In addition to passing on her cooking skills, Elena Faita has given her son boundless energy and a huge appetite for entrepreneurship. Between two bites of his lobster eggs benedict, Stefano explains the culinary ties he shares with his mother.
“When everything was good, I was just ‘Stef.’ But because I was often bratty, she called me by my full name a lot. That’s when I knew things were serious.”
“Intestines. She uses them as sausage casings.”
“She once tried to make a flan for dessert and it failed miserably. Because my mom is really hard-headed, she worked at it relentlessly until she succeeded.”
“Everything she touches is a triumph, but the lasagne she makes at Christmas (with her super thin pasta, her mini meatballs rolled individually, her hard-boiled eggs, her mozzarella) is a real work of art.”
“Taralli! It’s a kind of Italian pretzel that can be flavoured in all kinds of different ways. You eat them like chips.”
“Her German apple cake. It was spiced with cinnamon and covered in a cream cheese glaze.”»
“The tomato – the pride of Italian cooking.”
“Olive oil, sea salt and canned tomatoes. The base for everything.”
“I don’t do anything halfway, just like her. Sometimes I use too much salt and seasoning. I told you she was hard-headed… Well, I am too.“
