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Food is our love language
Sharing nostalgic recipes sparked a lasting romance for Lisa Hanley and Alessandro Pilla
words PUNTEHA VAN TERHEYDEN
In November 2017, strangers Lisa and A lessandro both swiped right on a dating app, and quickly a mutual love of food surfaced. Lisa shared her grandmother’s Caribbean recipes and Alessandro recounted years spent cooking by his grandmother’s side in Campania, Italy.
Lisa, 29, says, “My Nanna Helen held the family together, and every Sunday we’d go to hers for Sunday lunch. It was sweet to learn Alessandro’s grandma Raffaella was the same. Cooking had brought our families together, and now it was doing the same for us.
“I grew up in Manchester and Nanna lived nearby, and after school, I’d go there and stand in the kitchen on a stool and help her mix things as she cooked. She played a big role in my upbringing, and was always trying to bring people together with food or good conversation. She was a perfectionist and very expressive in the kitchen.”