Ciao Anthony!
I'm a second-generation Italian-Australian and I too have fond memories of a childhood growing up with Nonna's cooking. Every Saturday as kids we would drive down to my father's parents' house in Brunswick (one of the major Italian suburbs around Melbourne, Victoria) for a home-cooked dinner with my cousins. She used to cook all kinds of amazing food; lasagna, cannelloni, pizza, rice, chicken cutlets, and not to mention my favorite, arancini! And when it came time to make the home-made salami, we would have the pork ribs and all the other delicious parts of the pig that we couldn't let go to waste. But it wasn't just about the amazing food, it was what it all represented, and how it brought the whole family together on a regular basis. One of the greatest things about my nonna's cooking is that it was the catalyst for us to spend time together, and the dinner table is one of the most important places where this should happen. This for me, is probably the most cherished part of my childhood, and I know that growing up with this family ritual and sense of togetherness is what made me the person I am today, and I owe a lot to my nonna for that. I'm 19 now and sadly, much has changed since the good old days which I miss pretty dearly. Nonna passed away just over 3 years ago and it had quite a big impact on my family. She had been suffering from Alzheimer's in the later stages of her life, and it came to the point where she struggled to remember names and faces and ages. Naturally, this also had a severe effect on her cooking, and it was probably at this stage where I had come to realize just how important Nonna's cooking had been as a real foundation for the family and how we connected and spent time together. There was a certain sadness as Nonna came to accept she was no longer able to cook like she had used to, and even more so for us as we realized that we may have taken the times we had for granted, and hadn't learnt her recipes and techniques so we could continue to pass down as family tradition. It's definitely something that I regret now. 3 years on and it's not hard to see how times have changed. Maybe it's because we're all grown up now and so much busier than the simple times of childhood, but we just don't get to see each other as much as we should anymore. Dad visits Nonno a couple of times a week to check he is going ok, but it's pretty clear that we've lost an essential part of what brought us all together. I really only get to see my cousins now at special occasions, birthdays and the like, and when we do see each other I've noticed that we do tend to talk a lot about the old days and our fond childhood memories. But enough about the sad stuff, because in reality, how we feel now is just reflective of how great a person my nonna was. She was an amazing woman who is one of the greatest cooks I'll ever know. Though we may have lost some of these recipes and the opportunity to learn them, Dad still likes to cook with influences from his Calabrian heritage, and it's encouraging to see that there is still some element of tradition being passed down. It may not be exactly the same as the old days, but maybe it isn't such a bad thing that our cooking styles evolve and transform through the generations. Having learnt from the missed opportunity, we're making sure to learn all we can from my mother's parents, as there are many fond culinary memories from this side of the family, and much of what I've said before applies to this side of the family as it does to my dad's side. But knowing what I know now, and being able to appreciate the fond memories I've had in my life, it's so good to see someone like you who is so determined to keep your family tradition going. I can't speak enough of how important I see what you're doing, not just for your family, but for all the people who are luckily enough to have stumbled across your site. As such, I'd like to ask you a few questions about your childhood growing up with Nonna's cooking and what this meant for you.
Obviously, your nonna has had a massive influence in your life. What would you pinpoint as her greatest quality, or what is the thing that you loved most about her?
What is your fondest memory about your nonna's cooking? It can be a single moment or more of a ritual aspect.
How often would you visit your nonna as a child? Was it her cooking that brought everyone together?
Did you spend a lot of time with her in the kitchen, or was it more of an observer or a taster (like I was)?
How would she react to the dreaded words "Sorry, I'm not hungry" or "I really can't eat anymore"?
And the question that had to be asked, what is your favorite recipe of hers? It can be either your favorite to cook yourself or purely to eat.
Now just a few quick questions about your site. What was the major motivation behind taking your project to the web? Was it more of an added self-motivation to document your progress in recreating your nonna's cooking, or was it more about sharing your food discoveries with the world?
On your About page, you speak a lot about the importance of home-made cooking as a catalyst for bringing people together. Obviously, this is a vital part of the Italian tradition, but just how important is this for society in the modern world?
Undoubtedly, the contemporary family framework has changed a lot since the old days, and families are much more different and varied than what they used to be, not to mention how busy everyone seems to be in this non-stop world. Do you see these cooking traditions as still being able to adapt to these changing circumstances, or does this just reinforce the importance of these traditions?
Your Sauce Talk page is absolutely huge and you receive such an enormous amount of feedback from your audience. How rewarding is it to see not only your hard work, but your nonna's legacy making a difference to people all over the world?
And finally, how has your site made a difference to your own life and your own family? Do you see these traditions continuing to be passed down from your children throughout the future generations?
I appreciate the time you take to answer my questions Anthony. I think it will make a nice little addition to your sauce talk page :)
And again, I want to let you know that the work you've done so far with your site is very much valued to people everywhere, and I wish you all the best of luck with it into the future.
Much love from Australia, Michael.
... click Here for my answers to Michael's excellent questions!
