Grazie Morcone for the International Tourism Award!

Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo started in 2016. Rossella Mancini and I gathered up a group of exciting and creative cooks to share their skills with culinary adventurers from all over the United States. How did this idea come about? Was I a tourism creative genius? Like most good ideas there was a catalyst that kicked my ass into creative action. Two women with roots in Pontelandolfo were the absolute catalyst for this initiative. Mary and Leona, while visiting the village of their heritage and saying hi to my next door neighbors, literally recognized me.

“Are you Midge from Nonna’s Mulberry Tree?”

After looking around to see if she was talking to someone else, I grinned like I just won a blog Emmy and said, “gulp, yes.” (I also realized I was in a very old and ugly house dress.)

“We love your blog and are so jealous. I wish I could live here like you and meet everyone.”

“Even for a week,” said her friend.

“But you can I said!” Not knowing what I was committing too, my theatre brain started improvising.

“How?”

Out of my mouth came – “Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo – a new program. Give me your email addresses and I’ll send you the information.”

I tossed on better clothes and dashed to Rossella’s house. Five coffees later, our brain cells were whirling and twirling in the Sannio Hills. 1. Idea was solidified. 2. Organized an army of – hate to be sexist but – women. 3. Meet with those women who would be the first home chefs, hook Annarita Mancini our ace multi lingua person as our primary translator, set a cultural track and bammmmmmm – Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo was born and off!!!! It took a village and still does. Thank you to every cook, translator, historian, cultural group and more. Thank you to all.

From Saturday, May 21 to Saturday May 28, 2016 culinary and cultural adventurers participated in the first ever Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo program. Four of the eight participants had direct Pontelandolfo roots. The other women discovered our village for the first time.

OUR FIRST WONDERFUL GROUP OF 2016 ADVENTURERS – Mary, Leona, Nancy, Dana, Charleen, Eloise, Flora and Lynn! GRAZIE A TUTTI!

This tourism initiative may have its roots in Pontelandolfo but introduces people to the Sannio Hills. Since 2016, the majority of men and women who have used this program to explore our region have been foreigners, without any family history in the area. After one week, those strangers feel not only like family but like proud Pontelandolfese. The international program has grown because those strangers have told other strangers, have told other strangers – and the beat goes on.

At that August 9th jam packed presentation, Annarita and I were stunned when Morcone’s Assessore of Tourism, Giulia Ocone, came up to the microphone with this –

Grazie al Comune de Morcone, Luigino Ciarlo sindaco, Giulia Ocone Assessore alla cultura, Daria Lepore di il giornali – La Cittadella, e Carlo Perugini per aver creduto in quello che faccio.

Un ringraziamento speciale ai donatori – finanziato dall’ Unione euorpea – Next Generation EU, Ministero degli affari esterni e della cooperativa internazionale, ministero della cultura.

Thank you to Comune de Morcone, Luigino Ciarlo mayor, Giulia Ocone council member for culture, Daria Lepore of the newspaper – La Cittadella, and Carlo Perugini for believing in what I do.

A special thanks to the donors –  finanziato dall’ Unione euorpea – Next Generation EU, Ministero degli affair esterni e della cooperative internazionale, and the  ministero della cultura.

WOW Midge, I hope you remembered everyone! If you don’t know what Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo is watch this –

Interested in being part of the 2025 adventure? Send me an email at info@nonnasmulberrytree.com.

Now we have expanded beyond cooking and are doing writer’s retreats! There are two spots left for the 2024 Write Where You Are October retreat.

Since, I have the attention span of a gnat and keep whirling like a mad dervish, I wrote two books that touted the area. Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos is a collection of short stories that revolve around my Fiat, Fernando. Annarita and I finished a guide book to Pontelandolfo called, An italian Treasure Hunt: The Quest for the Crests of Pontelandolfo.

Jack and I are blessed to be part of the fabric of life here in the Sannio Hills. Thank you to all who have embraced us and embrace my crazy ideas. Thank you for the town of Morcone for recognizing what we have done. Ancora, grazie a tutti.

Ci Vediamo.

Midge