"Connect. Laugh. Play. Enjoy. This is the spirit of Abruzzo."

Welcome to the captivating and life-giving food of Daniela Maiorano - a fourth-generation Abruzzese chef and food tour guide based in Melbourne by way of Abruzzo in Southern Italy, two hours East of Rome.

Daniela's food is flavour-driven, rustic and relaxed, and the writing is infused with a vivid sense of place and tells the incredible story of her family, who have survived war and famine to keep the legacy of their family restaurant thriving. Trained in professional kitchens since a young age, Daniela has for many years been driven with a passion to sharing the food of her cultural roots and showing just how easy it is to make at home with the signature welcoming charisma that has made her recipes go viral online.


From the simplest regional pastas like the signature Farfalle al Clemente, a gorgeous bow-tie pasta rich in prosciutto, spinach and mushroom, to traditional meat dishes and modern takes on classic vegetable recipes, along with the breads, sides and sweets that make regional Italian cooking the world's very favourite way to travel without leaving the home.
Every page of this book is imbued with Abruzzese people, places and produce at its forefront, and has been lovingly photographed on 35mm film in Daniela's native town of Sulmona. Abruzzo is a story where food is memory, nourishment, and connection. It's this book's mission to preserve a way of life that's slowly disappearing by embracing its time-honoured recipes and sharing them with the whole world.