Sicilian cook shares mealtime traditions as personal chef

When Simona La Terra was a teenager growing up in Siracusa on the Italian island of Sicily, she grew tired of the few meal options her mother made, usually just pasta with tomato sauce, so she learned to cook her own dishes with the guidance of her grandmother. Now 55, she has discovered a passion for sharing traditional Sicilian cuisine with others.

La Terra is the owner of So Far So Cook, a project she started last year based on her love of cooking Italian meals. Through her business, clients hire her to go into their homes and prepare authentic dishes; a typical meal consists of an appetizer, pasta, meat dish, vegetables and dessert. It has been a successful year for La Terra, who made a drastic career change after the COVID-19 pandemic.

FROM PENNIES TO PASTA

La Terra was living in Italy eight years ago and had a lucrative career in the world of finance — but she wasn’t satisfied. When her boss offered her a position in Orlando, she and her husband, David, agreed to take the chance and make the move.

Soon after her arrival, La Terra was diagnosed with breast cancer. While she was in treatment, her doctor kept telling her, “So far, so good.”

That phrase would play a role years later in the naming of her new business.

She continued to work while she was sick. She even conducted business on her laptop while she was in the hospital.

“At the end, I was so tired and stressed; at a certain point it’s better to have less money but more happiness,” La Terra said. “My husband pushed me to stop working. For sure, I miss the numbers; that was my life. But I take care of my small business, so I’m like an accountant.”

When life calmed down a little, the La Terras started inviting their American friends to their house for Italian dinners. The meals always were a hit, and several people suggested La Terra start a blog or Facebook page and post her recipes. So, she did.

“The last year I started changing my life,” she said. “I resigned, and I started my business of cooking for other people — and I am so happy.”

When clients reach out to La Terra, she makes a visit to their home to discuss menu options and show photos of her plated creations.

“I go to their home, and I cook for them, usually for a fancy, fine-dining, elegant dinner, and I set the table and everything in an Italian way,” she said. “Always in an Italian way; I only cook Italian. I also arrange cooking classes for clients. I do also meal prep, but I don’t like this so much. It doesn’t give me satisfaction. I prefer preparing fine dining with a recipe.”

La Terra uses only fresh ingredients, especially an abundance of tomatoes, as dictated by her Sicilian background, and she typically boils or roasts; the only food she fries is eggplant for her eggplant parmesan. Her desserts are usually a tiramisu, mascarpone cream with berry sauce, pudding or lemon gelato.

She frequents the local farmers markets when shopping for clients.

“It’s important that if you want good food, you spend the money,” La Terra said.

“In Italy, (the food) is different if you go to Sicily or Rome or Florence or Milan,” she said. “In Sicily we have a lot of influence from Arabic or Spanish cuisine.”

Her meals are created from her grandmother’s and her own recipes. She likes to experiment with different flavors. Some recipes have to be modified because of the availability of ingredients.

“In Sicily, I am from a town that is on the coast, so the fish or the seafood is very fresh and very tasty,” she said. “The ocean is not so salty here, so the fish isn’t as salty here.”

When she cooks for herself, La Terra makes fresh pasta and seafood.

“I don’t use frozen things,” she said. “And now that I’m home and not working, usually I prepare bread from scratch, cookies for breakfast. I prepare my pasta from scratch for the week.”

La Terra said she doesn’t like complicated dishes.

“I prefer a very simple and healthy cuisine that respects the traditions with a bit of fantasy,” she said. “The important thing for me is to let others discover and enjoy my recipes, my tradition, my inventiveness but, at the same time, I would like to learn from others and improve my passion.”