

B I O
Minnie Filomena DeLuccia was born
in Paterson, New Jersey in 1912
and
during her childhood she
was exposed to and influenced
by her mother's
peasant recipes
that were brought to America
from the family's native Naples,
Italy.
In 1934 Minnie married Armand Giraldi,
who also lived in Paterson,
and
for the next 35 years they
raised a family and worked
in the same town that
they were both born.
In 1972, Minnie and Armand moved to Chappaqua,
New York, an elite suburb
of Westchester.
And along with them came over a thousand
old-world recipes that Minnie describes
as "deceptively simple" and the key
ingredient as "a pinch of this and a pinch of that."
Minnie chose to expand on her southern Italian
cooking and modernize just a bit, so she studied
with the well known Giuliano Bugialli
in Florence for a few years.
She started her own catering company
and cooking school, called "Mezzaluna" in 1980.
Her son Robert is co-owner of five of Manhattan's
most successful restaurants. They are "Vong,"
"Jo-Jo," "Lipstick Cafe," "Patria" and
the Tribeca eatery, "Gigino Trattoria" where
any Tuesday or Wednesday, you can find Minnie
in the kitchen, still trying out her new
creations on the local clientle.