...my mother always says. As I think about it, most of my favourite childhood memories are in some way linked to food. Like the first time I was allowed to sit on the kitchen counter to watch my father make conillu a succhittu, a Sardinian rabbit stew with a sauce of chopped liver, capers, sun dried tomatoes and several herbs. Or the day I was at my grandmother's home, learning for the first time how to roast tappadas, little greenish snails that become dormant during the summer.
When I was almost five my family moved to the island of Sardinia, to live in my father's birthplace. The stunning Sardinian nature and the rich culture have deeply impressed me, so naturally I feel homesick now that I have returned to the Netherlands.
It was when I moved into a student house that I first started cooking and because of a thorough study of my mother's culinary arts I managed it quickly. Though my food preferences are influenced by my Sardinian roots, my mother has infected me with her enthousiasm for recipes from other countries. I especially like cooking Persian, Libanese, Turkish, Greek and Moroccan dishes. 

Of course I don't stand between simmering pots all the time. I actually have a career in fine arts and I teach art classes once a week. If you are interested, you can check out my work at www.annamariavargiu.com.

Every now and then I help out at my father's restaurant, Pizzeria Da Giampaolo. We are situated at the railway station of Baflo and beside delicious pizza's and pasta's, we also like to surprise our guests with weekly changing soups and desserts. Made by my mother, of course.