The Nonna's Kitchen
Welcome to Nonna's Kitchen
Ciao Tutti, Welcome to The Nonna’s Kitchen! My name is Lily Bonarrigo….Alias The Nonna, which translated into English, is grandma. I proudly own Nonna’s Kitchen, Sicilian artisan and street food.
We hope you find The Nonna’s Kitchen website interactive and fun. You can learn about Sicilian culture, history and geography, find travel tips and the most important food!! So, here’s a little bit about me and my journey.
I was raised in an Anglo-Sicilian household. My mum being English [Carol], and my dad [Gino Giuseppe] was born in ROCCALUMERA, Sicily. Dad left this beautiful island in his 20s to pursue his love and career in bespoke tailoring. First, he travelled to Milan, where he worked alongside his cousin, learning the precision and skill of sketching hand-drawn designs of suits, then chalking onto the material and cutting out. My dad was motivated, ambitious and indeed very talented.
After about five years, my dad travelled to England and began working for himself burning the candle at both ends, building up his tailoring business networking, and in the evenings dancing. He would always go out suited and booted… From head to toe… Proudly showing off his very fine hand-tailored suits.
One evening my dad went to a local dance where he clapped eyes on my mum, a very curvaceous, green-eyed brunette. It was love at first sight, they began dating falling madly in love and were married soon after in England.
My mum and dad spent summers in Roccalumera Sicily where my mum learnt the arts and skill of Sicilian cooking and spent endless hours in the kitchen with cousins and friends. The kitchen was the hub and heartbeat of every Sicilian home. My sister and I came into this world, and as a family, we moved from Coventry to Kenilworth. We were very much part of the Sicilian and Italian community and food was always the centre of every social event. In the school holidays, we flew out to Sicily, where we spent four weeks in Roccalumera, hanging out with family and friends.
The women in every household spent endless hours in the kitchen with help from the children concocting and preparing the most amazing meals using fresh produce. Time was of the essence… No rushing or skimping, slowly … Piano, piano…. As the years went by, I grew a zest for Sicilian cooking.
I also lived in other countries, Sweden, Germany, and America. I spent much time whilst living abroad in the kitchen. I learnt so much about different countries’ cuisine and culture. My children, Beth and Sebastian came along, and I adopted the importance of Sicilian culture and eating together, sharing meals always around the table. My children both grew a great love for Sicilian cuisine, and some of their favourite dishes are the ones that were inherited to me from my mum.
As I’ve mentioned, it’s all about slow cooking. Years later, I met my second husband, Mark who absolutely loves cooking and eating!!! I have met my match!! Mark was raised in a typical English household. His mum and grandma have been very traditional English cooks and bakers. Mark also inherited the love of cooking and baking, and from the day we met a lot of time was spent messing about in the kitchen from baking cakes to fudge to Mexican food to Thai food. If the challenge was set, Mark commenced the task! He is very competitive!!!
Mark and I frequently visit Sicily, and during every trip we would eat out, cook in and aim to learn as much as we could about Sicilian cooking.
In 2021 The Nonna’s Kitchen – Sicilian and artisan food was born, and all relevant food, safety and hygiene certificates and qualifications gained. Nonnas Kitchen began trading with CJ Events who are a family business providing event management security and traffic control services. I began trading at Kenilworth market, offering home-made Sicilian artisan and street food.
Lots of TLC goes into all our food and seasoning is high on the agenda, ensuring that we’re tasting the food continually throughout cooking. You won’t often find salt and pepper on tables when eating with Sicilians, in fact, if you asked for salt and pepper before your food, they would be very offended!!
I have so much to share with you about Sicilian cooking, but it’s all about the togetherness of cooking, and now I am Nonna to my two gorgeous grandsons, Leon and Blue. Nothing warms my heart more than cooking with them both in the kitchen, which usually ends up in total carnage! But making bread dough cakes and messing about with pasta dough is the most therapeutic, fun and wonderful experience!!
Before I leave this opening page., I need to tell you a little bit about my dad and what he achieved before passing away in April 2022. So, my dad had this vision… And that was to officially twin his hometown of Roccalumera with his home in Kenilworth, England. 2009 a friendship agreement took place, and my dad was the driving force behind this. He never lost sight of his passion, and after numerous meetings and networking exchanges that took place and the friendship groups involved with these things, local politics had to be overcome, and finally, in January 2022, the official twinning signing took place.
My dad managed one final trip to Sicily before he passed away in April 2022. He was so very proud.!! He saw his vision through right till the end, and the signs in Roccalumerra and Kenilworth are finally standing proud in situ. So, my love and passion for Sicily is ingrained into my DNA, and I would like to share my knowledge and stories with you.
My lovely talented web designer works with me 2 continually update this website
Lots of Sicilian love
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