More than anything, Josephine Todd’s route to becoming executive chef at Pastina Rustic Italian Kitchen was inevitable. It had to be, when you grow up around food and cooking and you become a sponge in the kitchen, taking it all in from an Italian mother and German-Irish father. “My family has been in the culinary industry,” said Todd, who lives in Fairport but who grew up in Perry.

Todd’s dad and grandmother worked for a catering company. Her mother learned from her parents, who grew up in Sicily. Her grandfather was a fisherman who had his own charter company, so perch and walleye were table fixtures. The strong aroma from her grandmother’s sauerkraut would fill the house – pungent smell, great taste.