Sex, Food & Rock N Roll With Chef Giovannina Bellino

What do you do?

I produce and sell a food product called flavorbombs and I am a cookbook author; Cooking With Flavor Bombs. I have a website and blog called Sex~Food~Rock & Roll because these are important topics to most people and it puts a smile on our faces.

How did you get into your profession? 

I LOVE cooking for my family and always tried to streamline the process. I’m a vegetable gardener and I made pesto and soffritto with my herbs and veggies. I called them my “little flavor bombs” and felt it could become a product line.

With a lot of research and hard work I developed a product that eliminates the prep work for cooking. I started selling at farmers’ markets, then after creating the packaging, nutrition panels and moving to a commercial kitchen, I progressed to food stores with a distributor.

I received a phone call from a publishing firm asking me to write the cookbook. It took about nine months to develop the recipes and write it.

What is the inspiration behind your work?

I get so much from giving! When I inspire someone or I teach them something new to improve their situation, my creative juices start flowing and more ideas develop.

I’m an unabashed foodie! I love feeding people and helping them to get a meal on the table.

I love sex, I love rock and roll and I love to dance! I’m a child of the sixties, my daughter is a rock star drummer and food has replaced drugs in today’s landscape. So much material to mine!

What does a day in the life look like for you?

I’m an early riser, about 5:30 am. Coffee and cooking go together for me, so I often start prepping and cooking for that night’s dinner.

A good workout, brunch at home, emails, phone calls, writing, and some days at the commercial kitchen to produce product. Gardening in season. I also organize on a regular basis. Closets, pantry, desk. I love moving things around and giving things away.

I go to bed early too, around 8-9 pm.

What is your mission?

To do good things for people, animals, and the environment. Hopefully I can make an impact in a big way with a voice and a message for the masses. To be a teacher, a humanitarian and a philanthropist. I hope to entertain and enlighten people.

What’s your life motto?

Be kind, be grateful, be compassionate, be optimistic and smile!

Do you have a mantra?

I have several mantras:

“Keep moving” is always in the background of my mind.

“Relax, rest & breathe”, when I need to.

The “Hail Mary” prayer for when I’m upset.

What inspires you?

Other people’s successes are very inspiring to me. I love reading and learning new things. I feel tremendously inspired by all the information available to us. I also get inspired by a good self help book or when things just go right.

What is the best advice you have ever been given?

Don’t buy the nicest house on the block. Think about it!