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The Off The Menu Podcast

The Off The Menu Podcast

How One Entrepreneur Reinvented Pasta Sauce

Jun 23, 2026 · 55 min · 13 segments

What makes a truly great pasta sauce? Is it the tomatoes, the family recipe, or the way it's preserved? In this episode of The Off The Menu Podcast, we sit down with Melina Balbo, founder of BIS…

What makes a truly great pasta sauce? Is it the tomatoes, the family recipe, or the way it's preserved? In this episode of The Off The Menu Podcast, we sit down with Melina Balbo, founder of BIS Pasta Sauce, to explore Italian food traditions, family recipes, entrepreneurship, and why frozen pasta sauce may deliver a fresher, more authentic flavor than shelf-stable jars. Melina shares stories of growing up in a large Italian family in New York, receiving homemade sauce care packages while away at school, learning food traditions in Sicily, and launching a food startup inspired by generations of family cooking. The conversation dives into San Marzano tomatoes, pesto, marinara vs. pomodoro sauce, the infamous "sauce or gravy" debate, and the challenges of building a specialty food brand from scratch.

What makes a truly great pasta sauce? Is it the tomatoes, the family recipe, or the way it's preserved? In this episode of The Off The Menu Podcast, we sit down with Melina Balbo, founder of BIS…

Speakers: Milena BalboGuestWal OzelloHostTom ClementsPanelistJoel NepaHost

Spotify Apple Podcasts YouTube Amazon Music Website

Top entities: Italian cuisine×31 Chipotle×2 Leonardo DiCaprio×4 Italian Americans×4 Leonardo da Vinci×5

Show signals: SuitabilitySafeBiasNot politicalAudience≈1k followers

Mailbag: Cooking Disaster Stories48:50 – 54:00

48:50

All right, welcome back to the Off the Menu podcast.

48:52

If you have a question, comment, or suggestion, please send us an email at mailbag at theoffthemenu.com. All right, let's go to our producer, Tom.

49:00

What's in the mailbag this episode? All

Tom ClementsPanelist

49:02

right, this week's mailbag question is from Kate in Columbus, Ohio.

Tom ClementsPanelist

49:06

And she says she is loving the podcast and she is rooting for you, Joel, on the quiz questions.

Tom ClementsPanelist

49:12

You got a fan, Joel.

Tom ClementsPanelist

49:14

Kate would love to hear about your memorable cooking disasters or eating disasters.

49:21

Well, Kate, first of all, thank you so much.

49:23

And I will do better next week.

49:25

I'll be playing out.

49:27

I'll be playing for you, absolutely.

49:29

I'm telling you, memorable cooking.

49:32

You know, Walt, I think we spoke over Christmas, and for Christmas Eve, I've been wanting to make this recipe, which was a baked stuffed rigatoni.

49:41

Yeah, yeah.

49:42

And I stuffed each individual rigatoni.

49:45

I

49:45

remember this.

49:45

You showed me a picture, yeah.

49:46

Man, with ricotta and cooked it up.

49:51

And it was freaking amazing.

49:53

Everyone loved it.

49:55

And I'm definitely going to make it again.

49:56

The eating disaster was...

50:01

Boy, stuffing these was a mess.

50:06

I overstuffed the bag.

