.
Then also before all of this, I was in the hallway and I saw
(14:40):
Zanyolo. And I used to date a guy that
looked so much like Zanyolo. I mean, everyone thought that.
And so I at the time, I was dating this guy and my
background was obviously a picture of us.
And I stopped Zanyolo. I was like, Oh my gosh, I have
to stop you. But I I'm dating a guy who looks
a lot like young people sometimes.
Stop him and think it's him, youknow?
(15:02):
And he was like, oh, let me see a picture of him.
And I showed him on my background and he goes, oh, say
bellissima like like, oh, you got he he's you're beautiful.
But Sophie like I'm like, well, people say he looks like you
just say you look good. I was like, whatever, but it's
kind of funny. But he and then we chatted for
like a few minutes and then I was like, OK, then someone
(15:24):
called him that he had to go to something or whatever.
But we did chat in the hallway for a few minutes.
It was kind of cool. This, this is great.
So now you know, what do you think?
Like their reception of America was because for especially for
like a lot of the younger players, Italy hasn't played
here in like 20 some odd years. When they came in March of 2024,
(15:46):
I mean, sold out Red Bull Arena for the, the, the poor
Ecuadorians that were there was just like it was like a 5%
contingent and then 95% US. And it was just like, so like,
I'm wondering, I'm curious like,yeah, like what do you think?
Like that reception was like seeing, especially at the NYEF
event. Sure.
They were so excited. I mean, Can you imagine being in
(16:07):
a room full of people who are like your biggest fan?
Like there? I think there's a statistic that
there's more Italians unless so like outside of Italy than they
are within Italy. So I'm sure they were just like
amped up and excited. And also like Italian Americans,
we are full of energy, like we are proud to be Italian.
And you could feel that in the room.
Like the minute they sang the Italian I used, I went to La
(16:29):
Squad Italia, which is an Italian school here in New York
City. And I know the Italian anthem
because I went to the Italian school, right?
So I know the whole I could sing.
I wish this is what you see likethat in a moment right there is
where I wish I'm like, why am I not doing a video podcast?
Because your hand gestures and the gesticulations and all of it
(16:51):
is the. Cool thing about this was
everyone in the room was singingman but even you 100% did not
know the words. They were just like excited to
be there like the room. I'm not going to say it felt
like San pseudo because that might be a little bit of an
exaggeration, but the energy wasthere.
Like I'm sure that the players were just excited and honored
(17:12):
and definitely overwhelmed. I'm sure they were also
exhausted because they were going through one meet and greet
to another to this. And then also they're in New
York City. It's we're the best city in the
world. Like I'm sure they wanted to go
see, you know, Times Square and do all this and go around Soho.
So I'm sure they were overwhelmed and excited.
There was just like all the emotions going on, you know?
(17:32):
Yeah, absolutely. It's again, like I love all of
this because the energy that youput into telling these stories
and to your baking is also it's it's totally genetic thing
because meeting your parents, they the passion that they have
for just about everything, but also their food.
(17:54):
And you all have cooked for all these huge names, everyone from
Dapper Dan to Trevor Noah to Pamela Anderson to Sal Bono from
Cover Mundial. Only here.
Bill Clinton. Holy shit, only the big names.
I'm in a fucking sentence with all them.
Celebrated one of his birthday parties at my family's
restaurant. And, you know, his office used
to be in Harlem, so we did a lotof cooking for him.
(18:16):
But, you know, Bill Clinton, I have had some Billy like,
elaborative conversations with Bill Clinton.
I was a kid because he was one of our customers.
And I didn't, you know, as a kid, I didn't realize that he
was, you know, our old president.
So I, I was just and I there wasone time I couldn't attend an
event. I said he was, he had his annual
Christmas party and whatever. And I, I didn't make it, but I
(18:37):
went to something else. And at this event he goes, your
mother told me that you weren't at our Christmas party because
you were in a gingerbread makingcompetition.
I was in 4th grade. And I said, yeah.
And he said, so did you win? And I said, yes, but how did you
know this? How did you like for me, like
(18:59):
like my own mother, probably, I mean, my mom would remember, but
like, I don't think my brother would remember that I was in a
gingerbread comedy like just to but it was really cool.
