Chef Rosanna and Chef Riccardo are a celebrated culinary duo known for blending tradition with imagination.

From Food Network and Disney Plus, to the heart of Tampa Bay, they've turned their passion into an edible art form, one rooted in culture, creativity and connection.

[light music] I come from a long line of cooks, my two great grandmothers, both of my grandmothers, and then my mom was just amazing cook.

So my earliest memory of cooking with her was her holding me and me trying to stir the pot.

So being in the kitchen with them was it's second nature to me.

I remember seeing Jacques Pepin in Great Chefs of America.

That was a big show on PBS.

I loved it, and I would literally just be in awe watching all these chefs making stuff.

And he just made a simple omelet.

And I knew back then, I'm like, this, this.

I love doing this.

That's that's what we all want.

We want to please people.

We want to make sure people eat right, and that they have joy when you're actually eating what we create.

Yeah.

[music] Yes.

We're making great pastries and coffee and food every day.

But these businesses about being in the service of others, and that's the real definition of hospitality, as we give so much of ourselves for everybody to have a good experience, to have a good day, to change their day, to make it a little bit better.

So that's how I see our careers, is we're in the service of others.

When you look at a city like Tampa, this is like a melting pot of all these different cultures.

And I think my job as a photographer is to capture that culture on a plate.

I just want to capture it.

When you look at these chefs and business owners, they spend a lifetime honing their craft and perfecting their their art.

And what they do is art.

It's just like any other artists.

They're in the kitchen every day, just perfecting their dish until it's ready to present to the world.

And if that doesn't say art, I don't know what does.

[light music] I do think food is at the same level as art or music, because it's the fabric of culture and culture that transcends, you know, food is is you create memories of food because it's something that you enjoy.

I think what is different now, just like art and music, is that it's global.

We don't have to go to China to experience authentic Chinese food, or to bring in Korean flavors to something that you do, because now we're so globalized, so we are have access to more of food culture, but we can trace food history the same way.

We can trace music history and art history, as you know, in our civilization.

So it's, it's that powerful.

Everything is important.

senses are important for us.

We we attack every single sense.

I would say that as chefs, you always have your artistic side.

And I say this to staff as well.

We wear our emotions on our sleeve because it is a very artistic career, but we cannot forget the science.

I think a really good technical chef understands the chemistry of food because then you can control it.

You can adapt to it.

I think I changed from scientist to artist on a constant basis.

Yeah, I agree with that.

So I go to the science of the sugar in the bread for example, or in the croissant.

How is that going to interact?

Is it a dry product.

Is it a wet product.

So those are the things that I'm always like thinking, you know.

I guess constant back and forth with me.

I know for her it's a creative juices.

Oh my gosh, she can go crazy.

And well, we should do this kind of flavors that I'm like, oh yeah, we should do that.

That's pretty cool.

When I'm teaching classes, I say, I ask.

It's a trick question.

What?

What is the most important ingredient in in a kitchen?

And they all say oil, butter, salt.

Now I say it's time, patience and heat.

If you control those three things, you can cook.

We're go getters, so we're always pushing ourselves to do more.

Yes, there there is more.

I, I could achieve anything with her for sure.

She knows it.

We just it's just a matter of the opportunity and that's it all we're looking for opportunities.

To me, food is everything.

It's how we show love, how we show happiness, grief, how we entertain others, how we.

It's really love language.

It's an extension of my heart.

And it's it makes me think of my mom.

Because it's it brings so many memories.

But at the end of the day, to me, food is about showing love for others.

Those are my earliest memories and it's my passion.

What drives me as a chef is to provide that for others, whether it's in our business or whether we're going to someone's home through catering.

But it's it's providing that experience, intimate experience of being together at the table.

I feel responsibility because, um, of those moments that your customers entrust you with, you know, as an artist, right?

You want people to validate your work to like what you do.

So every single moment that they like it, it's it's a perfect moment.

It makes our heart full.

You know what I mean?

Yeah.

We love seeing that.

The feeling of making food for others that they will remember for a lifetime.

It's pure happiness.

Priceless.

To learn more about chefs Rosanna and Ricardo, visit chefandthebaker.com.