Click on the stories below to read about how the mammas and nonnas of premier New Jersey chefs helped shape their personal cooking style:
Just One Way to Skin a Rabbit
Chef | Franco Lombardo, Sapori Trattoria, Collingswood
Nonna | Anna Prestigiacomo, Carini, Sicily
That Secret Recipe? Still a Secret
Chef | Luigi Basile, La Locanda, Voorhees
Nonna | Maria Vincenza Basile, Montella, Campania, Italy
On Thursdays, School Could Wait
Chef | Zachary Melker, Toscano Ristorante, Bordentown
Mamma | Mariellen Melker, Hamilton
Nonna | Emma Melker, Chambersburg, Trenton
Smells Worth Handing Down
Chef | Luca Valerin, Osteria Giotto, Montclair
Mamma | Graziella Varotto, Castel d’Aiano, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Nonna | Esterina Schiavon, Padua, Veneto, Italy
Highest Praise Went to Mom’s Manicotti
Chef | Francesco Palmieri, The Orange Squirrel, Bloomfield
Mamma | Consiglia “Nanette” Palmieri, Corigliano Calabro, Calabria, Italy, and Bloomfield
Each Generation Learns, "Only Better"
Chef | Rosaria Iovino, Girasole, Atlantic City
Mamma | Concetta Conti, Afragola, Naples, Italy
Meeting Mamma…In Italy
Our senior editor travels to the mountains of northern Italy to photograph the mother of one of our Italian chefs.