You know, our customers, we growwith our customers.
We do so much with our customers.
I spend more time at the bakery or at the restaurant than I do
at home all the time. So often times like our
customers who come in every single day, I see them more than
(19:19):
I see my friends. And so we really, it's important
to have a community. And my parents are so, so I
mean, the proof is in the pudding.
Like my parents, my dad started doing this and he moved to
America in 1973. He bought his first bakery in
the Village in 82 when he was a student at NYU, He opened up a
bakery with his parents. The whole family was involved.
(19:41):
And then they outgrew that space, about this space 10 years
later. In the meantime, they opened up
a restaurant. Like we're very passionate about
all of it. And it's also getting people
together. And I always say this like,
that's something genetically in me, possibly from my Italian
heritage and definitely from my Ethiopian side, is food brings
(20:03):
everyone together. And we are so lucky that we do
that. Like, imagine going to a
birthday party and there's no cake.
Is that even a birthday party? No.
It's like, I've been to weddingswhere there's no cake and I
thought, like, people were goingto riot, like, you know?
To weddings with that cake that I'm like how could they do like
I one day when I get married I want like 7 wedding gigs.
Also, like one day when you get married, hit Dominique Ansel.
(20:26):
I know I mentioned you earlier, but like I feel like the finest
Baker only deserves like the finest Baker.
So like that's just but you know, for for you, though, what
again, like all these huge namesand all these accolades are
incredible. But what I love about the set,
the panda story, which also translates the seven breads,
which you're food is in your name.
Food is literally in your name. So for you, the thing that I
(20:52):
love the most for your entire family, not only you all
beautiful people inside and out,is is that you also give back to
your community in so many big ways.
So mind you, I've seen a look into your schedule.
OK, it's absurd. There's no way anyone human
being can keep that schedule andyet you do it.
And we're here and we're talkingabout it, but also like you find
(21:16):
time to also give back. So no one listening to this has
any fucking excuse to not be able to do anything, including
myself, including the host here.But what is it?
Why is it so important to give back to that Harlem community
that has given so much to you? It's.
Not just our Harlem community, it's any community that we're a
part of. And that's so important.
(21:36):
You know, we are in, we have, we're able to keep our lights on
and have a business and be around for so many years and
generations because of the community that surrounds us.
And you're only as strong as theweakest person in your
community, right? So we want to help and build our
community for each other, right.So like back in the day when my
parents opened up in Harlem, they opened in 1999 or I think
(22:01):
our doors open in 2000. We had no neighbors, but we had
Native and Sylvia's like my mom,right?
Yeah, My parents were like The Pioneers of Harlem hospitality
as we know it right now. And that is so important.
I mean, I remember my mom in an interview saying that Sylvia
(22:23):
from Sylvias, she said to Leia, you know, she said my mom dealt
with a lot of issues in Harlem. You know, like, it wasn't the
Harlem that we know now. I mean, back in the day, real
estate agents used to come and try to describe what the house
could look like at Sete Pani. And every ad for a building,
every ad for anything for sale was like in relation to how far
(22:45):
it was from Sete Pani or the subway, how quick it can get
you. Downtown Harlem is such a
beautiful neighbor and I grew upmost of my life in Harlem.
We when I was first born, we lived in Williamsburg and then
we lived in Harlem. We lived in Westchester for a
little bit, but where I spent most of my actual years of my
life growing was in Harlem. And I've seen the neighborhood
(23:06):
change so, so, so much. I mean, it's so nice that we
have neighbors. People are always like, oh, how
do you feel that there's a, a new restaurant that open up?
Like competition is good, but it's not competition.
It's literally building a community.
It's helping each other. And so when we, we've been
working with so many different organizations in both, in all
locations. I mean, we have a location in
(23:26):
Dumbo. We have been here in
Williamsburg for a while. We work not only with, you know,
soup kitchens, churches. We'd work a lot with churches
because we're also Catholic. And my dad's very, very, very
religious. I mean, I'm also pretty
religious, but no one can compare to my dad.
