About Me

“Welcome to my kitchen! Cooking healthy Italian food is easy and puts everyone in a good mood.”

Maribel, founder

I have been interested in food and its preparation for as long as I can remember. As a small child I would follow my nonna Sofia as she moved around in her kitchen; I would get on my tiptoes hoping to get a glimpse of what was on the stove while my grandmother stirred her pasta sauce. I tasted many dishes with her while she was checking on Sunday lunch and guests chatted on the terrace enjoying their aperitivi (pre-meal drinks). While I was too young to ask for a recipe or to even think of writing one down, I am the only one in my family who can recreate many of her iconic dishes.

In the past 26 years, I have spent a lot of time in the kitchen with many Azdore*, some relatives, some moms of friends or friends of friends learning their tricks and secrets. I have received the recipes of their best dishes, successfully re-created these dishes which are now part of my collection of heirloom recipes.

I learned how to make fresh pasta from scratch from several sfogline (hand rolled pasta experts), each with their own technique. I've taken what I hope is the best of each rolling style and developed my own technique so that my students can make their own pasta successfully after only one lesson. Of course, lots of practice is needed.

Taste of Italy offers a wide range of authentic Italian cooking lessons that cover regional, traditional and creative cooking at affordable prices with experienced cooks.

Buon appetito!
Maribel

*Azdora, Zdaura or Rezdore: are different ways of pronouncing the term used in Emilia-Romagna to indicate a woman who would keep the farmhouse running. The term literally means “she who holds up the house” or regge la casa. Nowadays a woman like that would be defined a manager, coordinating everyone and everything at the farmhouse. Insomma she keeps everything running smoothly!