Elettra Wiedemann is something of an "it" girl: On the red carpet at the Met Ball, sitting front row at the shows, and lending her face to Dior and Lancôme. And what a face, not surprising considering her gene pool--Isabella Rossellini is her mother and Ingrid Bergman is her grandmother. Standard Culture spoke to Elettra about her newly launched website Impatient Foodie, a trial-and-error food blog where she claims, "to not have all the answers," but more than she may think.
STANDARD CULTURE: Do you remember the first time you had your grandfather's (Roberto Rossellini) spaghetti?
ELETTRA: I don't remember the first time, but I do remember always loving it. My mom used to chop up all the herbs and lay them out in small bowls, so that we could add our own proportions. Of course, I would also drown mine in parmesan.
Rossellini Spaghetti (Photo by Davide Luciano, Food styling by Claudia Ficca)
Did you cook as a child?
I remember cooking as a child and watching my mom and my family cook a lot. I loved spending time in the kitchen and still to this day think it is where you have the best conversations. Once we got to the dinner table, there was a lot of focus on table manners which I am grateful for now, but as a child I was soooo bored and annoyed by.
Mise en Place (your advice on food prep) is EVERYTHING. Any other tips for beginners in the kitchen?
Definitely read all the way through a recipe before you start plugging away at it! Also, I really recommend getting a Cuisanart, a digital scale, and a really good, sharp chef's knife. These three things will make your kitchen and cooking life SO much easier and they fit easily into apartment-sized storage.
You travel non-stop. What do you do when you’re far from home and all you want is a home cooked meal?
I have become really fond of AirBnB for the plain fact that I have access to a kitchen. If I am away for more than a week, I rent an apartment. Otherwise, I am usually very happy to have room service (especially coffee in bed!) for a few days.
Three generations: Ingrid, Isabella, Elettra
We love room service, too! What about all those benefit dinners you attend ... What could the catering departments learn from the Impatient Foodie?
I find a lot of benefit dinners have incredibly heavy meals, and they drag on and on and on. Us gals are in tiny dresses and high heels. We're usually already uncomfortable before we eat! Meals that are on the lighter side, with a fantastic cheese platter and dessert tray that you can pick, is really where it's at for me.
What was the hardest part about launching the Impatient Foodie? The most surprising part?
The hardest part has been the recipe testing. I really did not anticipate how difficult and time consuming that would be. The most surprising part is that I have way more food and cooking ideas than I ever thought or realized!
Learn to make the Rossellini Spaghetti and more on Impatient Foodie.
