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Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nY<\/span>ou can be surrounded by the best restaurants in the world and still miss your mum\u2019s cooking. Case in point, Peppe Corsaro, who moved from Sicily to London at 17 and, within days, began to crave his mamma\u2019s potato gateau and slow-cooked ragu. \u201cLondon was full of Italian restaurants but mainly you could find carbonara,\u201d he says. \u201cMainstream dishes. I was out for dinner and my friend said \u2018Peppe, why don\u2019t you bring your mamma to cook? You\u2019re always complaining.\u2019 I thought, \u2018one day I will\u2019. But I couldn\u2019t get it out of my head. She should have her own restaurant. So, I rang and asked, \u2018Would you consider moving to London?\u2019 She said, \u2018Peppe, I\u2019ll come tomorrow. Even today.\u2019 She was googling flights while we were still on the phone.\u201d<\/p>\nPeppe quickly realised that perhaps he shouldn\u2019t let his 60-year-old mother work in a new restaurant seven days a week. So, in 2018, he put out a Facebook call for additional mammas [mothers], nonnas [grandmothers], and zias [aunts] who\u2019d like to come to London to cook. He was inundated with applications. What began as a crumb of an over-dinner idea rapidly grew into La Mia Mamma: three London restaurants, with a fourth opening this month, where all the food \u2013 pappa al pomodoro from Tuscany, cacio e pepe from Lazio, pacchero al cinque pomodori from Puglia \u2013 is made by Italian mothers from each region. \u201cWe flew them over, we found them a house,\u201d Peppe says. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
A decade earlier and the other side of the Atlantic on Staten Island, New York, the same seed had been sown in Joe Scaravella\u2019s mind. The Brooklyn-raised entrepreneur had lost both his mother and grandmother and missed the ritual of sitting down for a family meal. So he opened Enoteca Maria, a restaurant where all the chefs are Italian grandmothers. Eighteen years later, the eatery is still thriving and its origin story \u2013 from its logistical struggles to the spats between the chefs \u2013 is the basis for the new Netflix film Nonnas<\/em>, starring Vince Vaughn. \u201cIt was like reading my story,\u201d says Peppe, who only became aware of Joe last week when a friend shared the film\u2019s synopsis. <\/p>\nPeppe and Joe may have never encountered one another, but their shared idea is symptomatic of an age-old Mediterranean tradition: \u201cIf you go to Greece, Italy, it\u2019s all the women: mammas, nonnas, zias in the kitchen [while] the whole family manages the restaurant. We haven\u2019t really made something new,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019ve just put the nonnas together. We haven\u2019t reinvented the wheel.\u201d Yet in the UK, where just 17 per cent of professional chefs are women, Peppe\u2019s army of mammas and nonnas is<\/em> revolutionary. <\/p>\nUpon walking into La Mia Mamma, I\u2019m bundled into a hug by Mamma Annamaria, 59, who chastises me for not speaking Italian \u2013 then merrily shares the recipe for her bruschetta. \u201cI love it, it\u2019s a new life,\u201d she beams, when I ask about her time cheffing in the Notting Hill branch of the restaurant. I am then bombarded with food. She brings over \u201cthe best\u201d suppli [fried rice balls from Rome], \u201cthe best\u201d fried polenta with pecorino and \u201cthe best\u201d ragu for me to try. \u201cIt\u2019s all \u2018the best,\u2019\u201d jokes Peppe as he mimics her. \u201cI made it,\u201d Annamaria retorts. \u201cSo why not?!\u201d<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Buon appetito: Annamaria, Alessandra and Ida serving up lunch at La Mia Mamma (Lydia Spencer-Elliott)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nAnnamaria is joined in the kitchen by Mamma Alessandra, 54, who worked as a pasta chef in Italy until an undisclosed \u201cbad period\u201d in her life prompted her to follow her son to London and start a new chapter. Alessandra\u2019s mother was English but never taught her the country\u2019s language or traditions, so following her death two years ago she decided to discover them for herself \u2013 she found her job at La Mia Mamma along the way. \u201cCooking is my passion,\u201d she says. \u201cIn the restaurant, we are like a big family.\u201d<\/p>\n
