Sapori della memoria / Of Food and Memories. Mariella Totaro-Genevois and Nicoletta Zanardi in conversation with food writer Tania Cammarano at Museo Italiano

In general, the eighty or so contributions were received by email, but some were recounted orally and some by letter, from a list of people compiled specifically for the purpose. Each text was then assessed and reviewed to ensure that it met the criteria of ‘authenticity’ and ‘evocative power’ as defined in the introduction. They are quite varied in regard to the participants’ geographical origin, age, family, social context, and individual approach taken to the story.

Recipes and stories are published both in the original Italian and in English translation.

The authors:

Paola Marmini was born in Italy (Ferrara), got her degree at the University of Bologna (Foreign Languages and Literatures) and taught English for a few years in Italy. After 18 months in Chad as a Volunteer of the UN, in 1978 she came to Australia to work in the Department of Italian at the University of Sydney. In 1994 she was awarded an M.Phil. in Italian from the University of Sydney. As a member of the Department of Italian Studies for almost 30 years, she devised and taught language acquisition courses at all levels and published numerous texts for the teaching of Italian, in collaboration with colleagues, and several articles about language teaching, with particular reference to online language teaching. She is an Honorary Lecturer in the Department of Italian Studies.

Mariella Totaro-Genevois was born in Italy to an Italian mother and French father. She moved to Australia with her young family in the mid-1960s and now lives in Sydney. She has a Law degree from the University of Turin, an M.A. Honours in Italian Studies (University of Sydney) and a PhD in European Studies (Monash University). She taught in the Department of Italian at Sydney University for 18 years and then in Romance Languages at Monash University (1992-1997), and has worked intensively in the development of curricula and examinations in Italian studies. She has also been involved in professional development for teachers of Italian. Mariella has co-authored several successful books for teaching Italian at tertiary level, published articles on the history of Italian in Australia, and is the author of the book Cultural and Linguistic Policy abroad – The Italian Experience.

Nicoletta Zanardi graduated in Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of Bologna in 1970, and got an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from The University of Sydney in 1989. She taught English in various Italian High Schools before coming to Australia in 1978. From 1978 to 2007 she worked at The University of Sydney in the Department of Italian Studies teaching Italian Language and Linguistics at various levels. She co-authored Italian Language textbooks for the tertiary level, published articles on Language Teaching, and translated several books from English into Italian. Retired since 2008, she is an Honorary Lecturer in the Department of Italian Studies, University of Sydney.

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Tania Cammarano is a food writer and editor with a Masters degree in Gastronomy (Food Studies). She is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Adelaide. Her research is focused on the history of Italian food in Australia. As the daughter of Italian migrants, she is interested not just in the effect Italian migrants have had on Australia’s diet, but on the many other ingredients that contribute to change in a country’s foodways, including economic, social and cultural factors. Prior to embarking on an academic career, she wrote about food for News Limited and Australian Associated Press, amongst others. She was also the founding editor of food and recipe website, taste.com.au.  She has taught food writing as part of the Graduate Program in Food Studies at the University of Adelaide, and is currently teaching in the Higher Education program at William Angliss Institute.