What is your culinary background?
My mother is from Italy, and as a young child my great grandmother, Nonna Maria, cared
for me while my parents worked. She was 75 and spoke no English, so our main connection was through food. She
had a huge garden in the back yard and we would go harvest lettuces, tomatoes, peaches, and zucchini flowers, then go back
to the kitchen and cook and eat together. She taught me how to make simple Italian meals using organic produce from
her garden, and that is the only way she ate. She would then can, pickle and dry produce for the winter, so we ate from
the garden all year long.
My love for food and cooking started then. I would cook for my family all the
time and I worked in the food business throughout college (I baked biscotti for Scalea's Italian deli in covington), and
then toward the end of my undergrad, while studying French, I started an Italian cookie company called Dolci di Angela to
help raise money for my study abroad program in the south of France- it was a great success and I still have people ask me
for my cookie tins!
While I was living in France, I took every opportunity to cook, and visit the outdoor
produce markets with my host mother. It was an incredible culinary experience for me! I returned from France,
knowing I wanted to pursue my culinary passion full-time, so I enrolled in the culinary arts program at the Natural Gourmet
Institue for Food and Health in NYC (a culinary school that specializes in organic, sustainable, healthy cooking), while my
husband and I were gettting our affairs in order to move to NYC, I was given the opportunity to buy an existing Italian specialty
foods shop and bakery at Findlay Market- and I took it so that I could remain close to my family while living my culinary
dream!
With the help of my mom, we opened the store, Angelina Fine Italian Food, in just 2 weeks
time, and started baking our family-recipe pastries, pastas, salads, panini, and sauces. I also catered many events
around Cincinnati (the Cincinnat Ballet, Bang nightclub, lunches for UC, the Cincinnati Art Museum, corporate lunches and
other parties) . While at Angelina I began teaching cooking classes at several different venues (like Second Sundays
on Main), and they were a huge success.
I realized during this time that my passion really lied in teaching
others about food and cooking. Owning Angelina Fine Italian Food was a great experience, and I met so many amazing people.
While I was there I felt that even though I was at a farmer's market, many people did not really understand the
importance of eating locally, organically, and sustainable produced food. So when my uncle approached with an offer
to buy Angelina, I felt it was a great opportunity for me to focus my energy on my cooking classes and teaching.
What experience do you have with sustainable/organic cooking? How long have you been doing it?
While
I was in high school, I started to stray from my Italian eating habits I had learned as a young girl, and began eating lots
of fast food, sweets and other unhealthy fare. So when I was nineteen I decided to change my diet, after struggling for the
past 5 years with horrible allergies and sinusitis.
I began reading many books on alternative medicine after
my doctor told me that I would need life-long allergy shots, allergy medication and sinus surgery. I felt that at 19,
there had to be a better way to live. On my quest for a healing diet, I also discovered many articles on organic food,
farming and the health of our planet. It dawned on me that this is the way I was taught to eat and that I needed to
get back to that.
The transition was very easy for me, since I had a deep connection with food and gardening
from my childhood, but I began to realize that many people never had the experiences I had and were not aware of the practices
in agribusiness that could threaten our food supply and our health. While many of my classmates were eating out, and
cooking ramen noodles, and mac and cheese, I was buying cookbooks and making my meals from scratch. They would make
fun of me and all the food I would have in our refridgerator and pantry. I remember one autumn day I had made polenta
with broccoli-rabe and garlic, and one of my friends was like "how do you like vegetables so much?" I also
began attending cooking classes wherever I could.
When I was 20, I decided to move back home with my parents
so that I could live a healthier life-style and have access to a nicer kitchen to cook in! I began cooking for friends
and family and everyone seemed to love my food! While we would all eat together, I would be giving them nutritional
information about their meal, as well as where the food came from and why that was important.
Why did you decide to teach these classes?
I was a high
school French teacher for 4 years before buying Angelina, and so teaching is second nature to me. My students used to
love our "food" days we would call them, where they could all make a French dish and bring it in to share with the
other students. We would always talk about the history of the dish, and had a blast. So, for me, I think it was
just natural- I love teaching, and I love cooking. I also care deeply about the environment and think it is vital that
we understand that our food purchases can reduce our carbon foot-print even more that selling our SUVs and switching to hybrid
vehicles.
I have been deeply inspired
by chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse and her commitment to sustainable cuisine. I also have teamed up with Granny's
Garden School at Loveland Elementary to teach classes and help with their program devoted to teaching children about organic
gardening, harvesting, and cooking.
What are the benefits that come along with organic cooking?
I think making a commitment (or partial commitment) to buy organic gives us a deep connection
to our food and the environment. For me, I look at a tomato that I have grown in my garden, and then a conventional
tomato that I buy at a supermarket- they are not even the same vegetable! I know that the use of chemicals, pesticides
and genetically modified organisms promises to keep our food supply abundant and "clean," but these practices are
having a devastating impact on our soil, land, animals and human health. Many of these chemicals and new practices have
not been studied in-depth to show their long-term impact on human or environmental health, and I think this is scary.
No doubt that there are politics involved in food, but we can vote with our dollars- these food issues and policies are ones that we citizens can really change- starting with our next
meal!
Will you only be teaching one class at Park + Vine?
Dan Korman, the owner of Park+Vine and I have talked about having
quarterly classes there, and maybe more!
How long will you
be teaching the classes at Rohs Street Cafe? Just until the end of summer? Into Fall?
Definitely into fall, every Wednesday. A posting
of the classes will be there in the cafe, and also on my websitewww.urbanorganiccincinnati.com (the website will be ready
soon!).
How much will they cost? I
really want the classes to be affordable, so around $35, depending on the dishes involved, and students will receive a discount
of 10%.
What time do they start and end? The classes at Rohs Street will begin at around 6pm and go until 8:30 or 9. I want to see what works
best for people.
What can people expect to learn if
they take your classes? Students will receive visual and verbal instruction on how to prepare
the organic meals from start to finish, as well as recipe cards, menu suggestions and information on local farmer's markets,
and gardening tips. The Green Entertaining Series will provide all of the above, plus information on how to throw fabulous
"green parties" (food, decor, invitations) without taking a huge toll on the environment.
Do you offer any other services? In additon to Park+Vine and
Rohs Street, I am available for in-home, private cooking classes for small or larger groups, as well as corporate events.
I also teach hands-on cooking classes for children's parties.
