Chef Michael Galata Talks Martha And More (Interview)

Photo Credit: David Russell / The Martha Stewart Show 

Executive Chef Michael Galata from Osteria del Circo has been Frank151 fam for a minute and is now parlaying his abilities behind the stove to in front of the camera. This past Friday he scored the mother of all television cooking gigs, a full segment on Martha Stewart where he whipped up his Roast Leg of Lamb with Stuffed Artichokes for the doyenne of domesticity.

We grabbed Mike G for a quick interview about how it all went down.

How did you get the call to go on Martha?

I got an email from one of the executive producers on the show who got my info from a mentor of mine, the great chef Pierre Scheadelin. He's close with Martha. I think she wanted me for the Easter show because I was once her temporary personal chef and the first meal I cooked for her was Easter brunch.

How did you decide what to make?

I chose lamb and artichokes because I thought they were the best representation of Italian Easter dishes since I'm Itaian and also the chef of an Italian restaurant. Plus artichokes are so good right now and I knew they are one of her personal favorites.

Is is nerve racking or mellow to be cooking on TV like that?

Well for me it's a bit nerve racking, this was my second TV show appearance, my first was the Nick Stellino show on PBS a while back. Because of that appearance I kind of knew what to expect but any time you're doing a live demo or something on TV and you know people are watching it adds a bit of stress to it. Everything was so organized with Martha that it ran seamlessly and that helped me relax and do my thing more naturally. I love to teach so I got comfy right away.

Did Martha pull any prison yard shit on you? Tell you she'd shank you if you flubbed another take? Seriously, though what is she like?

Martha is the ultimate business woman, obviously super smart and savvy to have built the empire she has. She was a regular girl from Nutley, NJ and now look at her. With that being said she is super cool, outgoing, and really nice .

What are your next moves?

I'm definitely looking forward to more TV, and have several things in the works. Until then, I'm just going to continue to make delicious food and live the good life!

Check out the entire segment here and to experience Michael's cooking for yourself, get a reservation at Osteria del Circo.