Raised in
the small Italian village of Luciano, Cecilia Di Cecco had nothing but a suitcase
full of dreams when she left Europe to work as a musician with the KwaZulu-Natal
Philharmonic Orchestra (KZNPO) in Durban.
Today she
is at home in both South Africa
and Italy
so much so that the 48-year old has launched an Italian-inspired cookbook that
promises to be music to your taste buds.
When Di
Cecco arrived in Durban she started to expand and over time refine her music
career as well as her passion for food.
It’s been
13 years since then and she’s now launched her first cookbook Cucina, in South Africa.
The
musician and cook unveiled her labour of love at a launch at the Italian
Club in Durban North.
Speaking
about her journey, Di Cecco says she has fond childhood memories of being in
the kitchen and watching her parents and grandmother cooking.
Later; in her
teenage years, she moved to north Italy to complete her music studies,
and her travels fuelled her dual passion for the arts and food.
“I
discovered the world through music. Working with musicians, orchestras and
collaborations throughout Europe. It was while
seeking a musical post abroad that I ultimately chose Durban
over Auckland and Michigan. “Apart from my music my other
passion is food. I inherited the pleasure of cooking from my parents, whom are
both great cooks. My father specialized in sweet pastries and cakes. My mother
more dedicated to the savoury dishes,” she says.
Cucina in South Africa includes 70 mouth-watering recipes
suited to all kinds of diets- vegetarian and vegan- and dishes from her home
province, Abruzzo. The book also provides readers with menu ideas for winter
and summer. Each recipe contains nutritional information and all ingredients
have been carefully selected. Although Di Cecco is fiercely proud of her
Italian roots, she has combined her love to create recipes with a South
African-Italian flair.
Asked about her favourite in the
book, she quips that since she’s been forced to choose, she would single out
the baked fennel, langoustine, pork braised in milk and the cannoli Siciliani.
Cucina in South Africa is
available at all mainstream book-stores and retails for R495.