Matthew is a mix of Australian and Italian. His father arrived in Australia at a young age on a boat from Italy but his mother’s family had been in Australia for many years coming from England to mine for gold near Armidale in New South Wales.
Matthew has a ‘made-up’ surname because a great, great, great (the exact generation is unknown) grandfather was an orphan and was given the made-up surname.
He has a very strong connection with his Italian heritage. Much more than his Australian side of the family, mostly because the culture is so enriched by traditions and he had the opportunity to learn about the culture directly from his grandparents, something he missed out on at home.
When Matthew was young, he would spend the weekends at his grandparents’ house. Sunday morning was always an early start as Matthew was made to get up early to cook with everything made from scratch. Alongside his sister, Matthew was his Nona’s sous-chef to help make pasta, crumbed meats and dessert. His special job was picking the herbs from the garden. As an adult, he can make pasta from scratch.
Matthew first visited Italy when he was nine and learnt that his family business was the town butcher. Everyone worked hard in the business downstairs and then relaxed upstairs together with a meal in the evenings including fresh meats. This experience made Matthew a self-pronounced ‘Italian food’ snob. Much of the food in Australia still can’t match the food made by his Italian family, both here in Australia and in Italy.
When he was 27 he went back to Italy and lived with his Aunty who refused to speak anything other than Italian with him. While he is more connected to his Italian heritage, he also appreciates the Australian culture for its friendliness and ability to enjoy good times.
View more of Fast Ed’s photo series by clicking here.
Related Posts
-
Caring about cultural diversity – AutoCare Services
-
4 reasons to introduce A Taste of Harmony to your workplace
-
Mckenzie – Yoghurt Digital
-
Arq Group
-
Phoebe – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
A Taste of Harmony at Harding Martin
-
Mitchell – Reach Out
-
What is Australian cuisine?
-
How does your heritage affect what you eat?
-
How a garden in a Brighton backyard is connecting cultures
-
Who makes the best desserts?
-
City of Whittlesea
-
What did you eat today?
-
What makes Australian food culture so diverse?
-
Angel – Reach Out
-
Australian Taxation Office
-
Sukaina – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Ayca – Yoghurt Digital
-
Australia Post – 10 year participant and major supporter
-
Joe – Yoghurt Digital
-
ASF Audit’s first A Taste of Harmony celebration
-
Centre for Multicultural Youth
-
Chung Jae Lee: My Korean heritage
-
Why cultural diversity is an important workplace conversation
-
Dominique Rizzo: What I learnt about my cultural heritage
-
Petra – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Metro South Health
-
A Taste of Harmony brings ‘Besties’ together – Best and Less
-
Tammy – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Krisztina – Reach Out
-
Neha – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Gilad – Yoghurt Digital
-
What’s in your pantry?
-
How entrepreneurship enables economic independence for migrant women
-
How many cuisines have you eaten in your life?
-
Melissa Leong – Learning more about my cultural heritage
-
Department of Local Government, Racing and Multicultural Affairs, QLD
-
Junnan – Yoghurt Digital
-
Tessa – Reach Out
-
A workplace champion for harmony – Department of Human Services
-
William Ross
-
Emma – Blackbird PR
-
Sally – Blackbird PR
-
Cristina – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Pride in Diversity for Major Hotel Group – Accor Hotels
-
Why your workplace should celebrate A Taste of Harmony
-
Carly Day: Learning more about my cultural background
-
Maxine – Reach Out
-
What does food mean to you?
-
Cultural cuisines you may never have tried (and should!)
-
Samantha – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
What’s your favourite food?
-
Dave – Reach Out
-
Kristin – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Newmont
-
Fast Ed’s A Taste of Harmony Photo Series
-
Flourish Australia leads by example, and wins a visit by Celebrity Chef, Fast Ed!
-
Multiculturalism a key ingredient of Melbourne’s ‘happy cafe’