A new show featuring local chef Eric Nittolo invites people to explore his passions — whether that be cooking in the kitchen, traveling to other countries, or just meeting with friends and family to talk about all things food.
The first pilot episode of the “Kitchen Renegade” series does just that, and allows Nittolo to take the audience on a culinary journey of how he got to where he is today, giving people an inside look into his energetic personality and what he loves to do best.
“What’s really cool is in just the first three days, it’s (the video) just shy of 22,000 views, all organic — just shared and fed in (online) groups…” Nittolo said. “I think it’s fun. Evidently, people are willing to watch it.”
In August, Nittolo said he was approached by Jordan and Christal Frost Anderson, content creators and owners of the film production company Pancake Boy Productions, about doing the series. During their discussion, Nittolo said they talked about how there’s been a huge void in personality television, explaining that it would be a great time for him to pursue the type of project where he would be host.
“They were like ‘we just want to see what you do,’ and we were talking about Malta, there was no script…” he said. “So the premise of this program, they (Pancake Boy Productions) coined it ‘Kitchen Renegade’ and they came up with everything — but the ironic thing behind it is I’ve been called a renegade individualist a lot. I do things so different from everybody else, like what we’ve done in Lake Leelanau with our restaurant.”
Nittolo’s Seafood and Pizza first opened in Lake Leelanau in 2021 and has been serving up traditional Italian dishes ever since. The family-run establishment has evolved and grown over the last few years, but Nittolo’s excitement for sharing food, experiences, and preserving his heritage through cooking has stayed the same.
“I grew up watching cooking shows on PBS, you talk about a renegade production, I love it… I think that’s the goal. I want people to know they can travel and enjoy themselves and food in different countries,” he said. “Like I love Malta, everything about the place was amazing… and there’s a lot of people that tell me ‘I live vicariously through your travels,’ and maybe I’ll put a travel group together. I’ve been to 21 countries, I’ve eaten a little bit — just those things you don’t forget and you make it for the people to understand.”
Some supporters, Nittolo said, have told him that he’s better than American restaurateur Guy Fieri, who is known for hosting various shows on the Food Network. Fieri also is known for having a classic car collection, with Nittolo adding that he wants to feature his own love of cars, like his interest in the Mercedes-Benz brand, into his series as well.
“We’re going to bring the cars into the mix. All the fun stuff in life that we do — Kitchen Renegade is something that doesn’t exist right now. I think the best compliments I got were from people that said ‘I could binge watch this,’” he said. “I think it’s going to take a travel piece and a hometown piece. We’re in northern Michigan, we want to find those little, hidden things, and they’re there. My place is the beginning of it, we would start there.”
The pilot episode was just posted last week, so Nittolo said he plans to continue networking with different organizations and people to get the word out and move forward with the project. Those interested in updates and following Nittolo’s next adventures can find the series online at the Facebook page “Eric Nittolo: Kitchen Renegade.”
“I think because I play a lot of music, that’s going to be involved, I think the vehicles will be involved, and I think all the aspects of what encompasses me will be involved with a cooking base,” he said. “This week we’re going to sit down and talk about plans and where is this going and how we’re doing this — There’s so much opportunity.”
