In 2015, Enoteca Maria’s cuisine expanded beyond Italy as Scaravella welcomed grandmothers of all nationalities into the kitchen. The menu began to change nightly. One night Greek, the next Sri Lankan, according to the heritage of the nonna cooking that night. The rest is history: The reservations book now stays unfailingly filled; Scaravella released a successful cookbook in 2015 titled Nonna’s House; and this year Nonnas, a film inspired by the restaurant’s story starring Vince Vaughn and Susan Sarandon, premiered on Netflix to more than 15 million viewers in its first week.
Throughout it all, the women who cook behind the restaurant’s five-burner stove have remained the stars of the show. It’s an honor, many told me, to be able to share their food, their heritage, and the cuisine of their native country. “It’s incredible to feed people and to see the joy in food,” says Melanie Mandel, who cooks Ashkenazi food, her voice trembling with emotion. “It’s a satisfaction from within, and it’s just what I was taught to do.”
Nancy Hoffman, who claims the title of oldest nonna at 94, said cooking at Enoteca Maria feels distinctly special, as she started cooking professionally more than 30 years ago. “It’s the climax of my cooking career.”
For some nonnas, sharing their food is second nature. “I love to cook and when people enjoy my food. When you come here, you feel like you’re with family,” says Kathy Viktorenko, from Uzbekistan. “As if you’re in your own kitchen cooking for someone.”
Each of these women represents a link in a living chain of shared culinary knowledge spanning generations. “A lot of ladies out there possess a lot of old-world knowledge,” Scaravella says. “They carry tradition forward.” Many of Enoteca Maria’s nonnas said they learned to cook from their own mothers and grandmothers, and that they now were teaching their grandchildren those same recipes. In typical grandma fashion, many of the nonnas do not cook with set measurements or written recipes, relying instead on taste, smell, and memory. “Everything is here,” Wen Xian, who hails from Shanghai, says, pointing to her head.
A night at Enoteca Maria isn’t without its challenges. There’s the unfamiliar induction cooktop for one, and the fast-paced service in the 35-seat restaurant for another. But the nonnas barely bat an eye. “Ten, fifteen, twenty—I’m used to that,” Mandel says. “I start by thinking about what they’ll take home.”
Others, like Zoraida Benitez, agree. “I’m a chef,” she says. “I graduated from the New York Restaurant School.” For some restaurants, a menu oscillating between a number of international cuisines would mean constant chaos—perpetually changing ingredient orders and costs and a constant stream of new talent in the kitchen would be too much to bear. But the team is fearless, whether wrangling dozens of nonnas or stocking the small but mighty restaurant with everything it needs. Their tireless work results in the easy comfort of a kitchen you’ve known all your life—even if it’s someone else’s grandmother cooking. “We speak the same language,” Xian says. ”We love food.”
Food Styling by Inés Anguiano, Prop Styling by Maggie DiMarco
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