I was flipping through my friend Andrea’s Facebook page and came across this lovely photo of his work. Aside from being a real character (he serenaded me more than once in the kitchen last summer), he is the master pizzaiolo, or pizza maker, at the Grand Hotel Quisisana. If you watch this video clip, you’ll get an idea of his skill and charisma (he’s the one on the right).

Mi manchi, Andrea!

–StellaCadente*

I am thrilled to welcome you to my new stand-alone Pomodorista blog. If you are an Al Dente blog reader than you already know a little bit about me. If you are a new reader, allow me to give you a little background.

What is a Pomodorista? When you add an “-ista” ending to an italian noun it signifies one of the following: 1) a person of that profession i.e. a dentist would be dentista 2) someone who participates in activity i.e. collezionista would be a collector, or 3) a person who follows a doctrine or movement i.e. anarchista would be an anarchist. Pomodorista falls under the umbrella of all three.

During the summer of 2009 I found myself doing a stage, or kitchen apprenticeship on the island of Capri just off the coast of Naples, Italy. I was assigned to the pasta chef, and consequently every morning after setting up my station, it was my job to cut up thousands of cherry-sized pomodori (tomatoes), and make the sauce for the day. I cut so many tomatoes, that I came to appreciate the uniqueness of each one. As I sliced hundreds upon hundreds of tomatoes (always with a serrated knife by the way!) different colors, shapes, and patterns began to materialize on their fleshy red interiors: I found hearts, butterflies, and even letters. One night my colleagues began to worry about me as I tried to collect the alphabet.

So, pomodorista is someone involved in the business of tomatoes. But, to me, the word pomodorista will always represent that experience, which was about much more than chopping tomatoes. It was about following a dream, taking a risk, and allowing myself to focus soley on something that was important to me, even though it probably seemed crazy to everyone else.

Every day that passes takes me a little further away from that adventure. But I am trying hard to keep it alive in spirit in my daily life. Trying to structure my time around things that are truly important to me, like family, friends, food, and travel.

The blog Pomodorista will be a place to exchange ideas about food and travel, with a bent towards Italy–but not only–as I like to travel to other places, too. Italy just happens to be my favorite.

So, thanks for stopping by. I’d love it if you’d drop in once in a while to say ciao and see what I am up to.

Viva la Pomodorista!

Photo © StellaCadente*

–StellaCadente*

Victorinox 10-1/4-Inch Wavy Bread Knife, Black Fibrox Handle