Meet our chef

Joseph Placido

Joseph Placido

Born in Northern California, Joseph Placido was raised eating and preparing foods like salmon, steelhead, venison, fresh-water lamprey, and abalone. In cooking these foods, Placido learned an appreciation for the "integrity of the ingredients", as well as, "keeping it simple".

Placido's culinary career started as a line cook at age 18 and over the years worked his way up to sous chef and eventually executive chef to help pay his way through the University of Oregon. After graduating, he decided to merge everything he had learned from his culture, his trade, and his business degrees; and opened Placido's Pasta Shop in 2015. With over 20 years cooking traditional Sicilian, Placido now would like to share his take on these wonderful dishes.