This interview originally aired on 09/24/2026 on South Texas Midday.
ROB BOSCAMP: Joining me now is Phoebe Trotter, a chef with Bellino Restaurante Italiano and a 2025 Chef of the Year at the Visit Corpus Christi State of Tourism and Gala and Hospitality Awards. In other words, one of the best chefs in the city. Thank you for joining me!
PHOEBE TROTTER: Of course, my pleasure.
ROB BOSCAMP: You're competing at the Texas Food Championship on September 25th through the 27th. You'll be in the pro chef category. This is a qualifying event for next month's World Food Championship, which is in Indianapolis. And this upcoming competition is a little special for you, because it's in your own backyard.
PHOEBE TROTTER: Absolutely! When [Texas Food Championship Event Director Matthew Lawson] approached me with the opportunity to compete as a local chef born and raised here in Corpus. I thought it was super important. Part of the reason I came back to Corpus and work for a locally owned restaurant is because I wanted to be a part of the next generation of pioneering fine dining in my hometown. So, I definitely couldn't pass it up.
ROB BOSCAMP: This event is a qualifying event for the World Championship. Briefly tell us what judges look for during a competition like this.
PHOEBE TROTTER: I've never actually competed in a competition quite like this one. They do give you a scoring rubric, so you can look over . . . kind of what they're looking for. They're looking at technique or complexity of technique. They're looking at what you submit for the competition, in detail of what you're going to present and what actually ends up on the plate. They score you on that as well to see if you could deliver what you were promising. Then of course . . . flavor, the execution of the cooking method, 'is the dish cohesive?,' that kind of thing.
ROB BOSCAMP: Speaking of flavors: there is going to be a lot at this competition. You've got pitmasters, home cooks, culinary students also going to be a part of this event. Pun intended: What do you plan to bring to the table at the competition, without giving away your game plan, of course?
PHOEBE TROTTER: Of course, of course. It was an interesting process for me to kind of come up with the dish that I wanted to present. I'm a big advocate of simple food. I think you know it's easy to be impressive with . . . 10 [or] 12 elements on a plate. It's a lot harder to do with three or four. I definitely wanted to stay true to myself in terms of the simplicity; absolutely bring something that's authentically Italian to the plate. Considering I have been at Bellino's for so long and . . . worked for a Sicilian executive chef for the last decade-and-a-half. I kind of drew from my last three summers of traveling in Italy, took elements from the different regions that I spent time in, and kind of brought that together to really try to capture the soul of the Italian food culture that is really unique – and I think unlike what we kind of see in regular day-to-day American cuisine.
ROB BOSCAMP: You talked about your training and experience, and you mentioned you were away from Corpus Christi for some time.
PHOEBE TROTTER: Yeah, so I graduated from Carroll High School – Go Tigers! – and then I moved, right after high school, to South Florida and went to culinary school there. Returned to Corpus after some experience in … a more corporate restaurant environment or kitchen environment, which I determined was not exactly my favorite. Two weeks later, met [Bellino owner & Executive Chef] Francesco [Inguaggiato], started working with him. Opening day, [I] definitely got a different experience, in terms of almost a romanticized version of cooking, which I thought was really beautiful and really fell in love with that: with him and his family and what they were trying to do there, and really dug into being a part of that local food environment, and . . . been learning from him for a very long time. He's an excellent mentor, wonderful man, excellent boss, and has given me a ton of opportunity to create the opportunity to travel and try new things, and … see places where he's from. [I’ve] went to his hometown in Palermo, Sicily and got to bring back a lot of that authentic food experience, but also the kind of a piece of him and where his story is from. So, it was very cool.
ROB BOSCAMP: What would you say that your philosophy as a chef is?
PHOEBE TROTTER: Again, I think I would have to circle back a little bit to simple food, well executed. I think there's an intimacy to being a chef and to feeding people. I think it's really a privilege; and if you look at the work in that mindset, it's easy to want to do it well. At Bellino, specifically, we've gotten to be a part of people's lives in a way that I think is very special: Engagements, weddings, children being born, children graduating from high school. They come and celebrate with us for those moments. Being able to feed someone is really an honor, and I think that's what myself and my other kitchen staff really have kind of adopted.
ROB BOSCAMP: You have a special audience that's going to be at the competition, rightfully so. It's your hometown. Tell us about who you're expecting to be in the crowd.
PHOEBE TROTTER: Thankfully, my mother is here local, so she'll be there joining. And my sister's coming from Victoria. Then, of course, my two children: I have a 13-year-old daughter and a nine-year-old son, and they're Bellino celebrities, so to speak. And so they're super excited to get to see me there and see me compete. Like I said, it's nothing I've ever done before, so it's exciting and maybe a little terrifying in that regard. But to get to share it with [my family] and … they get to see what I do and why it's important to me really is very, very meaningful.
ROB BOSCAMP: This is going to be the first time your kids have watched you compete?
PHOEBE TROTTER: Yes, absolutely!
ROB BOSCAMP: Have they got to taste your competition dishes? Have they got to try the leftovers after a competition?
PHOEBE TROTTER: Yes.
ROB BOSCAMP: What's the critique?
PHOEBE TROTTER: Trust me, they are a tough crowd, those two. They're very much foodies, and they will give me their unadulterated opinion. So, that's good. That's what you [as a chef] want, right? This kind of thing. But we did; we ran through, actually, changed my dish once. Didn't love the first kind of approach of what I was going to do, and kind of went a different direction. [They] came by to try my recipe tests and give their feedback. And I think we did pretty good. I mean, they're still a little young, so I think I have that to my advantage. But I definitely think they gave me the seal of approval.
ROB BOSCAMP: That said, as time goes on, as you prepare more meals for your family, do you feel like that they're going to try to hold you to that “best in show” standard?
PHOEBE TROTTER: I think that they already hold me to that “best in show” standard. They're foodies. They really are, and so they like to try new things. They spend a lot of time cooking with me, which I think is really fun. Getting to teach them some more sophisticated technique, but also just how to put something together that's going to be really tasty and share that part of me with them. Then I'll sit down and break bread. They definitely have high standards.
ROB BOSCAMP: I love that you're building those special memories with your kids. As they're watching the competition – or for anyone watching the competition – what do you hope that audiences will get out of this? Or maybe something you're hoping to get out of the competition?
PHOEBE TROTTER: Well, I'm excited to have the experience to just be able to do it. My ultimate goal was put out a dish that I think is well executed, something that I believe in, something that represents me as a chef, and our concept at Bellino's. I hope that they're just proud of me . . . able to say that I've done it, do my very best. I'm a very competitive person. You can ask almost anyone that knows me. So, it was interesting going into something like this, where I compete with myself every day. You know, I'm competing with “yesterday Phoebe” today, and tomorrow, I'll be doing the same thing. So [I] try not to put too much pressure and have fun and really put my heart into it. Hopefully, they'll be there cheer me on and I'll make them proud.
ROB BOSCAMP: And no doubt, you will! That is Phoebe Trotter, a chef with Bellino Restaurante Italiano and representing Corpus Christi in the pro chef category at this year's Texas Food Championship on September 25-27. Phoebe, thank you for joining me, and best of luck!
PHOEBE TROTTER: Thank you, my pleasure, Rob.
