BORN BETWEEN TWO WORLDS - AT HOME IN ONE KITCHEN
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 authentic Italian food to my appreciation of family and Italian culinary traditions.
I have special memories of cooking traditional Italian recipes 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 Italian cooking techniques passed down from generation to generation. It was my mother's passion for homemade Italian cooking that influenced and inspired me and led to my own love of cooking authentic Italian cuisine, and my strong desire to continue family traditions through hands-on cooking classes.
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 Italian 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 the pasta water for salt before adding the pasta, to make sure it had the just the right amount of salt added - very important in Italian cooking!
In 2002 my childhood dream to live in Italy came true when 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. Here in the heart of Tuscany, I am fortunate enough to be able to share my love and passion for Italian cooking with others through authentic Tuscan cooking classes and immersive culinary experiences in Cortona, combined with fun and interesting cultural experiences that bring you the real taste of Italy.