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About Us

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Appetito

Bona Furtuna

Sea Salt and Herb Blend on WB

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A lifelong learner and mentor of Italian cuisine, Cathy Whims is happiest when she’s sharing her love and knowledge of regional Italian culture through food, wine, travel, and writing. 
Her deep dive into the soul and psyche of Italian cooking started over 30 years ago at Genoa,  one of the first high-end, chef-driven, seasonally focused restaurants in Portland, Oregon. During her 18-year tenure, 10 of those years as chef/co-owner, Whims introduced Portland diners to both the nuances of Italian ingredients and the concept of sourcing locally.
Today, she continues to share her passion through her three Portland restaurants (Nostrana, Oven and Shaker, and Enoteca Nostrana), the culinary tours she leads in Italy and the cooking classes she hosts around the world. Her writing and recipes have been featured in numerous outlets including The Wall Street Journal and Eating Well and soon in the pages of her first cookbook, scheduled to debut in 2025.
Whims’ culinary philosophy is grounded in the way Italians weave food into the seasons, holidays, love, friendships and daily life. Similarly, Cathy has created personal relationships with numerous farmers and ranchers in the Pacific Northwest, as well as winemakers in Italy and at home, crafting a community that celebrates the good things in life that come when you sit with friends at a table. Her ability to follow the seasons, creating brilliant food that comes from the heart has earned her six James Beard Award nominations for Best Chef Northwest and is the guiding vision behind all of her restaurants. 
Cathy’s community building includes serving on the board of Scuola Italiana di Portland, a non-profit school for all ages that promotes Italian language and culture, as well as ongoing collaborations with The Culinary Breeding Network, an Oregon State University initiative that aims to bridge the gap between ‘breeders and eaters’ by improving agricultural and culinary quality in vegetables and grains. And for many years she served on the board of Slow Food Portland–the first chapter in the United States of Slow Food, the non-profit, member-supported organization founded in Italy in 1989 to counteract the culture of fast food. 
Cathy is the owner of  three Portland, Oregon restaurants: 
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400"><a href="https://nostrana.com/">Nostrana</a> (2006), her beloved flagship restaurant since 2006 that serves inventive regional Italian through the lens of seasonal Pacific Northwest ingredients. Heralded  as one of the best Italian restaurants in the United States by Thrillist and Tasting Table, Best Pizza in Portland by Eater and Restaurant of the Year by The Oregonian in 2006, the year it opened.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400"><a href="https://www.ovenandshaker.com/">Oven and Shaker</a> (2012), an urban pizza and cocktail spot in Portland’s Pearl District, with a second location in Lake Oswego. Named one of the best places for pizza in Portland by Portland Monthly in 2022.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400"><a href="https://enotecanostrana.com/">Enoteca Nostrana </a>(2018), a gorgeous, modern wine bar and special events space with an award-winning wine list focused on small producers and creative bar programs. The 2018 Eater Portland Award winner for Design of the Year and a 2018 Portland Monthly Best New Restaurant.</li>
</ul>
Follow Cathy on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cathywhims/?hl=en">@cathywhims</a>.
Photo: John Valls

Cathy Whims 1. photo credit John Valls

Cathy Whims

Chef, restaurateur and cookbook author Cathy Whims.

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Recipes

The Italian Summer Kitchen: A  Love Letter from Cathy Whims

Morgan Hines is a New York City-based contributor for Appetito. She loves learning about and experiencing Italian cuisine and culture. Morgan is a full time reporter at PhocusWire and also contributes to Hotels Above Par, Women&#8217;s Wear Daily, Footwear News, etc. She was previously a full time reporter at USA TODAY and holds degrees from Columbia University and Georgetown University. Follow her on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/morganemhines/">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@morganemhines?lang=en">TikTok</a> at <a>@MorganEmHines. </a>

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Morgan Hines

APERITVO STAND SELECTS (4)Photo Credit Melissa Hom

Armani/Ristorante’s aperitivo menu for a fashionable summer

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Features

Café Maud’s Frozen Aperol Spritz Is a Cool Take on a Summer Favorite

Alisandra Puliti is an entertainment and lifestyle journalist with over 15 years of experience.  The Penn State alum has held several positions at HELLO! and HOLA! Media, Us Weekly and OK! Magazine and is a contributing editor for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. Throughout her tenure, she has been a fixture at events such as the Golden Globes to the Cannes Film Festival and has interviewed the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Taylor Swift, Eva Longoria, Jay-Z and more of Hollywood’s elite. A self-professed ‘social homebody,’ when she isn’t home binge-watching the newest streaming series from the States and Italy or perfecting pasta dishes, her constant wanderlust has her packing her bags and heading out for a new adventure – most likely back to Italy where she is in the process of renovating a condo on the Adriatic coast in Abruzzo! You can follow her on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/apuliti/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.instagram.com/apuliti/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1710346605383000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1RQ5mXycF2H2G3QnwTTfQ0">Instagram</a> or her <a href="https://www.instagram.com/pastaaliways/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.instagram.com/pastaaliways/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1710346605383000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0TboPKyrhYOwMHf4TWVbpf">PastaALIways</a> account for all the deliciousness.

