Mambo Italiano, Mangiasti?: Celebrating with Family and Friends

Mangiasti? and Mambo Italianoare two Facebook community groups that bring together family, friends and the love of food. Mangiasti? began in the middle of our first lockdown in 2020. The question, in Calabrese dialect [a region in the south of Italy], asks: ‘have you eaten?’ and Mambo Italiano conjures up good times and fun! The recipes and memories that go with them remind us of our special celebrations. We have now come to love and appreciate these precious moments and will no longer take them for granted. Live, love and celebrate life!There are few opportunities that come along in life to do something you love and to share that same passion with others but that’s what happened this year in 2021 - the year of extended lockdowns and a worldwide pandemic that was here to stay.With the success of my cookbook and community page [that grew to 11,000 in just 12 months] in 2020, I wanted to challenge myself once more and with the love and support of my team it became a reality.Mambo Italianocame about when I decided that I wanted to connect with people who had the same passion as I. My original Mangiasti? was archived and so I opened a new one and Lina was keen to come on board with my new page. Before long we were joined by Juanita. Members were able to see we were about food, fun and connection and it grew quickly. I wondered whether they would be interested in sharing recipes and memories of special celebrations throughout their lives and that’s how the idea of a second book is about. We are so grateful for their well-loved recipes and memoirs and I am so happy to be able to end 2021 on a positive note.We had online chats and finally got together to work on the book. The time was spent setting up displays, eating lots of cake and laughing till our sides split! The team all had their roles and it worked so well. The guys, Enzo and Maurizio kept the page interactive, as did Juanita, Lina and I, when we weren’t working on the book. Thank you for not giving up … as winners never do!Thank you to our generous and supportive sponsors who helped to get this book on the road: Angelo and Joanne Puopolo, Maurizio and Lina Matarazzo, Frank and Belinda De Agostino, and Donna Stephens. A very special thank you to our members for sharing your special recipes with us all. I will be forever grateful to my team for helping me on this journey with their special talents, enthusiasm and encouragement. A big thank you to my husband Enzo and to Ian Bosler for his belief that I could do it all again in these difficult times of lockdowns and uncertainty. Mary Grace Mercadante Read more