Italian cuisineEntityCuisine
99%31 mentions
ChipotleEntityJalapeño
98%2 mentions
Leonardo DiCaprioPersonAmerican actor and film producer
96%4 mentions
Italian AmericansEntityEthnicity
95%4 mentions
Leonardo da VinciPersonItalian polymath
93%5 mentions
Amerigo VespucciPersonExplorer and navigator
92%1 mention
SunbirdEntityBird
91%5 mentions
SicilyAdministrative AreaRegion in Italy
89%5 mentions
ColumbusCityCity in Ohio
88%5 mentions
Ferrari S.p.A.CompanyCar manufacturer
86%3 mentions
Eliza BlankPersonCEO of The Sill
85%5 mentions
ItaliansEntityEthnic group
83%5 mentions
The Farmlink ProjectCompanyNon-profit organization
82%2 mentions
MadonnaPersonAmerican singer-songwriter and record producer
80%1 mention
Bolognese sauceEntitySauce
79%3 mentions
EriceCityTown in Sicily, Italy
78%2 mentions
San Marzano tomatoEntityPlant
76%8 mentions
Roman HolidayMovie1953 film
75%2 mentions
ProseccoEntityDrink
73%2 mentions
Lady GagaPersonSinger-songwriter
72%2 mentions
AmericansEntityEthnic group
70%6 mentions
New YorkCityCity in New York State
69%6 mentions
GenoaLandmarkCity in Italy
67%2 mentions
Puss in BootsTV Series2011 film
66%1 mention
Rocky BalboaMovie2006 film
64%2 mentions
ItalyCountryCountry in Europe
63%2 mentions
EtsyCompanyE-commerce company
62%3 mentions
Nancy PelosiPersonFormer Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
60%3 mentions
Christopher ColumbusPersonExplorer and navigator
59%1 mention
GodEntitySupreme being
57%2 mentions
Born This WayMusic AlbumStudio album by Lady Gaga
56%1 mention
United StatesCountryCountry in North America
54%2 mentions
RamboMovie2008 film
53%1 mention
Sylvester StallonePersonAmerican actor and filmmaker
51%1 mention
LamborghiniBrandAutomobile make
50%1 mention
Democratic PartyOrganizationPolitical party
49%1 mention
Arnold SchwarzeneggerPersonAustrian-American actor and businessman
47%1 mention
Sarah PalinPersonCommentator and former Governor of Alaska
46%1 mention
Republican PartyOrganizationPolitical party
44%1 mention
Melania TrumpPersonFirst Lady of the United States
43%1 mention
SpanishLanguageSpoken language
41%1 mention
Shark TankTV SeriesAmerican television series
40%2 mentions
KentuckyAdministrative AreaUS state
38%2 mentions
TorontoCityCity in Ontario, Canada
37%2 mentions
CaliforniaAdministrative AreaUS state
36%1 mention
Mount VesuviusVolcanoStratovolcano in Italy
34%2 mentions
InstagramSoftware ApplicationSocial networking service
33%2 mentions
United Parcel ServiceCompanyChain
31%1 mention
TrapaniCityCity in Sicily, Italy
30%1 mention
ArabicLanguageSpoken language
28%1 mention

Home CookingFood > Cooking
TomatoesFood > Ingredients
Food IndustryBusiness
Family RecipesFood > Cuisine > Italian Cuisine
Italian CuisineFood > Cuisine
Italian CultureCulture > Food Culture
CuisineFood
San Marzano TomatoesFood > Ingredients > Tomatoes
CookingFood
Food CultureCulture
Family TraditionsFood > Cooking > Home Cooking
EntrepreneurshipBusiness > Food Industry
Culinary HeritageCulture > Food Culture > Italian Culture
IngredientsFood
Pasta SauceFood > Cuisine > Italian Cuisine > Family Recipes
Business
Food
Culture
Culinary MemoriesFood > Cooking > Home Cooking > Family Traditions
Food ProductsBusiness > Food Industry > Entrepreneurship
Frozen FoodsBusiness > Food Industry > Entrepreneurship > Food Products
Family GatheringsCulture > Food Culture > Italian Culture > Culinary Heritage
Quality IngredientsFood > Ingredients > Tomatoes > San Marzano Tomatoes

Mailbag: Cooking Disaster Stories48:50 – 54:00

48:50

All right, welcome back to the Off the Menu podcast.

48:52

If you have a question, comment, or suggestion, please send us an email at mailbag at theoffthemenu.com. All right, let's go to our producer, Tom.

49:00

What's in the mailbag this episode? All

Tom ClementsPanelist

49:02

right, this week's mailbag question is from Kate in Columbus, Ohio.

Tom ClementsPanelist

49:06

And she says she is loving the podcast and she is rooting for you, Joel, on the quiz questions.

Tom ClementsPanelist

49:12

You got a fan, Joel.

Tom ClementsPanelist

49:14

Kate would love to hear about your memorable cooking disasters or eating disasters.

49:21

Well, Kate, first of all, thank you so much.

49:23

And I will do better next week.

49:25

I'll be playing out.

49:27

I'll be playing for you, absolutely.

49:29

I'm telling you, memorable cooking.

49:32

You know, Walt, I think we spoke over Christmas, and for Christmas Eve, I've been wanting to make this recipe, which was a baked stuffed rigatoni.

49:41

Yeah, yeah.

49:42

And I stuffed each individual rigatoni.

49:45

I

49:45

remember this.

49:45

You showed me a picture, yeah.

49:46

Man, with ricotta and cooked it up.

49:51

And it was freaking amazing.

49:53

Everyone loved it.

49:55

And I'm definitely going to make it again.

49:56

The eating disaster was...

50:01

Boy, stuffing these was a mess.

50:06

I overstuffed the bag.

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