The Pasta Grannies Podcast

Luca Dusi is from Verona, and is a wine expert. He has his own wine bar called Passione Vino in Shoreditch in London, UK, and imports Italian wines. As well as being a loving dad and food lover, his own mum is one of our Pasta Grannies! You can watch Luca's mum, Angelina, in action here making papparelle: https://youtu.be/lRhOixYnMZw?si=ZxyUUF43gRpEwqzm which we actually chose not to recreate this episode, as chicken livers aren't for everyone!Luca eventually settled on making bigoli con salsa, a simple but delicious pasta using anchovies for the sauce. Luca brought a delicious white wine with him to perfectly paired with the pasta dish, called Maso Furli - sunshine in a bottle! Luca discusses with Vicky how to pair wine with food, and they chat about how to know when your wine is corked. Listen to become a wine expert yourself!Watch Osanna from Venice make bigoli con salsa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utx2eeEKv30And don't forget to follow us on Instagram @pastagrannies and for exclusive content, head to our website pastagrannies.comProduced by Megan Macqueen. Edited by Dave Depares.

Meliz Berg is a self-taught cook, recipe developer, TV presenter and content creator. She grew up in London, England and is of Turkish-Cypriot decent which is reflected in her delicious food. Meliz has just released her second cookbook, called Dinner Tonight. On today's episode, Meliz has chosen to make Rina's orecchioni, a ravioli stuffed with a 3 cheese and chard filling, although Meliz and Vicky have swapped the chard for spinach which was what was available at the time. The stuffed pasta is dressed with melted butter and sage. As they cook, Meliz tells Vicky all about her mum's influence on her cooking, and together they discuss the many comparisons between Italian food and the Turkish-Cypriot cuisine Meliz grew up with. Watch Rina make her stuffed orecchioni served with butter and sage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjJ1fEJYFygAnd don't forget to follow us on Instagram @pastagrannies and for exclusive content, head to our website pastagrannies.comProduced by Megan Macqueen. Edited by Dave Depares.

Angelo Coassin grew up in North East Italy but has lived in America and now lives in the UK. Angelo is a professional dancer and an actor, but he is best known as the creator of the successful Instagram channel @cookingwithbello where he shows off his passion for Italian cooking. He's just brought out his first cookbook ‘Cook Like A Real Italian’ which is full to the brim with Italian recipes passed down from generations in his family. In this episode, as well as discussing a lot about delicious Italian food, Angelo tells Vicky about the origins of his internet-famous catch phrase 'super sexy' and even teaches Vicky how to say it, Bello style! Watch the video of 96-year-old Isolina make her delicious gnocchi with pesto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlhq1kIPpPcAnd don't forget to follow us on Instagram @pastagrannies and for exclusive content, head to our website pastagrannies.comProduced by Megan Macqueen. Edited by Dave Depares.

Chetna Makan is a wonderful cook and baker who takes inspiration from her upbringing in Central India. Having started out in fashion, she found a love for food after moving to the UK and appearing on the BBC's television series The Great British Bake Off. Her career has since gone from strength to strength and she has 8 cookbooks to her name, with a 9th one being released in 2025.In this episode, Chetna recreates 90-year-old Caterina’s ‘lasagne’ - which is not lasagna as you know it! The word lasagne in this case refers flat, wide tagliatelle ribbons. Chetna tells Vicky all about her favourite sweet treats she makes for Diwali, the Hindi festival of light, which is celebrated during the week the podcast airs, on the 31st October 2024. The team at Pasta Grannies wishes everyone a happy Diwali, full of food, friends and family.Watch the video of 90-year-old Caterina from Sicily make 'lasagne' with eggplant and tomato sauce: https://youtu.be/RnhlpQlYBwo?si=Vr4o-g9VRlpr-T2rAnd don't forget to follow us on Instagram @pastagrannies and for exclusive content, head to our website pastagrannies.comProduced by Megan Macqueen. Edited by Dave Depares.

Jordon Ezra King is a chef who has worked in kitchens in London, Paris and Italy. He now concentrates on food writing and content creation. In this episode, Jordon shares with Vicky how years ago, he ditched a career in marketing after walking past a pizza restaurant - he bravely decided to go in and ask for a chef job despite having no kitchen experience, kicking off his career in food! He also chats about his passion for pasta making while they both get to grips making maccheroni using a busa (a thin grass stalk traditionally used to make the fine, tubular hole in pasta shapes like maccheroni and fusilli) which turns out to be much harder than they'd both first thought! Watch the video of 94-year-old Angela, a poet from San Marco d'Alunzio in Sicily, make her maccheroni with a lamb ragu: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh-JbtHBhAEAnd don't forget to follow us on Instagram @pastagrannies and for exclusive content, head to our website pastagrannies.comProduced by Megan Macqueen. Edited by Dave Depares.

Sophie Wyburd is a cook, recipe writer and presenter from South London. She has just released her debut cookbook, Tucking In, which Sophie describes as an ode to comfort food, and it features plenty of pasta! In this episode, Sophie tells Vicky about her lifelong obsession with food, and they get into the all-important debate, are garlic peelers good or bad?Watch the video of Marica from Tuscany making her strapponi pasta served with porcini mushroom and fresh mint: https://youtu.be/E5RLVCNbVtgAnd don't forget to follow us on Instagram @pastagrannies and for exclusive content, head to our website pastagrannies.comProduced by Megan Macqueen. Edited by Dave Depares.

Judy Joo is an American-Korean chef, cookbook author, restauranteur and TV host. She grew up in New Jersey in The States, and now lives in London, UK. On today's episode, Judy has chosen to recreate Peppa's pici pasta with a tasty garlic and tomato sauce. As they cook, Judy chats to Vicky about growing up in a home filled with her mum's pots and jars of fermenting foods, and shares why she left finance to pursue a career in food, that has gone from strength to strength. Watch the video of 93-year-old Peppa from Tuscany making pici pasta: https://youtu.be/_zvt5KRwtx4And don't forget to follow us on Instagram @pastagrannies and for exclusive content, head to our website pastagrannies.comProduced by Megan Macqueen. Edited by Dave Depares.

Eleanor Wilkinson is a 28-year-old content creator who's just released her debut cookbook One Pot One Portion. On today's episode, Eleanor has chosen to recreate Maria's delicious raschiatelli pasta with a tomato and vegetable pepper sauce. While they cook, Eleanor talks to Vicky about leaving her job to pursue a career in food and how it led to her hugely popular instagram, and now a bestselling cookbook!Watch the video of Maria from Basilicata make her raschiatelli: https://youtu.be/YnX-x9sVLU0And don't forget to follow us on Instagram @pastagrannies and for exclusive content, head to our website pastagrannies.comProduced by Megan Macqueen. Edited by Dave Depares.