The last member of their trio, Mamma Ida, 72, from Abruzzo, beams from behind the counter as she artfully shapes semolina dough into cavatelli pasta shells. \u201cI worked for 50 years in a hospital, preparing people for surgery,\u201d she says. \u201cThen I was a volunteer for the Red Cross in the ambulance. I saw [Peppe\u2019s] Facebook group and after one week, I said \u2018okay!\u2019 I sent the email, after one hour they wrote me back. I came, just me. Taught my 35-year-old son \u2013 who doesn\u2019t know how to do nothing \u2013 how to use the dishwasher and I left,\u201d she laughs. \u201cIt was my dream. The Beatles. London.\u201d<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Cinque pomodori: Alessandra and Ida make cavatelli pasta in a Pugliese tomato sauce (Lydia Spencer-Elliott)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nLa Mia Mamma has faced its fair share of challenges. When Brexit arrived, the length of time each mamma could even stay in the country was suddenly up in the air \u2013 an issue they\u2019re still navigating on a case-by-case basis. They survived the pandemic, which saw more than 10 per cent of the UK\u2019s hospitality businesses permanently close, through a combination of rent breaks, home deliveries and pop-ups, and emerged on the other side of the global disaster with three restaurants \u2013 one more than they had when 2020 started. \u201cIn a restaurant, passion is everything,\u201d says Peppe of his success. \u201cIf you open a restaurant because you want a Michelin star, amazing. But it\u2019s very different work than cooking because you want to make people happy and enjoy it. It\u2019s like a factory.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Annamaria claims, their food is the best. These women are masters of the dishes of their own regions \u2013 and far beyond. The cacio e pepe is creamy and comforting, the cinque pomodori [five tomato pasta] palpably fresh. Meanwhile, the tiramisu and semifreddo are so delicious that I spoon up both despite my jeans straining under the pressure. \u201cThis is what happens,\u201d says Peppe of the lifelong blessing and curse that mums will always<\/em> want you to eat more food. \u201cI had to start telling them I had allergies,\u201d he confesses.<\/p>\nCreating La Mia Mamma with the woman who raised him allowed Peppe to see his mother in a new light, from the cooking she did in the home to the effort she put into feeding him and his three siblings. And it\u2019s a beacon that could still do with being shone on the domestic labour of many mothers toiling thanklessly in homes today. Who knows, a British restaurant where all the roast dinners are made by mums could get us some way there.<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>La famiglia: Peppe, Annamaria, Lydia, Ida and Alessandra in the La Mia Mamma kitchen (Lydia Spencer-Elliott)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\u201cIt was like getting to know my mother again,\u201d Peppe says of his evolution. \u201cI really re-appreciated all of the work.\u201d But did he expect their success? \u201cNo! I thought we weren\u2019t going to make it,\u201d he admits. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know what we were doing but we\u2019d already made the commitment. The operation was so complicated. So unusual. It was the most beautiful journey of my life.\u201d <\/p>\n
Peppe\u2019s mother died two months ago, aged 70 \u2013 but he still feels her here when he\u2019s with the restaurant\u2019s mammas. \u201cEvery time they\u2019d hug me, I\u2019d cry,\u201d he says, pausing to regain composure. \u201cIt unlocks memories. Brings you back to your childhood. Even just through a hug or the smell of their hair. It\u2019s crazy. You might think I\u2019m overexaggerating,\u201d he adds. \u201cBut the number of customers who\u2019ve been crying\u2026 It\u2019s not just about the food. That\u2019s one part of it, but to me, the most important thing is the emotional connection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Nonnas\u2019 is streaming on Netflix<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more You can be surrounded by the best restaurants in the world and still miss your mum\u2019s cooking. Case in point, Peppe Corsaro, who moved from Sicily to London at 17 and, within days, began to crave his mamma\u2019s potato gateau and slow-cooked ragu. \u201cLondon was full of Italian restaurants but mainly you could find carbonara,\u201d he says. \u201cMainstream dishes. I was out for dinner and my friend said \u2018Peppe, why don\u2019t you bring your mamma to cook? You\u2019re always complaining.\u2019 I thought, \u2018one day I will\u2019. But I couldn\u2019t get it out of my head. She should have her own restaurant. So, I rang and asked, \u2018Would you consider moving to London?\u2019 She said, \u2018Peppe, I\u2019ll come tomorrow. Even today.\u2019 She was googling flights while we were still on the phone.\u201d Peppe quickly realised that perhaps he shouldn\u2019t let his 60-year-old mother work in a new restaurant seven days a week. So, in 2018, he put out a Facebook call for additional mammas [mothers], nonnas [grandmothers], and zias [aunts] who\u2019d like to come to London to cook. He was inundated wit…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}