Mezzaluna Pasteria & Mozzarella Bar- Owner & Chef Soerke Peters

Flavors of Northwest Arkansas

On this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast we head up to Bentonville and talk to Chef & Owner Soerke Peters of Mezzaluna Pastaria, and let me tell you, this man has had some experiences that will absolutely blow you away.

But first, a quick note if you’re listening to this on October 23rd or 24th in 2024, Top Chef NWA is happening Friday night. I’ve talked about Top Chef here a few times and it’s a great event, as we went last year for the first time. It’s the big fundraiser of the year for the Rogers Public Library Foundation, and 4 chefs (actually 3 chefs and a team of students from Brightwater) will compete for the title. Last year’s winner Chef Garyn Folden from Cura Culinary will be one of the judges this year.

With your ticket, you will experience a minimum of four dishes prepared by the competing chefs & teams. You will also enjoy grilling stations, pass dishes, signature cocktails, mouthwatering appetizers, decadent desserts, and an open bar… for $75. Great deal, great cause, great time! You can get your tickets at the Rogers Public Library Foundation website, or you can just go to the ticket link on our Flavors of Northwest Arkansas Facebook and Instagram pages. Hustle and get yours before they sell out!

Back in July, we interviewed Mitchell Owen from Zelli Pasta, and they had a super-busy summer, with their growth and expansion of the store. Mitchell did have some breaking news for us back in July and told us that they were working on an in-house tomato sauce sourced from Arkansas grown tomatoes. It’s now available and you can pick it up at the store in downtown Springdale!

Mezzaluna in downtown Bentonville held their grand opening on August 19th and have been humming ever since. Chef & Owner Soerke Peters also owns and operates a Mezzlauna on the Monterey Bay in California- so, why Bentonville? He explains.

Unlike most of us, he knew what he wanted to do at a very early age. He got into training to be a chef after high school, and as a new young chef, he got hazed. You’ll hear his stories.

Early on, he was working at Michelin star restaurants, where he really learned the trade.

Chef Peters was named Executive Chef for the 1990 World’s Fair in Russia & Siberia. How do you order food for thousands of people? Also, he served one of the biggest dignitaries of that time and had little-to-no notice before having to do so. Some wild stories from that job.

And finally, what I ask everyone- what was your last 24 hours like before you opened your doors? It was… active.

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