Introducing Chef Silvia Barban!

Excited to share my friend & book content contributor with you!

Silvia came to New York from Italy for what was meant to be a 3 month consulting gig. She somehow turned that into 10 years, becoming an executive chef at 26, getting on Top Chef, and opening this beautiful restaurant, LaRina Pastificio e Vino where she’s cultivated an amazing family of pasta lovers. 

We became fast friends almost 10 years ago after enjoying her fresh pasta at Aita with my family. Now she is a part of my family, so when I began the process of this cookbook I knew immediately she had to be a part of it. She was in my kitchen almost daily testing these recipes with me. We laughed, cried, and cooked together. It was a magical time of creativity. 

You will discover so much more about Silvia from her section in the book but let me share a few personal appreciation points with you here. Besides her high-level expertise, Silvia brings her full self to the kitchen. Her personality, her meticulousness, her history, and her story in the making–you get it all on the plate. I also love that she is open to all flavors; discovery and experimentation are daily habits she has adopted. Her artful use of ancient grains is as riveting as her unique take on plant-forward plates which centers on using the whole plant–an intentional practice that honors low-waste cooking. 

As I bring this share to a close so you can focus your attention on the video below, I’ll share that if I had to choose the two bigs AHA moments that Silvia gifted me, they would be: 

• Do not fear the use of sugar, fat or salt, it’s about artful inclusion
• Always make space in your kitchen for your ancestors, they guide your cooking 

I hope that you enjoy this video short as much as we enjoyed our time together. We laugh as often as we go deep.