Stefania Barzini

Stefania Barzini is an incredible woman.  She has written a wide variety of books revealing the connection between food and italian culture.  She has also made many films on the subject.  However, what I found most revealing about her presentation was how her family attempted to assimilate when they came to America.  I found her story regarding her son and his friends particularly interesting.  She described a scene in which she invited her son's new friends to dinner and they seemed confused and astounded by the traditional italian dinner she was accustomed to.  However, they quickly fell in love with her cooking and missed it dearly whenever her family would return to Italy for the summer.  What I also found interesting was how she described the changes she found in italian meals when she arrived in the United States.  She mentioned how eggplant parmesan was transformed into veal parmesan because the price of meat in the United States was much cheaper than that of vegetables to the poor italian community.  Her stories offered us a unique perspective of an italian in America that we would not have otherwise been able to see.  It was a fantastic experience to be able to meet her.