A kitchen of grandmothers

Nobody cooks like a grandmother. There’s something about the love that shines through the food that is nearly irreplaceable. Wouldn’t it be great to experience that expression of love through cooking from many different grandmothers? At NYC’s Enoteca Maria, proprietor Joe Scaravella aims to do just that. Feeling the loss of his mother and grandmother, he opened his Italian restaurant in 2008, staffing it with ‘nonnas’ cooking from their hearts.

For several years Scaravella ran the restaurant with Italian grandmothers who made traditional dishes, with each cook bringing her own flair. Starting in 2015, he expanded the staffing to include grandmothers from across the globe, with varied cuisines to match. The weekend meals are cooked by these ‘Nonnas of the World’ as Scaravella calls them.

Each month brings a new rotation of nonnas. Unfortunately the coronavirus pandemic has halted this intriguing concept, although the restaurant remains open to serve meals to first responders and medial personnel. The article includes interviews with some of the nonnas that were scheduled to cook in the restaurant during April and May, and you’ll find a couple of recipes tucked into their stories.

Photo of Cornelia’s pansoti with walnut pesto from Pasta Grannies, a cookbook with a similar theme to this restaurant.