“Cooking with Nonna’s” Rossella Rago: “Never take for granted the opportunity to go to work.”

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I’m so excited to talk to you! Tell me about your new book.

I don’t want to talk too much about the book. It doesn’t come out until 2022. It’s going to be a Sunday dinner book. That’s all I can talk about!

Do you ever think you would write a fiction book?

I don’t know. It all depends on how I feel. Writing fiction can be so difficult. It’s no small task. I don’t know how Adriana Trigiani does it.

I’m amazed at you! You have so much going on. How do you balance it all?

Oh, thank you. I definitely don’t do it alone. I’ve expanded the “Cooking with Nonna” brand over the years. It would be impossible to do it all alone. I have a full time babysitter (laughs) named Francesca. To call her an assistant wouldn’t be fair. She’s our office manager and she helps with my food photography. She’s the only person I trust to do that sort of stuff. I have my dad who runs the retail business. We have several employees who have joined the team over the years. My cousin John shoots and edits all my videos. It’s a family business and we’ve expanded the reach.

We wanted the “Cooking with Nonna” brand to be a 360 degree experience. We want you to be able to watch a video, buy the ingredients for that recipe, and then be able to purchase candy or a cheese grater that Nonna has in her house. We want to become an Italian American Amazon.

For people who live in New York, Chicago, or Philly, it’s easy to find those types of Italian American products or goods. But if you live somewhere like Iowa and you’re the only Italian American, it could be hard to find products like we have. We wanted to help people find a connection.

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How has it been for your business in the midst of COVID and quarantine?

Ultimately, it was helpful because we have the pasta brand, Pasta De La Nonna. We also wanted to be sensitive to what was going on in the world. When the pandemic hit and pasta was sold out in stores, people were purchasing their groceries on the internet. We were really able to help a lot of people. It was so hard to meet the demands of so many people who were scared and desperate for basic groceries.

We still went to work every day. My husband is an essential worker. His family is in the grocery store business. We didn’t take breaks. It was scary. I quarantined from my parents because they live with my Nonna. My dad was the rockstar of that entire situation. He was going to the post office and packing and shipping orders every day. At that time, it felt like to leave the house was risking your life. It was a very scary moment. But, we got through it and we survived. We are so fortunate that we were one of the small businesses that didn’t close due to the pandemic. We feel so lucky. Never take for granted the opportunity to go to work. We never know when something could be taken from you.

It must’ve been so hard for you to not see Nonna.

Yes, it was terrible! We went through Easter without seeing her. We went through Mother’s Day without her. It was one of the worst times for us Americans. Who ever thought we would see days like this? It was terribly difficult. Now, Nonna’s been vaccinated. I’m still hesitant when I spend time with her or film with her. But, hopefully with the vaccine things will calm down a little bit.

When you started your “Cooking with Nonna” YouTube show, did you have a full time job while trying to start your business?

I launched “Cooking with Nonna” in 2009. At the time, I did have another job. For about six years, I was a stand-in on TV shows and movies. I worked on “Gossip Girl.” I was a member of the Screen Actors Guild since 1999. My first job was working on “The Sopranos” when I was a little girl. It was fun for a long time but also a struggle. I really did want to be an actress at the beginning. I couldn’t imagine having another job now. Now, my business is so much work.

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I love the clothes that you sell. Do you design them yourself?

I do! I design everything myself. It’s hard as an Italian American to find clothes that represent your heritage. We’re a little unrepresented in the market place.

What I like about your clothes is that they’re girly and they’re Italian.

Thank you! I really aim to do that. Sometimes you will find things on the internet that are a little too cheesy. I’m trying to find something that really represents our heritage while being fashionable at the same time.

Do you plan on having any more Italy tours?

Italy is probably off the table more than it’s on the table at the moment. I do miss the tours so, so much. I think it was an amazing part of what I do. You never know what you have until it’s gone. It was a little stressful to plan, but now that we can’t travel, I appreciate it a little more. Hopefully we can go back there one day.

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Going along with traveling, do you plan on filming any more episodes of “Greetings from Italian America”?

As Americans, we have to be committed to live with this crazy, weird, awful virus. We can’t just stop living. Our episodes are something people really like and enjoy watching. We’re hoping we can do more.

Do you plan on working with Adriana Trigiani again?

I hope so! She’s my fairy godmother!

What are your plans for the future?

I am working on my third book that will be released in 2022. It’s published with Harper Horizon. It’s really exciting to be a part of the Harper Collins family. It was hard to switch publishers after two books, but I’m excited about this new team. For the future I also want to build La Bottega della Nonna. I feel like nothing is really out of reach!

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Rossella’s Favorites:

Favorite Restaurant: Gargiulo’s (2911 W 15th St, Brooklyn, NY)

Favorite Book: “My Brilliant Friend” by Elena Ferrante

Favorite Reality Show: “90 Day Fiancé” on TLC

Favorite Dessert: VillabateAlba Bakery (18th Ave, Brooklyn, NY)