Bites Nearby: Meet the Chef & Owner of Wimpy's Original

Media Patch wants you to get to know your local top chefs. So here is a set of quickfire questions for two of the local culinary stars at in Upper Providence Township. Don't forget to check out  and the , too. 

Name: Owner David Palandrani and Manager/Chef Michael Vogel 

Age: Palandrani: 49; Vogel: 32

Years in Industry: Palandrani: less than a year; Vogel: 16 years

First Kitchen Job:

DP: Wimpy's owner. I am not a chef, I have the utmost respect for them and I would never enter a kitchen unless invited by the chef.

MV: McDonald's cashier.

Earliest Cooking Memory:

DP: Making pizzelles with my [Italian] grandmother.

MV: I was probably about 10 years old, it was Easter, I had a pot of boiling water  [for boiling Easter eggs] in my hands. I needed to dump the water but my hands wouldn't bend away from me so I bent them towards me and ended up spilling boiling water all over the front of me. My aunt [who was a nurse] made me a burn emollient using Crisco and aloe.

Favorite Local Restaurant:

DP: Savona Bistro in Unionville, PA

MV: Erin Pub in Norwood, PA

Favorite Restaurant in the World:

DP: Daniel in New York City

MV: Melting Pot in King of Prussia

Favorite Thing to Cook:

DP: Shrimp Chippewa (creole dish from New Orleans)

MV: Cooking breakfast for my kids.

Advice to Home Cooks:

DP: Keep it simple.

MV: Don't be afraid to concoct stuff. Some of the best recipes came out of mistakes.

Guilty Pleasure:

DP: Foie gras

MV: Milk chocolate

Biggest Kitchen Disaster:

DP: The electricity went out in the walk-in [refrigerator], it got warm, the ice cream was soft, etc. Turned out it was just on the defrost mode.

MV: I was out in Pottstown at Lone Star Steakhouse, we emptied the deep fryer [of oil] but it was still on. It caught fire but there was a sheet tray next to it so we put it on top of the fryer and it went out. Luckily the ANSUL (restaurant fire containment system) system didn't go off.

Last Meal on Earth:

DP: Rib-eye steak too big to finish, 1990 Sangiovese.

MV: Lobster and filet mignon, peach iced tea.