There is something very special about Grandma's cooking. It may not be the fanciest or the most experimental, but it's as though you can taste the love in every bite.
Maybe it's just that the secret ingredient is nostalgia, but nostalgia is a very powerful thing.
Jody Scaravella grew up in a tight-knit Italian family in Brooklyn and it was his Nonna Domenica that took charge of the family's meals.
"Nonna" is the Italian word for "Grandmother."
It began as a purely Italian nonnas, cooking classic Italian family dishes, but it didn't take long for him to realize that it wasn't just nostalgic Italians visiting the restaurant.
Remembering how much his own nonna was integral to his appreciation of Italian food and culture, Scaravella decided to expand his menu with a project called "Nonnas of the World."
Every night the menu changes, as two nonnas take over the kitchen. One is always Italian and the other from a different culture. They work together and learn from each other, creating cultural classics and new blended dishes.
The regular crew of Italian nonnas rotates shifts to avoid overwork and most of the others only work one or two days per month.
They even teach one-on-one cooking classes, which are so popular that there's a huge waiting list, with bookings being made months in advance.
He's created an online, virtual cookbook also called "Nonnas of the World," which fittingly features Nonna Domenica on the cover.
People to submit a short bio about their nonna alongside one of her best recipes. Many are written in the nonna's native language.
I'm definitely going to take a closer look at a few of those recipes.
h/t: The Metro
