Name and Title:Vince Loscerbo, owner, cook, bartender, Pepperoncini's.When did you know you wanted to be cooking?I went to Framingham State and was a psychology/biology major, but second semester of my freshman year, I couldn’t afford housing to return to school. I had a couple of friends and the deal was they would let me sleep there if I cooked for them a couple of times a week. The group kept getting bigger and eventually I was making food for 10 to 15 people on a pretty regular basis.Career timeline?I’m originally from Newburgh, NY, and I was always wanting New York style pizza when I was…

Editor's note: Our "Craft Corner" columnist is filling the "Chef's Table" spot this week, as her latest household tips all happen to involve food. Last week, I offered some crock-pot recipes that I hope you enjoyed. I have decided this week to give some ideas on how to use leftovers from those dinners. I also have a delicious peanut-brittle recipe that was given to me by a very close friend of mine, Christine, who has mastered it. Each year, at the holidays, she lovingly packages it up and sends us some all the way from Louisiana. She tells me I should share this gracious gift, and I scoff at…

We all know that you don't need to work in a restaurant to be a great baker or chef. So, this week, we're featuring a Milford resident, Karen Raleigh, who answers our "Chef's Table," questions and shares with us a recipe for a seasonal favorite: gingersnap cookies. Have you always loved cooking? I have always loved eating! I think that an interest in food always leads to an interest in cooking. Unless you are wealthy enough to eat at high-end restaurants on a regular basis, you either cook or eat a lot of mediocre food.Who was your biggest influence?My mother was my first influence. She is a …

Name(s) and Title(s): Prezo Grille & Bar Executive Chef Tim Vaillette and General Manager Jessica Hall When did you know you wanted to be cooking? Vaillette: I knew when I was 13. My grandmother got me a job at Monty's Garden in Leominster, my hometown, as a dishwasher. I worked there through high school. I moved up to prep and then line cook. Career timeline: Vaillette: I attended Johnson & Wales and graduated in 1992 and then got a job at the Sole Proprietor in Worcester. I was there for nine years and then moved on to become the sous chef at 111 Chop House, on Shrewsbury Street in …

Name: Nicola OlivaPosition: President of Oliva's Market, and all-around do everything guy, from cooking and baking to washing pots and taking out the trash. (He wouldn't ask someone to do something he wouldn't do himself.)When did you know you wanted to cook? I have memories as a kid, riding along for grocery deliveries back when Oliva's was more of a neighborhood grocery store. When my mom and dad ran the store, you put your food on a tab and paid at the end of the week. I tried to stay out of the store as much as possible in high school; my uncle was in construction and I helped him out, …

Name: Joe LahoudPosition: Owner, Pizza PalaceWhat was the moment you know you wanted to be a chef? Even at a young age I was always in the kitchen helping my mom cook; I was curious about recipes and food.What was your career timeline? I started working at Pizzeria Regina in 1984 when I was 16. I stopped working there when I graduated from college in 1989. My wife, Paula, and I bought Pizza Palace twenty years later. We've been open here by the (Registry of Motor Vehicles) since June of last year. We were the first local pizza shop to offer both gluten-free and whole wheat crust alternatives …

Name: Frederic H. Sullivan Position: Owner, The Alamo What was the moment you knew you wanted to be a chef? I was literally born into the business. My grandfather had a restaurant, The Harbor Lights, in Boston. My mother was waiting on tables when she was eight months (pregnant with) me. At two years old, I was peeling shrimp. What was your career timeline? I grew up in the restaurant business. I cooked in the Navy, on a helicopter carrier, for four years. I got a degree in hotel and restaurant management from UMass, and spent 10 years working for other companies (including The Rusty Scupper…