Belle Vernon native Peroney to compete in culinary Olympics

By EMILY BENNETT DILULLO

ebennett@yourmvi.com

You know what they say: if you want to be a good chef, you have to work with other great chefs. 

That’s exactly what’s on Belle Vernon native and professional chef Joe Peroney’s to-do list for the new year, considering he’s working alongside world-class chefs on the ACF Culinary Team USA to compete in the culinary Olympics in February. 

A Frazier High School graduate, 37-year-old Peroney stumbled into the world of cooking after a job at Sony electronics, an attempted entry into radiology and a move toward studying dietetics at Westmoreland County Community College, where he took a required cooking class or two. 

“Right away, I knew that’s where I was going to gravitate towards,” Peroney said of the classes. “You can’t ignore passion and what’s inside of you.”

Peroney remembers getting his first cookbook (one of the Emeril Lagasse variety) and made his first recipe –– creme brulee. 

“From then on, I was always cooking,” he said. 

After graduating, Peroney relocated to Lovettsville, Va., to pursue his culinary dreams but makes regular visits to the Valley for holidays –– an abundance of food in tow. 

“When I went home for Thanksgiving, I basically took everything,” he laughed. “I took stuffing, mashed potatoes and a smoked turkey and casserole.” 

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