Chef Gina Pulido, a.k.a. The Dumpling Queen, will be a featured chef at our Farm to Table Dinner on September 8, 2019. PFM Executive Director Kathleen Yetman sat down with her to chat.
Prescott Farmers Market: How long have you been in the Prescott area?
Chef Gina: I’ve lived in the Prescott area for two years now. I moved here from Colorado Springs just three weeks before becoming a volunteer at the first annual Prescott Farmers Market Farm to Table Dinner.
PFM: What is your favorite dish to make and/or eat?
Chef Gina: While I don’t have a particular cuisine or dish I can say is my favorite, I do love making food with my hands, i.e.-fresh handmade stuffed pastas and dumplings, of course. It’s even more difficult to pick a favorite dish to eat, but I LOVE seafood.
PFM: What is your favorite vegetable?
Chef Gina: My favorite vegetable is always broccoli!
PFM: What’s the importance of supporting local agriculture?
Chef Gina: I feel like when you know exactly where your food comes from it gives you a greater sense of love in the preparation of the dish as a whole and an even bigger sense of pride when feeding someone and sharing where it came from and who took the time to grow/raise that product. It just gives back to the community because the support always ends up coming full circle.
PFM: Tell me about your passion for food. Where did it come from, what sustains it?
Chef Gina: I come from a huge Filipino family where every special occasion is centered around the food. Before most plans are made for our family events the menu is guaranteed the first thing to be decided. That’s ingrained my way of showing people how I care by feeding them, it’s the way that I can be the most nurturing, to ask “Did ya eat yet?”
Chicken and dumplings is always good food for the soul!
PFM: The Farm to Table Dinner is in less than 2 weeks! What are you most excited about?
Chef Gina: I’m excited to share what I love to do with a great community that loves to eat. I’m just honored and grateful to be a part of this event, yet again, and to do more each time around!
Interviewer’s Note:
Chef Gina has plans in place to start sharing her delicious dumplings at bi-monthly pop-up dinners and grow from there, perhaps even selling at future markets! Make sure to follow her on Instagram to stay connected.