Celebrating the culture and spirit of Sicily with Emilia Strazzanti
EMILIA STRAZZANTI
Strazzanti Experiences offers a curated voyage through Sicilian traditions, culture, and lifestyle with their culinary experiences. Delve directly into generations of recipes, ingredients, and wine, as they guide you through the rich tapestry of Sicilian gastronomy. Immerse yourself in the heritage of Sicilian cuisine and uncover the essence of Sicily through a foodie travel adventure.
This week we sat down for a glass of wine with Founding Director & Chef Emilia Strazzanti to hear about her passion for food and her Sicilian heritage.
Can you tell us a bit about your background and what inspired you to start Strazzanti Experiences?
I am first/second generation Sicilian/Neapolitan born in the UK, and my passion for food started at a very young age, 5 years old to be specific. I remember baking my first ever cake which I made with my nonna from Naples and my 2 older sisters. Licking the wooden spoon, coated in a delicious cake mixture and I remember there was a scent of vanilla but not just any vanilla that always reminds me of my nonna. My nonna passed away shortly after and it was then that baking became a comfort for me, whether it was watching cooking programmes on tv, or writing my own “cookbook” where I took my favorite sweet recipes and wrote them into one place and then baked them! I later discovered that this “not just any vanilla scent” was in fact a famous Italian baking brand cake aroma which I had found when I was in Naples at 18 years old and I cried with nostalgia.
Me and my nonno would always cook together too but savory dishes, I made my first sugo al pomodoro alone when I was just 10 years old. My nonni from Naples and Sicily passed onto me our family recipes that they brought over with them from back home to the UK. I am so grateful that because of this and them I know our recipes and traditions and they are ingrained in me; the recipes of our heritage. When I lost all my nonni in 2014, it was then I created Strazzanti in the UK and then recently back in Sicily.
Who inspires you the most when it comes to cooking?
My nonni, they are the inspiration, they are my purpose because I never want to forget the memories we shared around the table together, the recipes we made together, the culture and traditions they passed onto me. My nonni gave me the opportunity to know where I come from through food, although I was born and raised in the UK until I was 24, at home behind closed doors in the UK we lived in a mini Naples and Sicily.
The ingredients were the key, the ingredients my nonni would bring back from Italy in their suitcases or parcels our relatives would get shipped over to us, so we could have the best olive oil, the most intense sun dried tomatoes that we would flavor under olive oil and so much more. As a professional Chef, where I studied and worked in the luxury sector since I was 16 years old, I understood that I cannot recreate the memories and dishes of my nonni without the ingredients and this is a big part of Strazzanti Experiences in the UK & Sicily.
What makes Sicilian cuisine so unique?
The immense diversity of cultures that have passed through Sicily, who left a mark here forever, whether that be from an ingredient like sugar, pistachios, chocolate or even the architecture or language. Sicilian cuisine is a melting pot of cultures which makes it unique and one that only Sicilians hold with great pride.
What’s on the table when you host friends for dinner?
I always love to cook an old school recipe from one of my nonni, whether that be my Siiclian nonna’s recipe for thin slices of beef slow cooked in a garlic and basil tomato sauce and served with lemon dressed salad and bread to fare la scarpetta. Or whether it be my nonno’s recipe of pasta con ceci, origano & a touch of lardo. Sometimes, it can be a challenge when cooking for Italian friends because each family has their own way of cooking the same dish, but also this leads to great conversations where we exchange recipes and reasons why each family does it one way, compared to another.
What is one ingredient you couldn’t live without?
That’s a tough one, I have a handful of ingredients I couldn’t live without, but one would have to be primarily garlic!
What wine are you currently pouring?
A variety! I have local wines that are produced in the area which I get directly from families I know, to wines from the Etna who work in the natural wine movement, to those wines that I have grown up with in my professional work.
How can readers capture the essence of hosting Strazzanti-style at home?
Lots of different sharing platters all placed in the centre of the table to be shared and eaten with the essence of convivial dining, family style.
List your top 5 destinations in Sicily and the reasons to visit them
Scicli - I live here :) but it's magical, hidden, romantic and fairytale-like.
Etna - The energy from our Mother Etna Volcano is intense and reviving, the landscape is dramatic and the wines are superb.
Marsala - Super up and coming, great wine bars and restaurants and just a short drive from the salt pans which is a breathtaking moment to capture in life during the sunset.
Palermo - The rusticness and rawness that Palermo offers is the only place you can find it like this in Sicily in my opinion with some of the best food markets to offer in Sicily.
Enna - The province of my hometown, the landscape is cry worthy and the quality of ingredients created and grown there are some of the best.
What are some favourite things about your new hometown of Scicli ?
I chose Scicli as my new home in Sicily because not only is the place a natural and UNESCO beauty but the energy of the new generation doing incredible things here with the food and wine movement is wonderful!
For example, 3 friends who grew up together in Scicli now with their own restaurants here, have created the first ever Natural Wine Fair in the area which has now inspired others around Sicily to do something similar in their areas. It's inspiring and making noise!
Is there a song that encapsulates your approach to life and work?
Drive by Incubus - A rock band I grew up listening to, this song along with my upbringing as the daughter/granddaughter of Italian immigrants is that if you want something and you want to make changes in your life then you need to take the wheel and DRIVE!
What books would we find on your coffee table?
Usually books about foraging, wine, a rare selection of cookbooks and also stories about travel & culture.
Tell us something that would surprise people about you…
Before choosing to work professionally in the world of Hospitality, my dream was to perform on stage in musical theater, where for 11 years I studied weekly Speech & Drama under the certification of LAMDA (London Academy of Music, Drama & Arts) where at 18 years old I was just about to take my Gold Medal but for some personal reasons could not do the exam so I came away with the medals under this and all the other certificates from Grade 1.
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