Pasqualina Raspaolo

Born in Naples, Italy, Pasqualina Raspaolo has spent her life doing one thing: keeping the traditions of the Italian table alive.

She is the author of three books on Italian culinary tradition, the founder of Culinary Genes LLC, and the host of small-group immersive journeys to Italy where strangers arrive as guests and leave as family. Her work is rooted in a simple belief — that food carries memory, and that the stories behind every dish, every cut, and every gathering around the table deserve to be passed down.

Pasqualina came to America as a child on one of the last voyages of the SS Michelangelo. She spent almost five years living back in Italy as an adult, and has studied Italian regional cuisines, Neapolitan, Tuscan, and coastal, throughout her life. Her formal training includes a Master of Science in Human Nutrition from the University of Bridgeport, a culinary degree from the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City, and an internship at the prestigious James Beard House where she worked alongside some of the country's top chefs.

Her books bring authentic Italian family recipes to home cooks who love Italian food and want to understand not just how to prepare it, but why it is made the way it is. Gluten-free adaptations are included in each book so that no one at the table is ever left out.

Food is her vehicle. Human connection is her mission.