I mean, look at our, but you know, you always want to help.
(23:48):
Who needs to be helped? I think that is the backbone of
everything. And also not just in, you know,
providing a meal or this and theother, but like if you see
someone who might need a second chance in a job or, you know, a
student, and we work with a highschool who a lot of times these
students have, no, they don't think they're going to go to
(24:11):
college. They don't know what they want
to do. And what we'll do is we'll work
with high school to get them like credit and they'll come
once a week and have hands on experience.
And it's kind of like a taste ofthe real world.
Like they have to be in uniform,they have to be on time, they
have to get tasks done. And they're only here for a few
hours of the day. They're not doing a full work
(24:32):
day like any of our bakers or anyone in the store or our
office manager or whatever. But they are getting a taste of
reality because they might not be planning to go to college or
maybe this is their way to be like, OK, I don't want to cut
cookies all day long. I don't want to mix dough.
Maybe I should go work, go to college and get an education and
work in finance or work in law or whatever.
(24:54):
But I, I mean, I wish I had thatopportunity when I was a kid,
but that it's, you know, I don'tknow.
Yeah, I see. Yeah, it's, it's incredible that
you all are doing that because Ialso know how hectic the
restaurant world can be. So to allow like some novices to
come in who some might care and some high school kids, I'm not
(25:14):
esparaging anybody. They don't give a shit.
So it just like it, it's that like the patients there, I mean
your family are just a bunch of Saints to begin with just for
the patients alone like. One of my favorite, one of my
customers came in who's probablyone of our youngest customer.
And that's not true. She's not one of our most young,
youngest customers. However, there are a bunch of
(25:34):
schools in the neighborhood. Yeah.
So we do work closely with the schools in the neighborhood.
You know, they are teaching an Italian class and they want to
come in and ask us questions in Italian for Italian hair.
Just one. Like we love to do that.
Like we love to be, we love being a part of our communities
because that's really what makes, I mean, our job is
hectic, but at the end of the day, we're making cookies.
We're not over here. We're making cookies.
(25:54):
We're making cakes. We're making things that make
the event that you're attending sweet.
We're making it a little bit sweeter even Sometimes you're in
a conference, right? You get cookies.
Sometimes they're from us. You're starting your day with a
croissant, fresh, flaky, buttery, delicious croissant
that came out of the oven a few minutes ago.
There's we are giving you that 2-3 minutes of joy in your day
(26:16):
when you might be on your way to, I don't know, open heart
surgery or whatever. What like our job at the end of
the day is not so serious, but we are at the end.
We're all a community. We all have to work together and
that's kind of our that was how I was raised with my parents.
Like they just like just be niceto your neighbor.
You're a stranger because that'smaybe tomorrow's never promised.
(26:39):
Right not to be so. Mormon.
But it's but it's a fact. And it's like, I think like as
I've gotten older, I keep thinking that a lot.
And also what all this sounds like is that traditional pasta
cheria in the baisa where like, everyone's at a meeting point
hanging out in the Piazza. Yeah.
(26:59):
I'm down from them Cafe. And it's just like it's bringing
that like old world idea, which is very simple and beautiful to
a giant city like New York and making it work.
But you also have the best of both worlds when it comes to
food because your family is you're biracial, but also you
(27:23):
have such a unique background because your mom is Etrian, born
in Ethiopia, dad is Italian. It's such an amazing makeup, but
also very different cultures. But how similar are they?
The family is the root of right.Everything they are, the
cultures are a little different,but I honestly don't think
they're that different, right? For both my Italian side of the
(27:44):
family and my every training typing side of the family.
Our family is like, and what keeps us grounded, It's and I
have family that lives all over the world, all over the world.
But at the end of the day, we'realways family and that's what
keeps us together. And also both families.
Guess what? We are eating lasagna for
(28:06):
Christmas. We are food is so important.
I mean, Ethiopian food is one ofmy favorite things.
Like my grandma makes shuttle which is like this.
It's so you have to come over for dinner.
I would. There is, there is never, never
a chance where I'm going to say no to that, but.
