Anna Francese Gass is one of most highly-regarded, Italian food personalities in America. A graduate of the French Culinary Institute and the author of two cookbooks, Heirloom Kitchen: Heritage Recipes and Family Stories from the Tables of Immigrant Women (2019) and Italian Snacking: Sweet and Savory Recipes for Every Hour of the Day - A Cookbook (2024), Anna has written for The New York Times and worked in the test kitchen for FOOD52, Martha Stewart Living and Whole Foods. She is widely recognized as a culinary influencer and is a frequent guest on national television shows.
Anna has recently partnered with television personality, author, and philanthropist Rachael Ray, and her Intentional Content’s Free Food Studios, to create a new series, INSTANT ITALIAN, which premieres with back-to-back episodes beginning Monday, March 10 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on FYI, as part of A+E Networks’ Home.Made.Nation. multi-platform lifestyle programming block. The series will be available on demand and to stream on the FYI App and fyi.tv.
As a friend and contributor to Appetito, we wanted to speak with Anna about her new show, working with Rachael Ray, and her own multi-faceted status in the Italian food space. But before talking to Anna, we asked Ms. Ray for some thoughts on Anna and her new show:
"Anna has had my head, heart and stomach since the day I met her and ate her food. She and her food are authentic in every way. I am so proud to produce her with our team at Free Food Studios." - Rachael Ray
Editor's Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
How did Instant Italian come to be?
It's really one of those things that’s kind of like a dream unfolding, which is really cool. Anyone in food today will tell you that they they grew up on Rachael Ray. People that aren't even in food grew up on Rachel. She's one of the pioneers of Food Network, and the fact that she even knows my name is still surreal to me. But what happened was, when I was promoting Heirloom Kitchen, I got a spot on her show, and it was during COVID, so she was in lockdown, and they sent her my book, and she read it, cover and cover, and she really responded to it, my immigrant story, the grandmothers, all that.
When I finally met her, she was like, “I really love what you're doing, and someday we're going to find a way to work together.” Of course, it was thrilling to just hear those words, but never did I ever think...Fast forward a couple years, she and I build a friendship, a true friendship, and she decides to end her talk show and open a production company. We end up on a phone call with her, and she says, “Hey, I'm going to be producing four talents. I'd like you to be one of them, because you are not only Italian American, but you really have always immersed yourself in the culture. You're a daughter of immigrants, and I think that you're the real deal. Let's do a show.”
What is the concept behind the show?
What Rachel is really trying to bring back with all of the shows she is producing is the ‘stand and stir’ cooking show, which has really gone to the wayside. Food Network didn't birth it cooking shows. We had Julia Child and Jacques Pepin, who really brought their kitchens into our homes, but Food Network really elevated it to where you had people of different backgrounds, cuisines, cultures, on the TV for 30 minutes, making you a meal, showing you how to do it. And then they really got away from that, and they moved into this more reality entertainment based system of competition shows, or travel shows, which is all great, but that's not Rachael's wheelhouse. Rachael is really passionate about teaching people how to cook, so I think it's really admirable that she wants to get back in the kitchen on television.
What is your approach to this intention?
I believe if you want to learn how to cook, Italian food is the best cuisine to start with. We use very few ingredients. There's usually not a lot of steps, and you end up with a lot of return on investment. Even a pasta Pomodoro, it's at max, five ingredients, and you get this delicious plate of pasta that's comforting and nourishing and all that. That's how Instant Italian was born.
We pull a lot of content from my second cookbook, Italian Snacking, because a lot of the recipes there are really quick and easy, and again, a lot of flavor for the time and money that you are investing. There are also just other things that I had either done on Instagram that I thought were really fun, or other recipes that are quintessential Italian that I've given just a little bit of a spin to not only make them different.
In what way are you making the recipes different?
I’m trying to make traditional recipes more approachable. I take those ingredients that are revered throughout Italy, and I put them together quickly so that they taste Italian, they feel Italian, but it’s not Sunday Supper when you got up at 5 a.m. for a meal that is served at 8 p.m. Each recipe is fast and simple. That's what people seem to want today.
What’s the structure of each episode?
There are 12 episodes in the first season, and each begins with me in front of a stove introducing the episode. In each, I’m making two or three recipes, from start to finish. Most of the time, the recipe at the top of the show will somehow be incorporated into the later recipes. So, for example, I teach you how to make my all purpose pizza dough, a simple dough that you can make at home, and then I give you three or four applications on how to make something with that dough other than just a traditional pizza.
The majority of the recipes might fall in the snacking category, though I do have one episode that's notably distinct. It's called “Dinner Party 911.” I really love that episode because I'm doing three simple dishes that cook while the other one is being prepped. So, you kind of become a ‘kitchen ninja,’ having to be able to cook more than one thing at once, which is something I think people should really aspire to. I show the viewers how to start with our appetizer. While our appetizer is in the oven, we get started on the main meal. Then when both of those are doing their thing, we get the dessert done. So all three of the recipes are super simple, but I think people have gotten away from dinner parties because they feel intimidated, like they can't do it, and it's one thing I want this show to really teach people, much like 30 Minute Meals, my absolutely my inspiration for this, is you can do it, and you don't have to be in the kitchen all day, and you don't have to go to culinary school.
Among your many titles in the food world, one of them is culinary influencer. Do you feel any responsibility as an Italian-American to counter some of the negative stereotypes that populate the Italian food space online?
Wow, that's such a great question. This is something that I take incredibly seriously. I try not to judge anyone, and I think everyone needs to find their lane and embrace whatever it is that they're trying to get out in the world, But the reality is that I have an immigrant mother. My father is Italian American. He's a college professor of Italian. I grew up in a home where being Italian, speaking Italian was something to be revered, respected. It was something that I was in taught to be incredibly proud of. My father has always said there's two type of people in the world: Italians and everyone else that wants to be one. Now, whether that's true or not, that's what I grew up with, a fierce, intense pride for being Italian.
So, in my online platform and everywhere I go in life, I want to portray the image of an educated Italian American woman who knows my culture, loves my culture, and wants to teach you about my culture, and not necessarily the culture that you might first associate with Italian Americans.
What’s next for you?
I am working on another book now, and I'd love for there to be a season two of the show. Honestly, I hope this is something I'm doing for years to come. I really, really enjoy it.
