I love you NONNA
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I love you NONNA *
I come from a small village in the province of Asti, in Piedmont, Italy.
I grew up with a single mother and a very resourceful grandmother.
At home, things were not always easy, and it was often a struggle to get by, but one thing was never missing: a proper meal at the table — for my grandmother, that was essential.
That’s how she taught me that food is not just a necessity. Food is what brings us together, what warms cold winter evenings and refreshes summer afternoons.
It’s what helps us open up and connect, and it has always been my anchor in the most difficult moments.
My grandmother is my biggest inspiration.
She passed on everything I know, as well as her love for the vegetable garden and fresh produce.
Thanks to her, I decided to attend culinary school and, after twelve years working in restaurants across Europe, I slowly realized something important.
What I was truly drawn to was not just cooking, but teaching — especially to children.
How it started
Learning to cook at a young age was a great source of confidence for me. No matter what was happening around me, I always turned to the dishes my grandmother passed down to me — the ones that always made me feel safe.
As my grandmother always says: “A bad day tastes better when you end it with something good at the table.”
Thanks to her, I learned to eat directly from the garden, and for me that was always the standard — I never saw it as a luxury.
During my career in the kitchen, I began to realise that I wanted to pass on what she had given me to the next generations.
I became aware of how meaningful and important those small kitchen gestures are, the ones we often take for granted.
I realised how much strength I had gained from being able to take care of myself through my own cooking.
That’s why I decided to start teaching children how to cook — to support them in discovering this magical power of their own. To help them take care of themselves while having fun with new flavours and colours.
In the meantime, I discovered countless flavours while travelling, and I became deeply fascinated by how different cultures express themselves through food.
For me, travelling through new flavours and staying open and flexible is truly the foundation of cooking.
I have lived in four different European countries and travelled extensively.
I am deeply inspired by the infinite combinations of flavours we can find out there, shaped by places, climates and traditions.
To me, food is much more than cooking — it is an opportunity for connection.
When we eat, it doesn’t matter where we come from, how old we are, or which language we speak — when we share good food, we feel happy together.
And this always moves me deeply. With children especially, this feeling becomes even stronger.
It is incredible to realise how many different flavours exist in the world.
I feel a deep sense of gratitude and fascination for everything that arrives on our tables.
For me, this is what makes every meal feel like a small celebration — not just something necessary, but something meaningful and alive.
This feeling is what continues to inspire my work every day with children and families.
Flavours
TODAY
I have now been living in Amsterdam for seven years, where I mainly work in Montessori schools, giving daily cooking lessons and helping hundreds of children each week discover new flavours.
I have been teaching for almost ten years now, and I still wake up feeling happy and grateful for this dream of mine — it truly feels like home to me.
I also have the opportunity to support families in discovering the joy of food through my coaching programmes, which makes me feel deeply connected to who I am and what I do.
In the meantime, I published my first children’s cooking book, which I designed and illustrated myself: Flavours of Europe.
I am especially proud of having written it in Dutch — a very special milestone for me.
If you’d like to work with me, you can discover my work here.