There are some things like to methat I always joke like there's
(28:26):
a dish in in Ethiopian culture in Ethiopian dish called
Dorowet, which means like chicken Stew, I guess.
I was in Tropea this summer in Calabria and I had an anduya
with nut nut Anduya with calabre.
(28:47):
Sorry. I had a anduya and onion spread
on some bread and I bit into it and I looked at my friend.
I was like, doesn't this taste like that's to my grandma makes
they taste so similar, but they're made out of complete
different things. Whatever, but it's so delicious
to me that transferred to me to my grand, my Ethiopian
(29:09):
grandmothers kitchen and I was in Calabria.
And then there's another dish. It's called the Pasa general
visit, which is a Neapolitan dish.
It's made a lot of onions. Again, it's meat ragu with
onions. And the history behind this dish
is the sale. Sailors from Genoa would go to
(29:30):
Napoli and they would want the specific pasta because they had
been living on a boat for God knows how long and they'd get to
land and they would want meat. And the Napolitani would say,
oh, the Genovese, they vote. They want their pasta Genovese,
which is how this pasta dish gottheir thing.
So one of my other favorite dishes in Ethiopia or in
Ethiopian cuisine is electric and it's made.
(29:57):
It's very similarly. And I had my mom's brother
visiting not too long ago, and Itook him to a restaurant that
has. And I said, you have to try
this. What does it remind you of?
And he said the same dish. Then another thing is I'm
Sicilian. Yeah, my dad's.
Only the best. Only the best, sorry, the best
part of Italy. My dad's from Palermo or
(30:18):
Provincio de Palermo, small towncalled Ventimiglia.
But you know, in Palermo we havePanella, which is a chickpea
fritter. So good.
When you come over, I will make you Panadol.
OK. All right.
You have to. We have to get this in the
county. Yeah.
Ask your wife when you guys havea night free.
We're having dinner at my place.Sounds good.
(30:39):
And panadol is made out of chickpea.
There's another dish that my grandmother makes called chudo,
which my mom's grandmother used to make for my mom or whatever.
It's one. It's one of the most comforting
dishes. It's also made with chickpeas.
So there's so many and it's, it's very different cuz it's not
fried or whatever, but they kindof remind me of each other in a
(31:01):
weird way. But I mean, the food does not,
the food is not inspired by the other.
It has nothing to do with that, which is important to know, but
food is also, it's very important to every culture of
that I'm a part of, right? Cuz also the other thing too is,
is that having done like food tours in South Africa, where
(31:24):
like I've done like, and oh, getto that later, that'll be,
that'll be a topic for later. But where like I've done like
food tours where they have takenus to different cultures that
are in Cape Town. Ethiopian culture was like by
far and large, like my wife and I came back.
Oh my God, this is incredible. But like, is it true that it's
almost like a sin, if you will, to eat with your left hand?
(31:46):
Is that that's what that is a thing?
It's supposed to be, Yeah. I've, I'll never forget the
first time I went to Ethiopia was when my grandfather passed
away. I was like 8 or 9 years old, and
I was eating with my left hand. And this old lady, I was eating
in a room with my great grandmother at the time she was
alive, and my brother and I are both lefties, but you know, they
had the same thing in Italy. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
(32:06):
Yeah, And this lady slapped my hand and started praying for me.
I was like, mom, what just happened?
I was so angry. I was like, Mom, she goes, it's
the hand of the devil. And I was like, what?
What is this Sicily? Right.
So again, leading me back to my point because I was just like,
when I heard that in the restaurant, I was like, all
right. Because I heard stories of like
(32:28):
how my nonna wasn't allowed to use his left hand and he was a
lefty as well but he was forced to be a righty.
And ironically enough my parentsare both righties and my brother
and I are both lefties and they do say the most creative people
in the world are lefties. Are you a lefty or a righty?
I'm a righty. I know, yeah, I know.
(32:48):
I appreciate, I appreciate teaming up for a compliment, but
I'm not. But it's alright.
We can team each other for compliments here because we are
fans of the exact same teams. So obviously your fandom of
Palermo is cuz through dad cuz dad as you mentioned.
