Ep. 10: Pam Gelsomini- Dishing on Block Island

Pam Gelsomini has been coming to Block Island since she was born. Back then her name was Pamela Anderson. Go ahead and make your Baywatch joke- we did too. Pam will laugh right along with you. However Pam's accomplishments are no laughing matter. We'll get to those in a bit.The Breakers was a boarding house on Corn Neck Road that had been owned and operated by Pam's family since the late 1800's. It was a place where Swedish folks would congregate to enjoy their summer vacations. They even had a six hole (Par 3) golf course on the property back then. Sorry! Swedes only. Pam recounts her time at the Breakers as a child. Back then, days were filled with picking blackberries, fishing and Sunday afternoon trips down to the ferry dock to wave goodbye to the "Daddy Boat". Also, we find out what interesting deer deterrent Pam's Uncle Billy used to stockpile.When Pam was old enough to work she took her first job as a waitress at Ernie's. There she met her friend Rich Trethaway. We would've had Pam on the show anyway but she and Rich have been palling around since they were in their early teens. Pam and Rich talk about some of the good times had in the employee housing up above Finn's. We also learn how Pam credits her experience in the service industry with informing her sales techniques later on in life.Pam's always been a lifelong artist and studied at Syracuse University where she refined her craft. But she found that after graduation, the life of a starving artist wasn't for her. One of the  gigs she took was designing the treads on the bottom of sneakers and shoes. This may seem like a mundane job. But Pam ends up parlaying her knowledge into a business opportunity that would prove to change the course of her life.Put simply, Pam CRUSHES the business world.  She'll give you the details. Yet- while Pam would prove to be a VERY successful entrepreneur, her passion was always art and food. "Dish Off the Block" is a food blog that Pam began after celebrity chef, Jaques Pepin advised her not to write a cookbook (because "everyone's doing that already"). So instead, Pam's blog is running full steam ahead and is enjoying success  marketing her own line of spices. As if we needed proof that Pam is a foodie, Rich and Pam talk about their experiences in the world of competitive cooking where they felt the heat in the kitchen.Now quit stalling' and hit PLAY, Cap'!