A chef who had worked in many kitchens wanted to be her own boss. After a couple of detours, including on the Food Network’s “Chef Boot Camp,” Mott Haven beckoned.
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ESSEX JUNCTION – A bit of Italy by way of New Jersey has found its way to a food-centric building near Five Corners.
What is the place?
Open since April 2, The Food Bar is in the Park Street building that also houses Mark BBQ and the adjacent restaurant Heart n Soul. It’s near the busy Five Corners intersection that includes eateries such as Firebird Café and McGillicuddy’s Five Corners.
“They started calling this place ‘Food Corners,’” The Food Bar owner Alex Morano said.
Her eatery offers Italian-American fare including chicken parmesan, eggplant rollatini, cheese ravioli pomodoro, rigatoni Bolognese and meat or cheese lasagna. Open more than 12 hours most days, The Food Bar also serves breakfast items such as omelets and egg platters.
Did the isolation of the pandemic help the bakers form closer bonds?
Maybe, Prado said. She knows it helped her, host Carla Hall and fellow judge Jason Smith form a closer bond.
The trio created a friendship during the COVID-19 lockdowns that helped get them through the pandemic, Prado said. By the time shooting began, they had created their own sort of family unit.
“Our relationship is very special,” she said, as the three share a similar work ethic and respect for what the baking competitors do. “We want the experience to be great for everyone on set.”
Prado said the pandemic likely helped the bakers because many hadn’t been working regularly on their jobs, so they threw themselves into the difficult situations created by the competition show to bake at the heights of their creativity. She said people in the entertainment industry have told her they were amazed at how robust the COVID-19 protocols were in the “production bubble” the show’s producers created for