This Staten Island eatery hires grandmas from all over the world to cook…instead of chefs. The women, or Nonnas, are serving up special family dishes. From Bangladesh to Greece, Enoteca Maria has around 30-40 nonnas cooking for them, says owner Jody Scaravella. Enoteca Maria schedules two grandmas each day, one Italian and the other from a different part of the world. “Every time one of these grandmothers is in the kitchen, you have a thousand years of culture coming out of their fingertips,” says Scaravella. Each grandma has had a lifetime of unique experiences and, naturally, customers LOVE the grandmas. “They give me a lot of hugs, they give me a lot of things,” says Italian Nonna, Adelina Masana, “Sometimes, the people kiss my hand!” Training at Enoteca Maria is free and one-on-one, and it’s so popular that there’s a waitlist. Scaravella’s goal is bringing people together, and he believes that food is one simple way to do that comfortably.
