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Giuseppina Carrara is what they refer to in Italy as a buongustaio - literally a "good taster."
"She loves to eat," says chef Jeff Michaud, speaking of his Italian mother-in-law, whose home cooking inspires many of his dishes at Osteria.
"She's not into the dainty. When I put the francobolli on the table [at Osteria], she says, 'Come on Jeffrey. I want a plate of pasta, so give me a plate of pasta,' " says Michaud, chef partner at Osteria.
Michaud, 33, met Carrara in 2004 about a month after he started dating her daughter Claudia, a bella donna with big brown eyes who walked into the restaurant where he was cooking in Bergamo, Italy. He'd been there a year, having left his post at Vetri for a chance to immerse himself in the Italian language and its cuisine. He returned to Philadelphia in 2006 with a deeper understanding of both - plus an Italian wife and a second mother.