No family member holds as much cultural cachet as the nonna. Whether Italian or not, I’d like to bet that you can close your eyes and immediately call to mind an Italian grandmother. She’s often wearing an apron, with perfectly coiffed hair and a well-lined face, a symbol of a life well-lived.

Above all she’s a domestic goddess, the gatekeeper of recipes passed down by word of mouth from generation to generation. She’s reigning supreme at the head of the dinner table, ensuring everyone is well-fed with the rallying cry of “mangia!”. She’s a font of knowledge inherited from the good old days, with a proverb ready for whatever life throws at you, whether it’s “male non fare, paura non avere” (“do no evil and have no fear”) or, my personal favorite, “a tavola non s’invecchia” (“at the table, one does not grow old”).