About Chef Billy Parisi

Hey, I’m Billy Parisi! I’m a classically trained chef and the guy behind billyparisi.com, where I’ve been sharing recipes and cooking videos since 2015

I graduated from Scottsdale Culinary Institute (Le Cordon Bleu), spent over 15 years working in restaurants, mostly in fine dining, and I’ve been cooking for more than 30 years. Period. Now I get to share everything I’ve learned over the years and show you how to use those same cooking techniques at home.

I live in Crown Point, Indiana, just outside Chicago, with my wife and daughter. Most of my cooking and filming happens at BPMVC studios, just a few miles from my house.

My grandparents came from Terrasini, Sicily, just outside Palermo. My grandma and aunt seemed to cook nonstop, and some of my favorite meals to this day are still the things they used to make.

My dad was a cook too. In fact, he met my mom at a restaurant in Detroit. He was a cook, she was a waitress, and the rest is history. They once debated opening a restaurant or a hair salon. Well, my mom won the battle, and we ended up owning a few salons in Michigan. Dad can still throw down in the kitchen, though.

At 13, a friend of my dad’s hired me to wash dishes at his restaurant. Being Italian, I’d certainly grown up around food, but restaurant life really captured my imagination. I love the food, the people, and even the craziness that came with it.

After culinary school, I moved to Missouri and worked my way up through the kitchen ranks, eventually becoming a head chef. I love cooking, but after years of long hours, low pay, and plenty of kitchen confidential moments, I was burnt out. Crispy fried, to be exact.

So I went back to school at the University of Missouri and earned a degree in communications with an emphasis in video production. While I was there, I also got to work with my favorite chef I’ve ever worked for, chef Daniel Pliska.

After graduating, again, I moved to Chicago and started an on-camera cooking career with help from my good friend Thatcher, whom I’d met at Mizzou. Shoot, I was just happy to finally be using both degrees.

From there, I got to travel around the country doing TV and radio, work with some incredible food brands, and eventually start my own studio, website, and YouTube channel.

Along the way, I met my wife, we got married, and a few years later, we had our daughter, Olivia.

I want to teach you how to cook, not just follow a recipe. You don’t need culinary school to learn the fundamentals chefs use every day, and I want to show you how to use them in your kitchen.

We’ll roast, braise, sauté, grill, bake, and make some incredible sauces. You’ll find everything from classic American food and traditional Italian dishes to French, Mexican, BBQ, homemade bread, seafood, desserts, and more. I love food way too much to limit myself to one cuisine.

More than anything, I want you to understand why we’re doing something. Why should you salt meat ahead of time? What’s the purpose of reducing a sauce? Why does one cooking method work better than another?

It’s understanding little things like that that’ll really improve your cooking.

I’m also a big believer in doing things properly without making them unnecessarily complicated. There’s a simpler way without sacrificing flavor, I’m all for it. But if taking a little more time or using a certain technique makes a noticeable difference, I’m going to show you that, too.

I put a lot of work into developing and testing these recipes common between the detailed instructions, step-by-step photos, videos, and chef tips, I want to give you every opportunity to get them right.

And if you’ve ever made a meal for your family or friends and watched everyone smile around the table because of something you cooked, you know how good that feels.

I’d love to help you do more of that.

I’m married to absolutely the most wonderful woman on earth. She’s incredibly gifted, especially when it comes to interior design, and I always tell her that if she started a website, she’d do way better than me over here. We have one beautiful daughter, Olivia, who’s the life of our family and always keeps us on our toes.

We moved from Chicago to Crown Point, Indiana, in 2020. I grew up in a smaller town in Missouri and always wanted to get back to that kind of life. That was move #15 for me, so I’m hoping we’re staying put for a while. Although I’m not sure how many more Indiana winters I can take.

When I’m not cooking, I love spending time with family and friends, fishing, watching movies, going to car shows, photography, college football, being outdoors, and learning about history.

And I love Jesus. My faith is a huge part of who I am. I enjoy spending time with friends from church, sharing encouraging Bible verses, and finding opportunities to mentor young men. I certainly don’t have everything figured out, but I try to honor God and what I do, and I’m incredibly thankful for the life he’s given me.

My parents still live in Michigan; I talk to them just about every day. I’d love nothing more than for them to be my next-door neighbors.

I’ve been fortunate to be a part of some pretty cool things over the years. I hosted WGN TV Chicago’s best, was an alternate on season 6 of Food Network star (yep, missed it by one spot), and was runner-up for food blog of the year on blog lovin’. Apparently, I’ve got a history of finishing second period

I’ve also appeared on TV and radio in more than 20 different media markets and worked with some incredible chefs, food brands, and kitchen companies.

And here’s one more restaurant fact for you: the longest week I’ve ever worked was 105 hours. Yep 105.

Through BPMVC Studios, I work with brands and businesses on recipe development, food photography, videos, and other culinary content.

If you’re interested in working together, feel free to reach out at billy@billyparisi.com.

One of the things I love most about what I do is hearing from people who have made my recipes.

Whether it’s someone who made dinner for their family, tried something they never thought they could pull off, or finally figured out a cooking technique they’d struggled with, I love hearing those stories.

I know how much work goes into making a good meal, and there’s just something special about sitting down with the people you love and enjoying something you made.

I grew up watching my family do that, and now I get to share some of those same experiences with my own wife and daughter.

If I can help you become a better cook and make some incredible food for the people you love, and I’m doing exactly what I set out to do.

Whether you’ve been following along for years or you’re brand new here, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you.

Thanks so much for being here. Sound good? Let’s cook!