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Alisandra Puliti

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How to Make a Cucumber Mezcal Spritz

Marisa Lambert, a first-generation Italian American, was raised in a close-knit New York neighborhood where Italian was her first language and family meant everything. Surrounded by her grandparents, home-cooked meals, and life in her parents’ clothing store, she grew up immersed in love, tradition, and food.
<div>Her childhood was full of rituals—Sunday dinners at her maternal grandparents&#8217; home featured homemade wine, pasta, and bread from scratch. Her paternal grandmother prepared daily hot lunches for anyone working at the store, followed by a pot of espresso at 3 p.m. At home, her mom cooked every night—except Fridays (always pizza) and Mondays (Chinese takeout). These routines shaped her deep appreciation for family and the power of shared meals.</div>
Now a lawyer, Marisa lives in Connecticut with her husband, two children, and their dog, continuing to honor her heritage through food. She blends her Italian roots with her husband&#8217;s traditions, passing them on, one homemade meal at a time.
<div>Follow her culinary journey on Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cookinglikenonna/">@cookinglikenonna.</a></div>

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Marisa Lambert

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Pasta Primavera Is Satisfying in Every Season

I am the idea behind and the co-founder of Mama Mancini’s. I am also a home cook, an obsessed entrepreneur, traveler, foodie, and I love sharing all of it with anyone who wants to listen. I believe passion fuels ideas and there is no such thing as a bad idea or too much passion. I look at the picture of my grandmother, Anna Mancini, holding me as a baby and think wow if my grandmother only knew that all those countless days of me learning how to cook by her side in Brooklyn would turn into this. After 25 years in the garment industry, I decided in 2007 it was time for a change. My idea: real meatballs made the authentic Italian way and sold in real sauce. To me there was no other way they should be offered, that was my big idea and Mama Mancini’s was born. The rest is history. So, I say this to everyone who has an idea: never give up; don’t listen to the people who say it won’t work. No idea is a bad idea and always chase your dreams. Let’s cook.

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Daniel Mancini

Chicken Piccata Meatballs by Daniel Mancini.

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How a “Meatball Mastermind” Makes Chicken Piccata Meatballs

Born to a Swiss family in California, Allison Zurfluh has integrated into local life on the island of Burano, in Venice, where she spends her time painting and accompanying fisherman in their work, learning the history, traditions, and hard work of the trade.
Follow Allison on Instagram.

Allison Zurfluh

Blue Crab Salad on the banks of a Burano canal in the Veneto.

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From Lagoon to Lunch: A Blue Crab Salad Born in Burano

Lowcountry Bella (Mandi Casey) is Italian by birth and Southern by choice. Moving to eastern North Carolina as a young girl, she was exposed to a whole new type of cuisine like BBQ and hush puppies. As an adult, she embraces both cultures so you never know what she may be cooking up in her kitchen! Currently she lives in both Pawleys Island, South Carolina and Fort Mill, South Carolina.
Her family continues to grow, and that makes her happy because there are more people to feed and love. What&#8217;s better than that?
In addition to creating, cooking and sharing great recipes, she loves to research the history of food origins. Understanding the flavors and ingredients helps her creativity, but more-so, appreciate the meal with even more passion.
Mandi loves to be a guest of events, signing books and donating a portion of her net proceeds to local charities. Her second cookbook, Mangia Y&#8217;all &#8211; Make Everyday Delicious, is scheduled to be released on July 19, 2025.
Please follow her on her website <a href="http://www.lowcountrybella.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.lowcountrybella.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1705416623316000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2qLX1Ag56lHqdrjNXYhkQG">www.lowcountrybella.com </a>or on social media: @lowcountrybella on both Instagram and Facebook.
Mangia Y’all!

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Lowcountry Bella

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When Risotto Met Shrimp & Grits in the South Carolina Lowcountry

Justin Patulli is a food and travel writer with a lifelong passion for his Italian heritage. Having worked in the travel industry, he has an inherent love for encouraging people to travel beyond Italy&#8217;s most visited regions. Through his writing he teaches about the diversity of Italy, from north to south. He&#8217;s also a freelance content writer for various Italian travel brands. You can find his work on <a title="https://muckrack.com/justin-patulli/portfolio" href="https://muckrack.com/justin-patulli/portfolio">Muck Rack</a> and follow him on <a title="https://www.instagram.com/discover.olive.italy/" href="https://www.instagram.com/discover.olive.italy/">Instagram</a>.

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Justin Patulli

Biancomangiare is a popular Sicilian dessert.

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Biancomangiare: The Ultimate Sicilian Summer Dessert

<h2>Michele Sessa is an Italian American home chef raised in upstate NY with a flair for creating new recipes. When she was young, her great grandmother would watch her while her parents worked. She only spoke Italian, and they communicated through the magic of cooking. The duo would bake, garden and even take care of the chickens, which developed Michele’s passion for making people happy through her food. All the women in her family fostered the importance of family, faith and healthy food.</h2>
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<h2>Working in the apparel business for over 25 years in NYC and traveling the world for developing fashion lines, her love of different cuisines grew. Of course, Italian food is near and dear to her heart, but she now develops Greek, Asian, Latin and Mexican recipes for her family and for parties.</h2>
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<h2>Now living in Florida with her husband and extended family, she even teaches her friends her innovative takes on Italian classic dishes. Everyone wants and invitation to her Italian Sunday feasts she makes for 8-14 family members, and everyone gets to pick their favorite dinner for their birthday celebration. Her Mother Louise has finally left NY and is living nearby, and they love cooking and baking together, especially for the traditional holiday meals. She learned everything about being a gracious hostess from her mom, and they even catered a large wedding for 65 guests in their backyard when her cousins came to America from Italy to get married!</h2>
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<h2>Michele’s love for her heritage and family continues to drive her knack for entertaining, decorating and cooking. Instagram is another place where she shares her recipes, and she has a great following for her handle <a href="https://www.instagram.com/michele7533/">@michele7533</a>. Make sure to stop by her page for inspiration and her authentic stories through her eyes and her food! Casa Michele’s kitchen is a special place that you can visit through her page!</h2>

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Michele Sessa

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How to Make the Summer Vegetable Stew of Giambotta