My name is Mitchel Wilhelm. I’m a line cook working the pasta station at Il Ritorno, a fine dining Italian restaurant. But my relationship with food started long before that—at home, in a kitchen where the stove was always hot and the stories were told over dinner. My Nonnie, an Italian woman who’s lived all over the world, cooked with soul and intention. My mom learned from her, and I learned from both of them. Food wasn’t just a meal—it was a rhythm, a way to connect, and eventually, a path I couldn’t ignore.
I didn’t start in kitchens, though. I studied finance at the University of South Carolina (go Gamecocks!) and went into commercial real estate in Charlotte. I thought that would be my path to eventually opening a restaurant. But after interning in school and then working in an office, I realized I didn’t want to wait. I didn’t want a desk.
Loqavore started out of a need: I wanted a planner that worked like a cook thinks. I was tired of flipping through random notebooks to find recipes, or only having space for prep lists. I needed something for sketching plating ideas, splitting up tasks in a way that reflected how we actually work on the line, and keeping track of personal growth too. That idea turned into a product. That product turned into a brand.
Loqavore now exists to celebrate what’s behind real, beautiful food. The farmers. The chefs. The producers who care. It’s about honoring food as nourishment, as craft, as culture, and using apparel, goods, recipes and stories to build that world.
This is for the proffesional and home cooks who still care. The ones who want to get better. The people who know food is more than fuel, it’s medicine, memory, and meaning.
