Currently Bookmarking: Gina Bruno

There are people who make beautiful food, and then there are people who make you want to build a life around it. Gina Bruno falls squarely into the second category.

The chef, creator, writer behind Gina Loves Pizza (The Fifth Course), host of Campers, and founder has built a world that feels as much about gathering as it does about what’s on the plate. Her recipes make you want to cook, her hosting philosophy makes you want to invite people over, and her perspective on motherhood, style, New York, and building a creative career feels refreshingly honest.

After following along for some time (and becoming mildly obsessed with her newly redesigned backyard), I wanted to learn more about the woman behind it all. We talked about career pivots, why she’s stopped chasing “balance,” what people get wrong about entertaining, and why the best dinner parties are the ones that linger long after everyone should have gone home.

For anyone just discovering you, tell us a little about yourself and how you’d describe what you do these days.

Gina: I’m Gina. Chef, host, mother, and someone who has never been able to do just one thing. I live in Brooklyn with my husband and my daughter Mars. I trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, which sounds much fancier than the path that got me there. I came from hospitality marketing. I just needed to be closer to the food and the people eating it.

These days I write, I host, I create, I own and run events out of Frank’s House in Clinton Hill, and I’m building something in the kids space which is everything I wish existed when Mars started eating. Food is always the throughline.

You’ve built such a multifaceted career. Was there a moment where everything clicked into place, or has it felt more like following curiosity and building as you go?

Gina: There was a click moment. Having Mars shifted everything. I moved into a different gear, one I can’t fully explain but nobody, including myself, was going to stop me. It wasn’t that everything suddenly made sense on paper. It was more like I stopped needing it too. I knew what I was building and I just started building it. That clarity keeps evolving but that’s where it started.

One thing I love about your work is that it extends far beyond recipes. The Fifth Course feels like food, hosting, motherhood, style, New York, and conversation all rolled into one. What drew you to Substack?

Gina: Instagram is where I show up. Substack is where I actually say something. I wanted a place where I could write a full thought without it disappearing in 48 hours. Where I could talk about food and motherhood and New York and hosting and have it all live together without feeling like I was confusing the algorithm. Substack gave me that. It’s slower and more intimate and the people who find you there actually want to be there. That changes everything about how you write.

Your world feels deeply rooted in connection. What do you think people are really craving right now when it comes to food and gathering?

Gina: Permission. People are exhausted by the pressure to make everything look perfect and they are desperately craving someone to tell them it doesn’t have to be. What people actually want is to be fed and seen and to sit somewhere long enough that they forget to check their phone. That’s it. The food matters but it’s almost never the point.

That mindset comes through in the way you entertain, too. Your gatherings always feel elevated but never intimidating. What’s your philosophy when it comes to hosting?

Gina: Make it feel like you. Not like a Pinterest board, not like a restaurant, not like anyone else’s dinner party. People can tell when a table was set for the photo and when it was set for them. I always want my guests to feel like I thought about them specifically. The flower from the market because I know she loves peonies. The thing on the menu because I remembered he doesn’t eat meat. That specificity is what makes a gathering feel like a gift instead of a performance.

Along those same lines, what’s one hosting rule you swear by, and one you think people should stop taking so seriously?

Gina: The rule I swear by: eat something before your guests arrive. Every time I skip this I regret it. You cannot take care of people when you’re starving.

The rule people need to let go of: matching everything. Mismatched chairs, mismatched glasses, mismatched napkins, all of it is more interesting than a set. Buy the thing you love when you see it. It will find its place at the table.

Food and personal style seem to coexist so naturally in your world. Do you think one influences the other?

Gina: Completely. The way I get dressed and the way I set a table come from the same instinct. Color, texture, something unexpected that ties it all together but also something fairly simple most days. I’m drawn to things that feel considered but not fussy. Elevated but wearable. That’s exactly how I want my food to feel.

You’ve also carved out a career that doesn’t fit the traditional “chef” mold. How have you learned to embrace building something that’s uniquely yours?

Gina: By stopping to try to justify it. For a long time I felt like I had to prove the chef credentials before I could talk about anything else. Like I hadn’t earned the right to have a point of view about hosting or motherhood or style. At some point I realized that the whole thing together was the credential. Nobody else has this exact combination and that’s the beauty in it.

Speaking of spaces that feel personal, I have to ask about your backyard. It feels like such a beautiful extension of your home and your point of view. What was your vision?

Gina: I did! It was something we had been dreaming about since we moved in but man things are expensive. This year we bit the bullet and decided to skip the big summer vacation and vacation in the yard everyday. I wanted it to feel like an extension of the house. Somewhere that had intention and warmth but didn’t try too hard. A real table and chairs, good lighting, things growing. The kind of space where you could have a quiet dinner for two or feed twenty people and it would feel right either way.

The perfect outdoor gathering for me is long. It starts before anyone is hungry and ends after everyone should have gone home. Good light, no overhead anything, food that can sit out without suffering, and a table big enough that nobody feels far away.

Between work, creativity, and motherhood, what does a realistic version of balance look like these days?

Gina: Balance is a word I’ve stopped using. Right now I’m a new-ish mom, pushing harder at work than I ever have, and still figuring out what life as a mother actually looks like day to day. There is no balance. There are calm weeks and absolutely insane months. There are great nights of sleep and nights of none at all. Maybe 2028. For now I’m just in it.

What’s something people romanticize about the food world, and something they completely underestimate?

Gina: People forever romanticize the kitchen. The reality of professional cooking is physical and relentless in a way that is very hard to explain to someone who hasn’t done it whether you’re on the line or a private chef. The romance wears off fast when your feet hurt and it’s 11pm and you still have to break down your station or a full event.

What people underestimate is how much the business side matters SO MUCH. Recipe development and beautiful content are maybe thirty percent of this. The rest is operations, relationships, follow through, and knowing how to run something. Nobody talks about that part enough.

What’s inspiring you creatively right now?

Gina: Summer in New York. There’s a specific energy this city gets in June that I chase every year. The markets, the light, eating outside somewhere with a good glass of something cold. I’m also really inspired by women who are building things quietly and seriously without making a lot of noise about it. That energy is contagious.

Okay, let's end with a few of my favorite rapid fire questions...

Best meal you’ve had recently?
Mắm in LES.

A restaurant you’d recommend without hesitation?
Theodora.

Three pantry staples you always have on hand?
Olive oil, Champagne vinegar, canned coconut milk.

Something you’re currently obsessed with?
Pickled rhubarb and grapes.

A brand you can’t stop recommending?
The Frankie Shop for fashion, Eliou for jewelry, and LEIF for home.

Who are you reading or feeling inspired by lately?
I’m currently reading two books: Matrescence by Jucy Jones and I Regret Almost Everything by Keith McNally (for the second time because it’s that good). I’m feeling inspired by a few women that make Instagram feel and look effortless.

What are you currently bookmarking?
Unique trips that are a five-hour max drive away so I can bring my dog and child in a car.

And finally, if someone is just discovering your world, what’s the first thing they should make?
Pickle some fruit this summer. It’s so unexpected and just a hosting win.

If there’s one thing I took away from my conversation with Gina, it’s that the most memorable meals have very little to do with perfection. They’re about thoughtfulness. They’re about creating spaces that feel lived in instead of styled, tables that reflect the people sitting around them, and slowing down long enough to actually enjoy them.

Needless to say, I’m officially inspired to pickle some fruit, invite friends over, and stop worrying about whether the napkins match. That’s a hosting philosophy I can absolutely get behind.

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