Teacher Lunch Unwrapped

Send us Fan MailJenn and Mel head down the shore to Via Veneto Ristorante in Manasquan, New Jersey, to sit with Nino Strippoli, the family restaurant owner Mel calls her cousin the way Italian families make cousins.Over a table full of food, they talk about growing up in the restaurant business, how his dad pushed him and his brother to open their own place, why Christmas Eve is all seafood, a braised rabbit you have to call ahead for, and the big question: is it gravy or sauce? Justin, the friend who runs the floor, takes the hot seat too.In this episode:0:00 Welcome down the shore0:26 Meet Nino and the family restaurant story3:16 How his dad pushed them to open their own place4:17 Justin joins the table6:56 Teacher Jenn vs podcast Jenn8:26 How the cousins are connected11:50 Busy season, slow season and snowbirds13:10 The food arrives15:19 Sicilian recipes and the chef's favorite dish17:27 The braised rabbit18:43 Christmas Eve seafood19:20 Gravy or sauce?21:14 A Thanksgiving announcement nobody saw coming26:32 Jenn tries to fix Nino up28:29 Justin in the hot seat31:39 Thank yous and where to eatVisit Via Veneto Ristorante in Manasquan, NJ: https://www.instagram.com/viavenetonj/?hl=enWatch The Video Version Here: https://youtu.be/taFWJ5hMVMUFollow us!Instagram: @Jenn_and_MelTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenn_mel_YouTube: Jenn And MelLinktree: Jenn and MelWebsite: https://jennandmel.com/

Send us Fan MailJenn and Mel welcome their very first guest to the table: Momma Jackie, the North Jersey food creator known for old school Italian recipes like big ziti and chickpea brownies.Her first video was a chickpea brownie recipe her daughter talked her into posting. By the next morning it was taking off. Momma Jackie shares how she started telling stories about her grandmother while she cooks, how growing up in tight knit Italian neighborhoods still shapes her content, and how she films after a full day at her job.Then the three of them get real about the creator life: whether you can talk about your kids online (including the time she had to clarify that her son is not poor), why followers do not equal money, why integrity matters when a brand comes calling, and what she learned making her first cookbook. They also swap best and worst comments, including the one that led to flowers after a knee surgery.No script. No filter. Just three women at the table telling the truth.Follow Momma Jackie:InstagramTikTokClick Here To Get Her CookbookFollow us!Instagram: @Jenn_and_MelTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenn_mel_YouTube: Jenn And MelLinktree: Jenn and MelWebsite: https://jennandmel.com/

Send us Fan MailIt's back to school season, so Jenn and Mel are trading the usual Italian talk for a full teacher edition. They name every grammar school teacher they ever had, swap stories about the ones who shaped them (and a few who definitely wouldn't fly today), and get real about what it's like being the teacher your students will remember forever, for better or worse.Then it's snack talk: why kids ditch the beautiful bento box for the Cheetos every time, the case for packing your own lunch instead of DoorDash, and Jenn's go to easy teacher lunch that everyone's been begging for the recipe to. They also touch on something heavier, lockdown drills and how teachers actually think through keeping kids safe, before closing it out light with report cards, Lost and Found chaos, and the best smelling teacher of all time.No script. No filter. Just two teachers keeping it real about the job, the kids, and everything in between.New episodes every month. Subscribe so you never miss one.Follow us!Instagram: @Jenn_and_MelTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenn_mel_YouTube: Jenn And MelLinktree: Jenn and MelWebsite: https://jennandmel.com/

Send us Fan MailThis week Jenn and Mel head back to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, the neighborhood where Jenn's childhood memories live on every corner. They spend the day at the Arthur Avenue Retail Market, learning how cigars are hand rolled from Dominican tobacco wrapped in Connecticut leaf, tasting fresh shucked oysters and clams at the outdoor fish cart, and watching a real butcher work his counter the old fashioned way.Along the way they run into old family friends, get adopted into half the neighborhood's family tree in the span of twenty minutes, and meet a local legend who's proud of two things: his mugshot and his cane game. It's hot, it's chaotic, it's completely unscripted, and it's exactly why they keep coming back.No script. No filter. Just two best friends walking the avenue and telling the truth.New episodes every month. Subscribe so you never miss one.Follow us!Instagram: @Jenn_and_MelTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenn_mel_YouTube: Jenn And MelLinktree: Jenn and MelWebsite: https://jennandmel.com/

Send us Fan MailJenn and Mel are back for Episode 2 and this time they are talking about everything — how it felt to do their first live show, the lesson they both live by about not being afraid to fail, and the guy outside the coffee shop who gave them way more than they asked for.They also get into the family boundaries conversation every parent needs to hear, their unofficial Below Deck obsession, and a Sip It or Say It round that somehow ends in a shower curtain story neither of them can believe they are telling on camera.No script. No filter. Just two best friends telling the truth.New episodes every month. Subscribe so you never miss one.Follow us!Instagram: @Jenn_and_MelTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenn_mel_YouTube: Jenn And MelLinktree: Jenn and MelWebsite: https://jennandmel.com/

Send us Fan MailWelcome to Teacher Lunch Unwrapped. Jenn and Mel are two Italian-American women, mothers of four each, and best friends since 1996 — and they have a lot to say.In Episode 1 they dig into how things were then versus now, starting with the unwritten rules of showing up to someone's house. You knocked without calling. You never came empty handed. You helped clean up without being asked. And you definitely did not take your grapes home.Then they kick off a brand new segment — Say It or Sip It — where they answer questions honestly or take a sip of espresso to dodge. Kitchen scissors, mother-in-law cooking, judging someone's dirty house, and a few things that probably should have stayed at the table.This is real talk, no filter, and a whole lot of Italian-American culture you either lived or always wanted to.New episodes coming soon. Subscribe so you never miss one.Follow us!Instagram: @Jenn_and_MelTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenn_mel_YouTube: Jenn And MelLinktree: Jenn and MelWebsite: https://jennandmel.com/

Send us Fan MailHow Melissa makes her yummy sandwich Follow us!Instagram: @Jenn_and_MelTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenn_mel_YouTube: Jenn And MelLinktree: Jenn and MelWebsite: https://jennandmel.com/

Send us Fan MailLet’s cook together Follow us!Instagram: @Jenn_and_MelTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenn_mel_YouTube: Jenn And MelLinktree: Jenn and MelWebsite: https://jennandmel.com/

Send us Fan MailEp. 7 Follow us!Instagram: @Jenn_and_MelTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenn_mel_YouTube: Jenn And MelLinktree: Jenn and MelWebsite: https://jennandmel.com/

Send us Fan MailFriendship Follow us!Instagram: @Jenn_and_MelTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenn_mel_YouTube: Jenn And MelLinktree: Jenn and MelWebsite: https://jennandmel.com/