Jersey's pink. That's my favorite color.
Right, done. Kid and my dad was like oh we're
(33:10):
going to Arthur Ave. get you a jersey I'm like OK and then he's
like we're gonna get Palermo Jersey's a Palermo back I had a
Palermo pink backpack for like most of elementary school
Palermo used to be in Syria he used.
To be in Champions League too. And we're going to get back
there. And when we get back there, I
want to host like Palermo, watchparties and like be like a Super
(33:33):
Rosa Nera Tifosa. Like we got to have like Palermo
party. Yes, I'm.
I'm down for it. I'll make Shinchana whatever you
want. We'll just have like everyone
and their mother and their grandmother watching the game
together. Barbara Mondial, Citipane
collaboration I'm I'm thinking aRosa Nero Panettone on the
(33:53):
horizon. Do you?
Well, let's. I mean, we've done.
Have you seen the city of Pantone?
We've done. No, I have not seen the city of
Pantone. You're not going to call her
your official bacon. What the fuck is wrong with you
waiting? For the call, you know how to
get in contact with me, but no, we did a we sent our friends at
(34:15):
CBS Panettone with a few different teams on it.
We had UVA Intel, Milan and Napoli and they talked about it.
But we also for the holidays, wedo provide your put your logo if
you call us in advance and you want there is an additional
(34:37):
charge, but we can put your logo, your team's logo on a
panettone. And we also do that for Easter
eggs because it's kind of fun. I love that.
Oh, that is OK, all right. Donut Easter egg.
Did you see that? It was like the biggest Easter
egg we've ever done. And we put Matadona's face on it
and it was like very cool. We've done also other cool
(34:59):
Easter eggs, but that was like abig culture one.
Uzuman, who's the guy with the glasses?
Aussie man, Aussie man. We did a few eggs with him with
his like glasses for everything.That was cool.
They also. I mean, they better, they better
sell and I'm sure they taste just as good as they look.
So, but we talked about Milan, we talked about Palermo, but
(35:22):
what about Milan? So how did you become a fan of
Milan? Kind of embarrassing.
I dated a Milan Tifoso, but I dolike the colors.
So embarrassing. You have a good chasing guys,
It's fun. No, I definitely don't have a
good tasting guys. Yeah, you're right.
Because like, they're all fucking idiots.
Because how are you like not married at this point?
No, I don't mean it like that. I don't mean it like that, that,
(35:42):
that that came out completely fucking wrong.
But like what I'm saying is, is,is that if the if every
gentleman that was listening from the past is smart enough,
they they let a good one go. That's what I'm, that's what I'm
getting at. That was a fucking terrible way
to kind of that come out. Holy shit, the other the the the
(36:05):
staff of the bakery is ready to murder me.
I didn't. Yes, I did not mean for that to
come out to sound like my your grandmother.
It's OK. I it's it's fine.
I don't have the best track record with me, I'm not gonna
lie. But you learn from your
mistakes. Yeah, that's that's where I'm at
right now. But I will never forget going to
(36:27):
my first ever game in San Cedo and it was in January 2021 and I
was like, you know, I I like, I don't dislike that, whatever.
But I love Ibra. Like he's such a good player.
He's so cool. He's like amazing.
And so he just seems like a goodperson.
(36:49):
And it was the first game that he played back.
It was Milan playing Roma. I was there with a mask.
I was with a friend who was super like obsessed with being
like cautious about COVID. I mean, listen, I was cautious
about COVID, but I was wearing like I think 2 masks on.
Like I was like suffocating by the end of this, but we were
(37:10):
wearing jackets or whatever. The whole stadium was like 50%
fill. We actually also left before the
end of the game so we didn't have to be like surrounded by so
many people. We were hand sanitizing for two
minutes, whatever. But the game was sick.
Milan won and just like even though that the the stadium was
only filled to 50%, the energy in that stadium was so cool.
