PECHAKUCHA

What is stepping out of your comfort zone? What is that thing that is going to challenge you and make you grow? There are a few things that are really uncomfortable for me, public speaking is one of them. When my friend Mary asked me to share my story, she caught in a good moment and in a very good place, literally. I was hosting the yoga retreat in Puglia, I was very relaxed and serene. And I said yes, I am going to do it. I knew I was going to regret it and that it would have been so stressful. But when I picked my theme, when I decided what I wanted to share, I got really excited. I wanted to talk about the thing that mostly represents me, that became a big part of my life: food. And at that point a beautiful process of thinking, writing, picking pictures started. Pechakucha format is 20 slides, each one is 20 seconds. It was a fun challenge to try to perfectly match words with images without going overtime. It is so hard to squeeze a story in 6min and 40sec. The moment before getting on that stage I wanted to run away but then my turn came and there I was. I walked on that stage and I was fully present, at my best. I loved every moment of it and I am so grateful I did it. I could not have done it without my friend and amazing coach Martha and without the push and support of Mary and my husband Jace who listened to it about 100 times. Thanks to the Pechakucha team for putting together such an amazing event, every story is so inspiring. If you haven’t gone yet, you should definitely attend one. For the people that could not be there here is the full video. Grazie ❤️, Amalia

IN WORDS...

Food, is color and smells, is beauty and balance. is memories and traditions. 

Is sharing, is community. 

Cooking is what makes me happy, my way of caring and nourish the people I love. 

But let’s start from the beginning

This is me, at 6 years old, living la dolce vita.

I bet half of the people in this room started baking during Covid, and I am one of you. Food, in this case sourdough, taught me patience and resilience.

I needed to make that focaccia that tasted like home and I got it!

Food is nostalgia.

This is me with my nonna, Angelina.

Close your eyes for a moment. think about that food that takes you back to your childhood, that almost bring tears to your eyes.

For me is baked apples of my grandma: every time I cook them, the cinnamon and lemon smell take me back to her kitchen.

And if your happy food was grits, well I feel you since I come from Milan, where we are Polenta lovers (Italian grits).

Milan is the city of Risotto and Ossobuco, of the Duomo, the capital of finance and Fashion, in fact…

Milan brought me my dream job in Giorgio Armani.

Those 7 years shaped my sense of beauty and creativity.

And even if I miss my clothing allowance a lot, I am a much happier person now that I do what i really enjoy, which is yoga and food.

But like most of us, I am many things: born in the North but Southern inside (and maybe that’s why I ended in the South here too!). Not only because I am a big fan of the food from there but mainly for my excitement for bringing people together, hosting and cooking for them.

Food is sharing.

Not only what’s on the table but sharing stories, laughs, time together.

Around the table we build memories. And I mostly remember every meal.

But this is probably the exception where I cannot remember the food I ate, since something more special happened.

This is the night when Jace proposed to me in Puglia.

Around the table, ordinary and extraordinary things happen!

But… Life is not a bed of roses.

This is me, taking an unpaid leave to check out Knoxville

I sent this pic to my bf on NYE dinner. At midnight she was still at dessert.  While i had a  5 minuntes stand up dinner, followed by bowling…

In that moment, I realized that something had to change if I wanted to move here and be with Jace.

Back in Milan, I joined a culinary school on the weekends.

I wanted to bring some Italy to Knoxville, I wanted to share how important food was to me.

I didn’t want to become a chef but I was curious to learn and see where that path could take me.

The school reconnected me to my university friend, Elena. We started hosting dinners in my tiny Milanese apartment, teaching guests how to make risotto and tiramisu.

I moved to Knoxville and Covid happened, and food saved me.

I started cooking with my friends and family in Italy through Instagram lives.

Making food while talking to them helped me to feel at home away from home.

These lives evolved into free online classes with many people in Knoxville.

Food brought me friends.

Food pushed me to step out of my comfort zone and to jump into new adventures. 

That’s what happened with Osteria Stella, the Italian restaurant in Old City.

I shared with Aaron and Jessica my family recipes and favorite dishes and ended up curating their menu for the first year.

Food is a journey.

The Italian regional pop up dinners were a wonderful way to take people from Knoxville through a culinary journey. Discovering dishes full of history, recipes that a few people heard of like Canederli, Focaccia di Recco or Gnocco Fritto.

Food is fun!

My focus now is on pasta classes.

Transforming eggs and flour into pasta is such a rewarding sensory experience, such an interactive and social moment that I need so bad. Unfortunately, the art of making pasta is getting lost in Italy too and, in my small way, I would like to help preserving it.

I want my daughter Lea to remember the moments we cook together, the same way I remember my grandma making Agnolotti on Sundays.

And thanks to Lea (we had babies 3 months apart) I became friend with Kim Lomonaco, yogi and owner of the Glowing Body.

Last year I asked her if she wanted to do something crazy and she said yes since she is as crazy as I am!

Next year we will have our third Yoga Retreat in Italy that magically blends together my two passions: food and yoga, because in the end in both, you make people happy, in their belly and in their soul.

Food became a central element of this retreat,  because, once again has the ability to create bonding. Food builds community and often new friendships. 

Food for me is memory, is comfort, is community, is learning, is also what gave me a purpose in Knoxville and who knows where it will take me next. 

What is food to you?

I hope tomorrow, you will have a meal with your kids, parents or friends and really use this precious time to connect. Set your phones away, maybe prepare the meal together, be mindful, sit down and talk. Start building your memories around the table as these simple moments are what matters.

Grazie