While most kids spent their waking weekend hours parked in front of the TV, a young Anthony Valois was already up and in line with his father—ready and waiting to be one of the first customers to be let inside their favorite Italian deli. Even now, the smell alone is enough to bring him back to the good times.

“Opening up that door and the smell of cured meats [and] the chaos of what's going on behind the counter—everything was intoxicating,” said Valois.

As a first-generation Italian-American growing up in Brooklyn, food was a huge part of Valois’s livelihood, with vivid memories of grandparents canning tomatoes and school lunch boxes filled with cheeses and mortadella. From an early age, he grew to understand the importance of his food and its ties to his culture.

“I started appreciat

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