(37:33):
Like it was insane. Then I went another time to
Suncito. I went to the Derby where Milan
lost getting the tickets. We literally were in Milan just
so to go to the game. We had a friend who works for a
friend Francesca who works for, he works at a hotel and he
actually checked to make sure that the tickets we got were
(37:53):
real. We booked our Airbnb like
basically at the minute we landed in Milan, in Milano, we
like because it was also last minute.
We were flying standby. We went to the game, Milan lost.
It was kind of sad. I think were we at the same
game? Was this the game we're into?
Wins the Scudet though in April of no it.
(38:14):
Was the the game before they? Lost.
Oh right, because we didn't win at Derby last year, right?
Of course, Sal. That's right.
I'm still trying to recover frommy massive fumble earlier that
I've completely forgotten every fucking bit of history about the
team that I watched for the last30 years.
He started this and I was like, I'm nervous.
I'm not going to be able to catch like keep up with this.
Yeah, well, yeah. And then this, then, then me
(38:36):
inserting my own foot in my mouth.
I'm never going to live it down.It's fine.
You can poison my food now. It's quite all right.
So but but that so seeing that atmosphere though from 50% to
100%, then did you finally feel like, OK, now I got the real
thing? This is incredible.
The real team thing in the firsttime and the second time and
(39:00):
even like walking like their their version of a tailgate with
like some Chad, the pepperoncini, like everything
like in the street, like you feel like he's like a feast.
Like like like we had the feast on the block here in July every
year and the smell of just walking there like brought me
back to Brooklyn and it was justso funny to me.
It was like every year. I just grew up going to the the
(39:23):
Our Lady of Martin Carmel feast that they do and it's usually
like the second week of July. I remember going with my non.
I remember going with my dad. Now I go with my friends and I
drag anyone who's never been in my friend group, I drag them to
the feast with me and I'm like, look at this so fun walking
there. The first time I was on succeed,
I was like, Oh my God, this is like when I go to the feast in,
(39:43):
in the in Brooklyn or whatever, right, like right down the
bakery from the bakery and my friend who I was with, who was
like, but we're in Italy. Like I was like, but obviously
was inspired by something for sure.
No, I, I I felt the exact same way when I went because I was
just like, wait, I've seen this before.
I felt so familiar. Yeah.
(40:05):
I love soccer. I love college show.
I'm not a great soccer player, but I did try playing it for
many, many years of my life. I've played varsity soccer well.
That's, that's, that's not nothing to, you know, push.
And I was self-proclaimed self-proclaimed MVP of the year
every year on the varsity team because I brought the energy
(40:27):
into the team. If Coach Meningo hears this, I
miss you. That I love this.
I love this so much. There.
I feel like there were there were topics I want to talk
about, but I'm just like we you've covered so much and I
just want people to understand one thing because I feel like
(40:47):
you're the only other person that I can have on here that
would be able to properly explain this.
The city of Palermo because I love it so much, but I also hate
it equally because it reminds meof Mumbai with just the insane
traffic, the congestion, the people, the food, the history.
No, I haven't. So wait, so if you tell me that
(41:08):
Palermo is a con version of Naples, then I'm Oh my God so.
So you, you see people and I love Naples like I love Palermo,
I love Naples. I think I, I mean, I love all of
Italy. All of Italy is beautiful.
There's so many different pockets.
That's just amazing. I think Palermo's just enough
chaotic. I don't.
I think it's man. I mean, we're from New York.
(41:29):
You don't think that driving around?
Like you see, here's the thing, Like everything there for me is
a suggestion. So for instance, when you see
like a speed limit, No, no one'sbothering with that.
You oh, you got the tram that like people are literally
driving on the tracks behind thetram so they can beat the
traffic parking on sidewalks. Like I'm from New York, you're
from New York. I'm thinking I've seen
everything. But then I go there and I'm
(41:50):
like, no, I haven't seen. Nothing but I I do think in
Naples it's on server is like I was eating diet.
Is mental to me like I can just.Seeing this let me paint you a
picture. I'm sitting at a restaurant
eating an amazing pizza fit Tamamami.
I'm so good. And as we were there, we first
of all we see these kids on their Vespas going the wrong
way, the police basically being like you're going the wrong way
(42:12):
and like they go away. Then 5 seconds later we see a
family, the big father in the front.
