Welcome to Tina’s Table. I’m Tina. I’m addicted to Italy… When I’m not in Italy, I want to be. I love the food, the people, the art, the history, you name it. As a long time lover of Italian food and culture, I’m frequently asked by friends for information about Italian recipes, travel, restaurants, culinary techniques, and cookbooks. In this blog, I will share what I know and what I’m discovering.
Originally from upstate NY, I moved to NYC in my early 20’s to pursue my dream, musical theatre. When I realized that I was thinking more about food than theatre, I switched careers, swapping out show tunes for a wooden spoon. Since graduating from The French Culinary Institute in NYC in 2000, I’ve worked in the food industry in various capacities, most recently as a personal chef.
Raised in an Italian-American community with an Italian-born father, I had my share of Italian food growing up. However, it took my first trip to Italy in 2003 to develop a full-on obsession with all things Italian. My passion has only grown since! Over the years, I have traveled to Italy frequently. Since 2014, I have been living in Bologna, in the Emilia-Romagna region, with my husband and daughter. In 2020 we purchased an apartment on the Adriatic coast in the Abruzzo region. Now we get to experience Italy from two very different places.
Blog
Sometimes life throws you a curve ball. I planned to start this blog when we arrived in Italy. However, my body decided to go all drama queen, and I got breast cancer instead. Thankfully, after wonderful care and treatment, I am now free to focus on much more fun things like food, culture, and travel!
I mention my illness because it unexpectedly changed the way I eat. During chemotherapy, I gained over 25 pounds. I needed a nutritionist’s help to get the weight off. This has led me to be more mindful of how I eat. I still eat foods that I worship, like pizza, pasta, cheese and salumi (cured meats), but now they are “sometimes foods”. Keeping this in mind, I intend to strike a balance between traditional dishes and lightened-up recipes. With my nutritionists’ advice, I’ve lost over 30 pounds without starving and without suffering! Miracles do happen.
For those traveling to Italy, I will provide tips, write about less discovered places to visit and as always, will discuss cool regional specialties that I happen upon.
Pasta Project
To learn about the Pasta Project, click here.
Explore With Me
It’s been a privilege and a joy to live in Italy. Every meal is an opportunity to learn. Whether cooking at home with new and exciting ingredients or dining out, I’m gaining knowledge. I collect recipes and tips from anyone I can get my hands on – friends, relatives, vendors, and chefs. Through my travels, I have learned that calling Italian cuisine “regional” doesn’t begin to convey how distinct the food is from one region, province, or town to the next. I look forward to sharing my findings.
Many cookbook authors change traditional ingredients in their recipes when writing for readers from other countries. Frequently, indigenous ingredients are unavailable. As someone who uses cookbooks for research, however, I prefer to hear how dishes are traditionally prepared before changes are made. I intend both to describe how to make authentic Italian dishes and to offer practical substitutions for tough to find ingredients.
Join me as I share some of the exciting things I have learned, and am learning, during my time living in Italy.
