Gnocchi: The Two-Ingredient Trick to Pillows, Not Bullets
The chef who taught me gnocchi weighed nothing and terrified everyone. Her test was brutal in its simplicity:…
Penne: The Most Underrated Shape in the Cupboard, and the Recipe That Proves It
There was a bloke on my first brigade — a Calabrian, forearms like bollards — who ate the…
Posted inFood Culture
8 Popular Italian Pasta That Can Amaze Your Taste Buds
Italy is home to hundreds of pasta shapes — more than 300 by most counts — and each…
Lasagna: Why Yours Slides Apart, and How a Chef Builds One That Doesn’t
Every Sunday for two years, my job included portioning the lasagna for service — forty covers' worth, cut…
Tiramisu: The One-Second Rule That Separates Silk From Sludge
The pastry chef who taught me tiramisu counted the dip out loud. Every ladyfinger, both sides: "uno… due"…
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6 Reasons Italian Cuisine Is Gaining Popularity
Italian food is everywhere now. It's not just dedicated Italian restaurants — pubs, cafés, and menus of every…
Affogato: Two Ingredients, and Almost Everyone Wrecks One of Them
The easiest dessert on our menu was also the one the head chef policed hardest. Affogato — a…
Posted inFood Culture
Craving Italian Cuisine? The Italian Corner is Here!
Italian cuisine is built on a small handful of ingredients — and that's exactly what makes it hard.…
Panforte: The Medieval Italian Christmas Cake That Laughs at an Australian Summer
Every December on the line, while the pastry section drowned in pavlova orders, we made panforte in secret…
Ravioli From Scratch: A Chef’s Guide to Getting the Seal, the Filling and the Dough Right
The first tray of ravioli I ever made for service blew up in the pot. All forty of…