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Key Points
Chefs consistently reach for Wegmans’ Italian Classics olive oil.
Bronze-cut pasta and Parmigiano Reggiano also earn high praise.
Jarred sauces and San Marzano tomatoes make weeknight meals easier.
Any decent cook knows that their finished dish is only as good as the sum of its parts—meaning that the quality of the ingredients is paramount when trying to pull off something delicious. That’s especially true for Italian dishes—you can’t exactly make spaghetti aglio e olio into something worthy of a restaurant unless the individual ingredients are topnotch.
Few people know that better than chefs, which is why we asked seven of them what they always stock their cart with at regional grocery store Wegmans. A few of those chefs even helm Wegmans’ own kitchens. It turns out, they don’t leave the store without hitting up the Italian pantry section, most specifically for extra-virgin olive oil.
Why Chefs Love Wegmans Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Credit: Wegmans. Getty Images. EatingWell design.
Wegmans carries a number of olive oil brands, from influencer favorites like Graza to ubiquitous brands like Filippo Berio. But their private label offerings are also numerous: the company offers not only extra-virgin olive oil but an Italian Classics line made with 100% Italian olives, which three chefs called out specifically. “It’s a pantry staple for me,” said Kyle Yingling, executive chef at Wegmans’ Columbia, Maryland, store. “It’s very mild in flavor with fruity overtones and a peppery finish, lending itself well to sauces, vinaigrettes and as a finishing oil,” he notes.
Nick Lang, corporate developmental chef at Wegmans, agrees. “I use it for everyday cooking and really enjoy it,” he says.
It wasn’t just chefs at Wegmans who were fans: Denver-based private chef Stephen Ingber also reaches for the Italian Classics Extra Virgin Olive Oil but personally prefers the organic version. “It is consistently high quality and versatile. I use olive oil frequently, from finishing vegetables to building sauces, and Wegmans’ organic olive oil offers a clean flavor and excellent balance. It is a pantry staple I always keep on hand.”
Other Italian Pantry Favorites
Wegmans’ hometown of Rochester, New York, is the ninth largest community of Italian Americans in the nation and is ranked second in New York State. So it’s not surprising that in order to grow into a household name in the region, the store had to nail its Italian goods. Beyond the olive oil, the chefs we spoke with pointed to the store’s pastas (both homemade and dried), Parmigiano Reggiano, canned tomatoes and even the jarred sauces as must-haves in their weekly grocery haul.
“My whole family is Italian, and I am a master at Italian sauces. But I’m also a busy mom and find their jarred sauces to not need any additional doctoring,” says Baltimore-based chef and cookbook author Jessica Formicola, who also serves as a judge on the Emmy-nominated local food show, Plate It! Baltimore. On her most recent grocery run, she picked up their creamy vodka sauce, diavolo sauce and new red pepper pesto—in a single trip.
Peter Bradley, executive chef at Wegmans’ Crofton store in Maryland, calls out the Italian Classics pasta specifically because it’s bronze cut. It’s a detail that matters: the extrusion process leaves the pasta surface slightly rough, giving sauce real traction rather than letting it slide to the bottom of the bowl. It’s a technique more common in artisan Italian brands than grocery store house labels, which sets Wegmans apart. Rena Awada, chef and founder of Healthy Fitness Meals, also picks up the store’s house-made fresh pasta whenever it’s available.
Of course, no Italian chef is worth their salt without a good Parmigiano Reggiano in their fridge. (It gets treated like a condiment in my house, topping everything from pastas to soups to the occasional rice bowl and salad.) Wegmans didn’t disappoint here either: Yingling buys it every week and never wastes the rind. “It’s a great addition to soups, sauces and stocks,” he notes. For Anthony Turano, executive chef at Wegmans’ Carlyle store in Virginia, the draw is the San Marzano tomatoes—and his endorsement is personal. “Being Italian, I’ve been making tomato sauce from scratch since the first day I could walk,” he says. “The quality and flavor are better than competitors. Reminds me of the tomatoes my family used to get imported from Italy.”
The Bottom Line
Wegmans is headquartered in Rochester, New York, a city with a high Italian American population, so it’s no surprise that several chefs won’t leave the store without a trip down the Italian foods aisle. The most popular buy among chefs we spoke with was the Italian Classics Extra Virgin Olive Oil, but the bronze-cut pastas, jarred sauces, Parmigiano Reggiano and canned tomatoes were all hits as well.
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