Bilingual, bicultural and born to Italian parents in London, I have always been proud of my Italian heritage.
Growing up surrounded by the traditions and love of my family has shaped who I am today and influenced everything from my love of food to my appreciation of family.
I have special memories of cooking with my mother from a very young age. My mother cooked the traditional Italian way, ‘ad occhio‘, meaning cooking by eye, where she would look, feel and taste to know when it was right, using family recipes and traditions passed down from generation to generation. It was my mother's passion for cooking that influenced and inspired me and led to my own love of cooking, and my strong desire to continue family traditions.
I remember Summer trips to Italy to visit family and many of these special memories include the kitchen. I remember the distinctive smell of my nonna's wood oven, the amazing garden where the fresh fruit and vegetables were grown, the enormous baskets filled with delicious freshly picked tomatoes and tables covered with tomatoes cut in half and left to dry in the sun to make sun dried tomatoes. I remember my nonno tasting and checking the pasta water from the saucepan before adding the pasta, to make sure it had the right amount of salt in - very important!
In 2002 my childhood dream to live in Italy came true! I moved with my family to live in Tuscany, where we restored an old farmhouse just a short drive down the hill from the centre of Cortona and from where I continue my love of cooking and share my passion with others.