Have you read those articles that point out before the Italians came in the 1950s, there was no olive oil, spaghetti only came in tins and coffee was non-existent? Don’t worry, I read the same stories, but after some serious sleuthing, I am able to bust these myths and tell you the real history of Italian food in Australia. It’s far more fascinating and way less predictable than you can imagine.
Not only does it involve plenty of enterprising Italian migrants, men and women who were determined to change the way Australians ate, but there’s also orgy painting artists, fascist cookbook writers, shady espresso bars, glamorous models, wartime imprisonment and Gina Lollobrigida. And that’s just the beginning…
Curious? Come along to one of my walks or events and discover the true history of Italian food in Australia. And the next time you read one of those articles, you’ll know better!
I have always cared deeply about food. I guess I got it from my Italian parents and grandparents, who did not approve of roast lamb, apricot chicken or a meal that did not involve a first and second course.
It surprised no one when I decided on a career as a food writer, journalist and editor. But there are only so many stories you can write titled “Ten ways with chicken”, and I started to think that there had to be more to food than recipes, ingredient profiles, restaurant reviews and trends.
I wanted to think about food from a cultural perspective. I became curious about why we eat the way we do in this country, and because of my Italian background, I wanted to understand the influence of Italians in particular.
I did a Masters of Gastronomy at the University of Adelaide, which was like a gateway drug to a whole new way of thinking about food, and from there I decided to focus my PhD on understanding the history of Italian food in Australia, and its relationship to Italian migrants.
Many hours in archives and libraries later, I am now able to share stories you probably don’t know and ideas you might not have thought about. I love sharing what I have learnt and hearing your stories too. So many participants tell me about their parents and their grandparents, and it all adds to the fascinating story of Italian food and Italians themselves in Australia.
I would love you to join me on one of my walks or at one of my events, and find out more about why we love both Italian food and Italian people in Australia (spoiler alert: it hasn’t always been that way!) We eat too, of course, because if we didn’t, my nonna would make it her mission to come back and haunt me.
