Vanina Pirollo loves to cook, and she’s making a business of it.

“Cucina Vanina,” which began in November of 2008, serves authentic Italian food that not only tastes phenomenal but looks the part, too.

“People need to learn to eat with their eyes and their tongue,” says Pirollo, who cooks everything herself at either the client’s home or her own.

Pirollo, who learned English by shopping at the grocery store and speaking to people she met, says that she was a little intimidated about beginning her business at first. But after trying various American style Italian restaurants, she says she came away “disappointed” and eventually decided to do something about it.

“When I went to a restaurant, I really didn’t know if the item was homemade or not. Some people don’t even know if the food’s authentic because they’ve never been to the country. I like people to know they are getting good organic food. ”

Pirollo doesn’t use recipes for her cooking; she says she cooks by “taste” and only makes those things she “likes to eat.” Many of the cooking techniques she uses today were learned from her grandmother and aunt in Italy when she began to cook at 12-years-old.

“On Sunday, the women would get up at 8 a.m. and get things ready in the kitchen,” she says. “The men would go out walking and smoking. My grandma, she had a huge tree for her kitchen table, cut in two halves. In the middle of the table, wheat would be drying. Salami would hang from the ceiling. We were not a rich family, but I learned to cook.”

Today, Pirollo enters her client’s home with the healthy food she has purchased, cooks the food right there in the client’s kitchen, decorates and sets the table using her own dishes and flowers, and puts on the best Italian music to set the mood. And if the client would rather sit in Pirollo’s own kitchen to eat, she’ll do that too.

“I like to talk and have people see what I’m making,” she says. “I like cooking for people and seeing their expressions when they taste it. The women can even come early if they want and learn how to cook a new dish,” she says.

Pirollo’s clients range from two in number to 16 per meal. One client proposed to his sweetheart during one of her meals, another was renting a condo in Park City when Pirollo was called on the phone and was asked to cook for them for five days.

“I made dinner and breakfast,” she says, “but the people wanted buffet. I told them to sit at the table and I would cook for them. They did. In the end they were excited about what I was doing. They said, ‘Are you coming tomorrow?’ It was a push to get them to sit down and have good food, but it was good for them.”
Pirollo explains that Italian’s really know how to eat—slowly and with a lot of conversation.

American’s, on the other hand, are often in too big of a rush. Add to that the unhealthy food some American’s eat, and Pirollo is glad to provide something refreshingly healthy and different.

"A lot of people don’t want to cook, so they call me,” she says, adding that she gets excited at every cooking opportunity that comes her way, though she admits that her first priority is her children. “I don’t want to lose time with them,” she says.

If the client chooses to have dinner at her house, Pirollo offers her playroom and backyard for the children. She makes a point of making everyone feel at home, and if the children want to play rather than sit and eat, they can do so.

“I’m open to new concepts with people,” Pirollo says. “I want them to be comfortable, like at home. “
Prices for food, cooking, table decoration, music, pleasant conversation and clean up, range from $35 per person, to roughly $80 depending on the particular food desired. Three to five courses are offered along with a never-to-be-forgotten dessert.

“This is a really great city,” Pirollo says, “and you can get every ingredient you need. I’m not the kind of person that spends time doing something I don’t like, so I decided to do it.”

For more information about “Cucina Vanina” visit the website or call Vanina at 801-550-0280 to schedule your authentic Italian meal.