Buongiorno Italy!
I have been invited to a food conference in Parma, Italy.
I’ve spent much of my career working in the Italian restaurant space, but I have never been to Italy. We had plans to vacation there in 2020 but we ran into the minor problem of a global pandemic and cancelled our trip. This will be a great learning opportunity for me professionally as well as a touching personal experience. I have roots from Sicily and a strong emotional connection to Italian food. My grandmother Nena’s cooking was my first fond memory of food. Her cooking was a delicious blend of Southern American and Sicilian cuisine and likely was an early inspiration for the passion I would develop later for food.
Lauren will be joining me for the trip. The conference is in Parma for a few days, then we will extend our stay and take a long overdue vacation. We will travel to Bologna for a brief stop and then to Rome for a few days. I am very excited to share the knowledge I gain from this experience with others. I hope to come away from the trip with information to share on Italian food history, technique, and inspiration for some new dishes. We will be sharing our journey on Instagram. Please follow us @lineageculinary.