I was born in Avigliana, a small town at the foothill of the Italian Alps.
Curious about the world, and desiring more than what the the small town had to offer, at the age of eighteen I moved to London. I returned to Italy for a while, graduated from college in Foreign Languages and Literatures, and became an interpreter. As an interpreter, I flew to Los Angeles on April 2010, where I now live with my husband, Benmont, and our daughter Catherine Gabriella Winter.
I have always been a dreamer. I’ve always fabricated big projects in my mind, ‘impossible’ ideas — as the people around me would call them. But it was my commitment to the apparent impossibility of my dreams that has given me the amazing life I have today, a life beyond my wildest dreams.
It took me a while to understand what my calling was; I had several jobs (some of them I loved, many I did not), but they were all steps in disguise toward the work I do today: making food and writing about it.
While figuring out my path, I fell, I took wrong turns, made mistakes; I mistreated myself, and hurt others, but I also always got back up and dusted myself off. I never gave up. And the people I hurt didn’t give up on me.
I struggled with alcoholism and addiction, depression and eating disorders, so I never thought that the kitchen would become my safe harbor.
In fact, it was while slicing carrots for a sauté that I found the serenity I had been chasing for years. My therapist had suggested the cutting board, slicing, chopping. That’s how I discovered the healing magic of cooking, eating, and sharing my dishes with friends and fans.
Through cooking, and writing, I facilitate a beautiful community of people whose goal is to live a better, healthier life, for themselves, for their families, for their communities, and for the world at large.
We meet in my kitchen every Monday, on Instagram Live, at 5 PM PST/ 7 PM CT/ 8 PM ET. Together we discover new ingredients and recipes, we laugh, we get to know and support each other, and we eat the delicious food that we have made. And Benmont, my rock ‘n’ roll husband, is my sous-chef!
Take a slice out of your day and come on over; there is always an extra chair.
