I: How did your interest and passion for food develop further?

M.L.: While I was modeling in Italy, I would spend my vacations at my grandfather’s vineyard in the mountains of central Italy. There I discovered that my great grandparents had owned a well-known bakery in the south of Italy and that my great aunt had cooked for several members of the Italian Royal Family. This sparked my dormant interest in food and cooking. I began consulting with chefs in the area and spent hours translating and reworking some of the old recipes left by Great Aunt Angelina. After I met my fiancé, we traveled to so many different parts of Italy and Europe, visiting friends and chefs that we knew. At almost every visit, I would spend time learning a new recipe or a particular culinary skill. Little by little I gathered all of this experience together and started conducting culinary programs for tourists in Italy.

I: You mentioned that you included some stories about your travels in Italy; can you give me an example of one of your adventures that we will read about in the book?

M.L.: One of the most exciting things that happened to me was having my portrait painted by one of Italy’s most famous artists. One afternoon after finishing a day of modeling for a design house in Rome, I was grabbing a cup of espresso at a café on the Via Veneto, and I was spotted by Sergio Terzi. Sergio, who is also known as Nerone, has painted some very famous Italians, including Luciano Pavarotti, the singer Zucchero and many others. I was surprised and delighted when he approached me. Of course, I agreed! The portrait was exhibited throughout Europe as well as at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York where the painting and the artist were honored at a ceremony for the contributions of Italians to the world. When Sergio was done exhibiting the painting two years later, he offered to give me my portrait as a gift, but the “catch” was that I had to go to his studio in Reggio- Emilia to pick it up. The tale of my fiancé’s and my trip to this rugged and rural area to bring home a large painting in a small car is part of the book. I still smile when I think of all of our misadventures along the way.

I: What other projects are you working on now?

M.L.: I am working on two books that should be published in 2006: Festa!!- (Special Foods for Special Occasions) and The Basic Art of Italian Cooking, Part Two: The Italian Kitchen. Another book that is in the works is The Royal Art of Desserts, which is a collection of more sophisticated recipes. That one should be released in 2007. I am also expanding my two web sites (www.MariaLiberati.com and www.TheBasicArtofItalianCooking.com), creating a monthly lifestyle newsletter, putting together more cooking programs at a vineyard in Italy and developing a television show. So this is a busy and exciting time for me. But no matter how busy I am, I always make a point to find time to sit down with family and friends and enjoy a good meal because that is what keeps me going.

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