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L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 4 " Everyone says their g r a n d m o t h e r ' s cooking is the best. B u t w h a t w i l l g r a n d m o t h e r s b e cooking twenty years from now?" It was this simple yet pro- found question that, over a decade ago, inspired British producer Vicky Bennison to create Pasta Grannies, a project dedicated to the art of handmade pasta, Italian home cooking, and most of a l l , t h e w o m e n w h o k e e p t h e s e c u l i n a r y t r a d i t i o n s alive through quiet, prac- ticed gestures passed down over the decades. Together w i t h h e r h u s b a n d , B i l l y M a c q u e e n – a t e l e v i s i o n p r o d u c e r b e s t k n o w n f o r creating children's shows like Teletubbies – Bennison b o u g h t a h o u s e i n t h e Marche region, in central I t a l y , a b o u t f i f t e e n y e a r s a g o . F r o m t h e r e b e g a n a passionate journey through the Bel Paese, full of travel, family stories, and simmer- ing pots. "I was researching a book on Italian food when I realized that many cook- ing skills were at risk of dis- appearing. Today, men and women are often too busy to cook at home. Pasta isn't going away, but it's becom- ing more of a commercial p r o d u c t : m a d e b y c h e f s , specialty shops, and facto- ries, not by grandmothers in their own kitchens," Ben- nison explains. This is why Vicky decided t o p i c k u p a c a m e r a a n d s t a r t e d t r a v e l i n g a c r o s s I t a l y t o r e c o r d l e n o n n e while they made their sig- nature dishes. Her project w a s b o r n t o c e l e b r a t e regional diversity and culi- n a r y t r a d i t i o n , b u t a l s o e n d e d u p p l a c i n g o l d e r w o m e n , a c a t e g o r y o f t e n i n v i s i b l e i n m a i n s t r e a m media, at the heart of the n a r r a t i v e . T h e s e w o m e n s t i l l k n o w h o w t o k n e a d dough by feel, roll out pasta by hand, and cook for ten without looking at a clock or using a scale. "We've found and filmed real nonnas all over Italy, celebrating their stories and, of course, their pasta!" says Bennison, who is now the voice and off- screen face of a YouTube channel with over one mil- l i o n s u b s c r i b e r s , n a m e d after the grannies them- selves. What started as a personal project has grown into a small cultural phe- nomenon with global reach, where Italian nonne, in a r e f r e s h i n g l y s i m p l e a n d intimate manner, directly from their own kitchens, show the world how to cook n o t o n l y p a s t a , b u t a l s o soups, breads, cakes, rice- based recipes … whatever they feel like making that d a y . T h e p r o j e c t l a t e r expanded into bestselling cookbooks: the first, Pasta Grannies: The Secrets of Italy's Best Home Cooks, was released in 2019 and h a s b e e n t r a n s l a t e d i n t o multiple languages, includ- i n g G e r m a n , D u t c h , a n d Chinese. A second recipe b o o k , P a s t a G r a n n i e s , Comfort Cooking, was pub- lished in 2022. Reviews to both have been raving: "No one can deny that grand- mothers have kept tradi- tions alive through ages and trends. This book is a cook- b o o k , y e s , b u t i t ' s m u c h , much more. It is a glimpse at how these grandmothers have carried, through their daily cooking, the secrets they now share with us. It is also a look into Italian cul- t u r e : e a c h r e c i p e h a s i t s story, and is well described, so we can also start tradi- t i o n s i n o u r f a m i l i e s , " a r e a d e r s a i d a b o u t T h e Secrets of Italy's Best Home C o o k s . T h e s e c o n d b o o k , Comfort Cooking, left read- ers just as happy: "Another great, down-to-earth and g e n u i n e c o o k b o o k f r o m Bennison (…). She sniffs out a u t h e n t i c r e c i p e s , l i k e a truffle hunter, and engages with the people who create food at the grassroots level. It's a joy to read the stories of the people at the heart of Italian rustic cookery and try to follow their lead!" In 2024, Bennison also created a 13-episode pod- c a s t , t h e P a s t a G r a n n i e s Podcast, where she cooked with well-known guests a f a v o r i t e r e c i p e f r o m t h e G r a n n i e s ' b o o k s , w h i l e chatting about "all things food, family, and life." T h i s y e a r , a f t e r t h e i r incredible multimedia suc- cess, the Pasta Grannies finally decided to take the world of sport by storm, as they partnered with Milano Cortina 2026 in anticipa- t i o n o f t h e W i n t e r Olympic Games (Febru- a r y 6 – 2 2 , 2 0 2 6 ) a n d t h e W i n t e r P a r a l y m p i c G a m e s ( M a r c h 6 – 1 5 , 2026). The Olympic Orga- nizing Committee invited Bennison to help promote I t a l y ' s c u l i n a r y h e r i t a g e t h r o u g h a s p e c i a l p a s t a - making workshop for ath- letes from Team USA. We at When Sicilian tradition meets sport: Pasta Grannies train Team USA SILVIA NITTOLI NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS CONTINUED TO PAGE 6 Graziella teaches Team USA how to make traditional "maccheroni" (Photo: Silvia Nittoli)