Joe Sasto blesses the pod with pasta wisdom, Top Chef lore, and his glorious moustache. Plus, decoding LA burgers, Evan Funke gets the Chef's Table treatment, and fast food jobs soar.

We’re joined on today’s pod by the icon known as Joe Sasto. Joe is a Michelin-pedigree chef whose exploits at San Francisco’s Quince and Lazy Bear earned him the chance to go on Top Chef. His high-octane performance on his season earned him a third-place finish, the opportunity to compete on Top Chef All-Stars, and more importantly, a place in the pantheon of Top Chef greats. Today Chef Joe brings us with him on his journey, from falling in love with what he calls tweezer food, to becoming a master of pasta, and eventually putting his mastery to work in the form of one of the most exciting snacks on the market - Tantos Pasta Chips. There’s so much in this conversation. We talk what it takes to earn Michelin stars, why he decided to enter the CPG space, who he most fears competing against on Guy Fieri’s Tournament of Champions, and one of my favorite anecdotes, how he became one of the only people on earth who’s ever served the Voltaggio brothers literal testicles. Plus, Father Sal is with us. We wonder, did the Infatuation just release the Da Vinci code of burgers? Does Evan Funke deserve to be on Chef’s Table? And why are fast food jobs in California on the rise despite the rising minimum wage? Among other exciting topics... Helpful links: Chef Joe Sasto https://www.joesasto.com/ Joe on IG https://www.instagram.com/chef.joe.sasto/?hl=en Tantos, the original puffed pasta chip https://www.eattantos.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoq12I9gayDmHR6M0ANHnjncgK3sNSQDmlhWZJl0FAltZZo6fAE4 Subscribe to our newsletter, LA FOODSTACK, for access to all of the articles discussed on today's episode and more https://thelacountdown.substack.com/ The LA Food Podcast is produced with the help of: Adam Skaggs Tiffany Perez Tim Bertolini -- Get 10% off at House of Macadamias using code "LAFOOD" https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods -- Get 10% off on your first purchase of wagyu beef at First Light Farms using code "LAFOOD10" https://www.firstlight.farm/us/