About the Author

"We are what we eat"... For Mary-Louise, the art of food preparation is an integral part of who she is. It invokes love, joy, togetherness, cultural identity, tradition, family and personal satisfaction. Mary-Louise was born in Ascoli Piceno, in Le Marche, Italy and immigrated to Hamilton, Ontario Canada, with her parents, at the age of 6.Educated in Hamilton, she received her Bachelor's degree in Sociology and Education. Throughout her 30 years as an educator, she has enjoyed teaching students at the elementary, high school and college level. She is a wife to Dominic, a Mamma to three grown children and a Nonna to two incredible granddaughters. Now retired, she dedicates her time to nourishing her passions and interests in cooking, baking, reading, writing and art. She is always up for a creative challenge, which in most cases, consists of family requests that undoubtedly originate in the kitchen. Over the past 20 years of living abroad and relocating between continents and countries, Stefan had always pursued his passion for food and eventually ditched his decade-long teaching career to embark upon entrepreneurial culinary endeavours and embrace his passion. Born in Canada, with Italian blood, he decided to take Mamma's recipes on the road. Stefan made food his full time interest when he left a teaching career to sling Italian Sandwiches (Pazzo Panini) out of a van in Australia. With an unquenchable thirst for adventure, Stefan sold the business and jumped on an opportunity to own and operate a restaurant in a northern Nicaragua surf-town. "Pasta La Vista", as it came to be known, was a smashing success treating locals and tourists alike to some delectable eats, and wild party nights until the national crisis in 2018 debilitated tourism and as such forced a shutdown and another continental move to Europe. Both the food truck in Australia and the restaurant in Nicaragua featured many of the recipes passed on from his mamma which are included in these pages.