About Marisa

I LOVE good food and the joy that comes from eating together-

I learned to appreciate the rituals of a meal from my close Italian family. Sunday dinners were never missed and we celebrated all the major events in our lives around a big table.

I have always been happiest in the kitchen, whether baking with my mom, making pasta with my gonna or hosting small get together for my girlfriends. I even had a subscription to gourmet magazine by age 12, dreaming about the next great meal I would cook and share.

It wasn’t until I spent a year studying in Paris that I realized I wanted to pursue a career in food. I fell in love with the city and its culture: The open air markets, the artisan bread and the cheese — oh the glorious cheese.

I returned to Canada to complete a degree in Foods and Nutrition and then went back to Paris and Vancouver to complete my culinary training. Armed with my credentials, I was determined to return to France when a marriage proposal took me back to my hometown (Something I said I would never do). But I took a chance on a great guy named Michael, and who knew that 25 years later we would be happier then when we first met.

So what did I do with all this learning I had gathered? I opened a cooking school where I shared my passion for cooking and entertaining, inspiring others to do the same. While I ran the school, I wrote my first cookbook, and had three beautiful children.

I operated the school for over 10 years, until the day came when I decide I needed to focus on the growing needs of my three children. Later I worked as a food editor for a local bespoke  magazine and wrote another cookbook in Spring 2014. Now this brings me to today, back in the kitchen – teaching, sharing simple meals with family and friends, holding on to traditions and trying to stay connected in our busy lives.

Nothing gives me more joy than these moments.