Alice Carli

Co-Founder

Every year, the weekend before Christmas, my family gathers with a group of Italian friends for an ambitious undertaking. Together, we produce several thousand tortellini by hand, to be eaten for Christmas dinner. It's an incredible ritual which requires everyone to contribute something. Some pull the dough into strips while others make balls from the stuffing, some cut dough triangles, and others fill them and fold them into tortellini.

We are all Italian expats living in California, and recreating a tradition like Christmas tortellini allows us to reconnect with where we came from. Through my family and community, both in the US and Italy, I've come to know that food is a limitless experience to be created, shared, and loved.

It wasn’t until I began my studies in public health that I understood my experiences with food in a new and more complex light. Caring about where your food comes from, how it was prepared, and how it makes you feel, is a matter of health and the environment, of community and politics, and of personal expression.

I believe that cooking is a social experience and a practical and necessary skill for life. Food should make us feel good in every sense of the word. It should nourish our bodies, our minds, and our relationships alike. Taking the time to sit around the kitchen table and make thousands of tortellini every year is so much more than a delicious Christmas dinner. Learning to cook a tasty meal for your family and friends is so much more than one plate of dinner.

After years of working with kids in schools and community centers, Erica and I were presented with the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of young people: by showing them that if you care about what you eat, you can improve countless aspects of your life.

I haven't looked back since we founded Seattle Cucina, and I am incredibly proud of what we have created. Thank you for joining us on this adventure!