User:Paninipete/sandbox

"Panini" Pete Blohme is a chef and restaurateur from Fairhope, AL. He is the proud owner of multiple restaurants and a hair salon as well as being a founder of multiple philanthropic groups. Pete has been featured multiple times as a guest on multiple of Guy Fieri's Food Network shows and has his own podcast.

Early Life
Pete was born Arnold Peter Blohme III in Chicago, IL on October 7, 1963; he grew up in South Florida where he attended Stranahan High School (1977-81) and went on to attend Broward Community College (1982) for Hotel and Restaurant Management before attending the Culinary Institute of America from 1984-86 where he got his degree.

* When he was just 14 years of age he Caddied for Former US President Gerald Ford during his rounds at the then Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic.*

Career in the Kitchen
After graduating from the CIA, Pete began working as a Hotel Service Coordinator aboard Clipper Cruise Line (1986-87), and as a Restaurant/Kitchen Manager for Shooters on the Water (1987-88) in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Later in 1994, Pete became an Executive Chef at University of Alabama until 1996 and then began as a Chef/General Manager at Noodles Panini in Fort Lauderdale, FL from 2000-2004. Around this time Pete was also working with Aloha Hospitality/Baumhower's Wings (1989-2005) where he helped open and operate the first six Wings (89-94) then he helped open and operate Calypso Fish Grille and Mangos (97-00) and late became the Corporate Chef with Aloha from 2004-2005.

On February 15, 2006 Pete opened up his first restaurant, Panini Pete's, in Fairhope, AL soon followed by Sunset Pointe in November of 2014, and Squid Ink in July 2019.

In 2008, Panini Pete's was featured in season 3, episode 8 of Guy Fieri's show Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives which aired on May 5, 2008. Since then Pete has been featured on Guy's Big Bite, The Best of Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives, and over 20 other Food Network episodes since 2008 and co starred in the live Guy Fieri Road Show in 2009 & 2011.

Pete is a certified KCBS judge and has been seen doing live demos at Vegas Bar & Restaurant Show, AC Food & Wine Fest, South Beach Wine & Food Fest, HangOut Oyster Cook Off and is also a regular invitational Judge at the Jack Daniels World Championship of BBQ.

Outside of the Kitchen
Pete lives in Daphne, AL with his wife, Jodi, and two kids, Arnold and Isabella. He is a real estate investor in multiple cities in South Alabama and in 2010 Pete co-founded The Messlords; a group of chefs who travel to US Military Bases across the globe to feed the troops. Pete has served over 300,000 meals on 5 US Aircraft carriers, submarines, and over 20 Navy Bases across the globe.

He has been a member of the CIA Alumni Council since 2011 and, from 2012-2015, starred in his own web series called "Small Town Flavor." Pete is a certified KCBS judge and has been seen doing live demos at Vegas Bar & Restaurant Show, AC Food & Wine Fest, South Beach Wine & Food Fest, HangOut Oyster Cook Off and is also a regular invitational Judge at the Jack Daniels World Championship of BBQ. Pete formed the PR Foundation, with his friend, business partner, and CIA classmate Robert Kabakoff, which honors Military Veterans, no kill animal shelters, and people with special needs; the slogan being "Doing very special things for very special people."