Micah Green / Gulf Coast Media

What started as a little soapbox speech got turned into a little philosophy that grew and became part of my beliefs and woven into my life.”

- Pete Blohme

"Panini" Pete Blohme wears many hats — husband, father, chef, entrepreneur, humanitarian, podcast host and aspiring real estate mogul. His newest is author and publisher.

Blohme just released his first book, "Spatula Success," published by his new PP Publishing LLC. In the memoir, Blohme shares his journey to becoming a chef and restaurateur and one of his core philosophies defined in what has become known as the spatula speech.

When asked why he wanted to write a book, Blohme said ambition.

"Ambition is a strange thing. I have always been ambitious and entrepreneurial, so there are things that you suddenly want to do that you never even dreamed you would do or accomplish," Blohme said. "What started as a little soapbox speech got turned into a little philosophy that grew and became part of my beliefs and woven into my life. I was like I should write a little book about it, and I wondered if I could expand it into something."

The spatula soapbox speech has been boiled down to a line you will hear Blohme say often, and it is now in print on the inside cover of his book, "Work hard, dig deep, do good."

The spatula speech came from stories he heard during his time at the Culinary Institute of America about saving waste and helping to make a restaurant profitable.

The example Blohme used was aioli. If you scrape out the last bit with a spatula, you may save two paninis today. Do it five times and suddenly you save two gallons. In life, take every opportunity that comes your way and every chance to help others and a bunch of little things build a foundation.

"I related it to these little things that don't seem to mean anything but if you grasp and collect them over time, they become very meaningful, abundant, significant and lead to other things," he said. "Dig deep, dig in and get the most out of life."

Blohme said he has missed a lot of opportunities that still haunt him to this day. The one that he said he thinks about most was a life lesson and good deed moment 12 years ago while sitting in the Fairhope Middle School carline.

"Someone was coming out of a house in an electric wheelchair with a bag of garbage getting ready to throw it in the can. I was ready to tell Arnold to go help that person, but I hesitated three or four times, and that moment passed," Blohme said. "That would have been such a great teaching moment. Not only could we have made somebody's day, but who knows, maybe he was in a bad way and it could have made their day."

Throughout his career, Blohme said he has had a million little moments that have led him on the path to where he is now. He can go through some of the many milestones in his career and run through the list of opportunities he seized.

With this book, Blohme hopes people get motivated and inspired but also realize they need to work on their awareness.

"You have to be aware of the value and how special these little things are that we don't notice. It is not about getting all the jelly out of the jar. We pass by opportunities all the time that could enhance your career, love life, to be nice and be a good human," Blohme said.

Spatula Success is available at all the PP Hospitality Group restaurants, Barnes & Noble and Amazon. He is also doing signings around the area. To find out more about Blohme, PP Hospitality Group or to purchase the book, visit paninipetes.com.