Lilly Solla would tell you, as she told me, that she is a proud Napoletana, a proud Italian, in general, but it’s unnecessary. The “proud” part is a given. Silent, but known. Understood. That’s my own editorial. Solla’s editorial, however, extends to Italian traits she believes are innate. Like sea turtles that hatch, scramble seaward and swim, for Italians, she opines, food is instinctual.

“We’re just born with the knowledge of it,” she says. Solla speaks to me from M’ama Napoli, the Winter Park bakery and deli she and her husband, Luigi Diana, opened couple of months ago. She does so largely through their manager/interpreter Reina Gutierrez, but the warm and open message is still easy to absorb. Especially once you’ve had the food.