“They taught me the essence of putting your heart and soul into your food and how to mangia with meaning.”
“Mangia” (which means ‘to eat’ in Italian) should have been my first word as an infant. In my household, the word was a way of life more than a request to eat, and in many respects, it was an expression of love.
I’ve been lucky enough to grow up surrounded by exceptional cooks and bakers, but my food-loving journey definitely began with my grandparents and their traditional Italian cooking.
I was inspired a few years ago, before my Nonna passed (pictured above with my grandfather), to translate her recipes and capture her cooking in the kitchen. What followed were hours of laughter and entertainment, countless nibbles of my favorite dishes, and a family cookbook that I cherish and use regularly.
Now as I cook for my own family, I can’t help but reference the dishes and the memories they shared with me in the kitchen for so many years.
To preserve these simple - yet important - family recipes has been my greatest work to date, and I only hope I can share these delights with families around my own community and beyond through The Salty Dough Company.
If I’m not eating it, I’m photographing it.
Food that is. All my life I’ve considered food to be my love language.
I'm Stephanie, and for the past decade, I made a career of photographing food and the amazing faces that cook it. With time I came to realize that I'd rather be the one wielding the dough instead of the camera, so here we are.
The Salty Dough Company is a micro-bakery based in Rosenberg, TX specializing in dairy-free Italian-style baked goods and pastas utilizing local, sustainable and seasonal Texas ingredients.