Cook With Love by Gianna

Gianna, a mother, wife, biologist and one of the lovely residents here at The Henry Canberra. Gianna hosts cooking demonstrations once per month for fellow residents which is proving to be quite popular.  We sat down with Gianna to see if we could gain an insight into her culinary skills. Gianna mentioned, her love for her husband, Carlo basically lies in her love for cooking and she believes that she is inspired for cooking by the love she shares with her husband Carlo.

 Gianna’s monthly cooking demonstrations came about when one of her fellow residents asked her how to cook pasta properly. Gianna wanted to show her instead of just telling her. An activity survey was sent through to the residents seeking suggestions for village activities, so Gianna volunteered to do a cooking demonstration and here we are now enjoying her dishes every month.

Gianna starts her demonstration by interpreting cooking or cuisine on her own terms. As an Italian, Gianna wants to spread love through food and cooking. She believes that when you cook for somebody you love, some of that love goes into the food that you cook, and being Italian, Gianna always wanted to be a good cook. Cooking is very much a series of physical and chemical reactions. When Gianna was asked about her purpose and motivation for her cooking, she explained that she wanted to dispel some of the misconceptions about Italian cuisine. Gianna presents her elaborations of the classical dishes, and all her recipes and cooking styles gave us a perfect image of a motivated and skilled cook.

Gianna admits that having a kitchen in the village is an advantage and she did not forget to thank Richard Howarth, the Managing Director of the village for providing a fully equipped kitchen and also for sponsoring her monthly cooking demonstrations. Gianna often receives positive feedback and always considers that a good indication that her fellow residents like and enjoy her cooking.