This little kid in between is like also on a Vespa.
This mother in the back of the Vespa holding a baby that must
have been like a newborn. No one wearing a helmet.
I was like this is crazy. Or seeing these little kids
(42:34):
carrying, you know, on their Vespas, their Moto Dino with
like 3 or 4 pizza box. Oh yeah, yeah.
No time and no nothing like it'scrazy this.
In America, we used to have likethe Ringling Brothers Circus
where they would do all those things, but that's like, but
that's like, damn, that's all. Now, time for a coffee break.
(42:57):
Sort of. A Mundial is sponsored by Mod
Cup Coffee in Jersey City, but you can get it anywhere in the
world from modcup.com. Mod Cup drink modern coffee.
Use code MUNDIAL for 10% off your first order.
Darling, this has been the best.I got 3 questions for you and
(43:17):
then we'll wrap it up. Questions I ask everybody.
If you could pick the team, if you could bring back a retired
player to your club, alive or dead, a former player for either
Milan or Palermo, who would it be and why?
Well. Can he?
Can he have never played for either of the teams?
Yeah, fuck it, why not? Well, I'll, I'll use the
national team, right? Yeah, OK.
(43:38):
Great. We'll go for the national team.
Fine. So I, I, I did briefly mention
this before, my favorite player of all time and the reason why I
tried to be a goalie when I was in fifth grade, 6th grade.
Bufon Gigi is like my first, my first ever crush.
He's just, he's amazing. Like he's just a legend.
(44:00):
Like I mean literally a legend. Like he's so cool.
He's just like demeanor and everything.
He's very handsome, but he's also so talented.
Like, I don't know, he's like inhis 40s now and I'm sure he
would still be an amazing goaliehe played for.
I mean, we might have won some sort of what worked up.
(44:23):
I mean, I know he's part of the coaching staff, but it would it
would be really cool to see him play.
If you could, if any of your clubs could sign an active
player today that isn't on any of the teams, who would it be
and why? Let me think about it one
second. Is Luca Tony still playing
anywhere? He retired.
(44:46):
Yeah. Ibra.
He also retired. I'd bring Ibra.
My answer is I'll bring Ibra back.
Or Maradona. Or a spirit.
Of Maradona. We're going to bring the spirit
of Maradona back. I like this because usually I I
I preface this question where wehave an infinite supply of cash
and like, if you have enough money, you could get a time
machine for sure. Right.
Like so And fine. Yeah.
(45:07):
And Fina Mende. What has been your favorite
moment as a fan of this game? So my answer would be, I'll
never forget 2006, being in Italy when Italy won the World
Cup. And you're watching it with my
mom's best friend who recently passed away.
But this was one of my she. I mean, I love doing everything
(45:27):
at this. It's all right.
She, I lived an amazing life, but she taught me how to make
gnocchi. Like there were so many memories
that I had at that house, at herolive trees, her fresh olive
oil, whatever. But I remember beings like this
close to the TV. Italy wins the World Cup.
I'm on the top of someone's vest.
I'm not No, I was on the top of someone's red Fiat, like Fiat
(45:49):
Chi cuisiento, but like one of the old ones.
I was like literally the little kid just like peeking at my head
with the flag, just going around.
And we went to the closest Piazza.
We partied and but I was like, Imean, I must have been 10.
I don't know how 2029 now, I don't know how old I was, but
you do the math. Let me know in the comments.
(46:10):
It's not how old I was when Italy won the World Cup, but I
still remember that like the coolest moment ever.
I love it, Elena. Thank you so much.
Ladies and gentlemen, go on GoldBelly right now.
Order yourself some set the party treats.
And if you're in New York, stop by the bakery, stop by the
restaurant and just come say hello.
Come hang, we can have an espresso.
(46:31):
Tell me you heard the podcast. Yeah, tell her, tell her you
heard the podcast, that if we decide to get this and if
Palermo gets back to city, expect some parts, expect some
party. It's fucking good.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at Kerva Mundial pod.
Thanks for listening. Are you a footballer that finds
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