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Out of the Frying Pan: A Food-Loving Family's New Entertaining Area
Auckland's favourite gelato makers give us a sneak peek into their kitchen and dining area, where the foodie family spends much of their day
Since December 2008, ice-cream and gelato makers Giapo and Annarosa Petrucci Grazioli have been charming Aucklanders with their boutique ice-cream store Giapo, located in the city’s entertainment district. It’s a busy life for Giapo and Annarosa, but they find sanctuary in the home they share with their two young children, Francesca and Pasquale, in the beachside suburb of Mission Bay. Renovating the house they bought three years ago was one of the best decisions they have ever made, they say, because now the sunny home provides the family with an area to unwind and entertain guests, something all four members of the family enjoy doing.
This afternoon, the family sits down to a rare treat of ice-cream in deluxe chocolate cups made by Giapo. Artwork flows from the walls onto the table with reversible hand-drawn placemats made by the children.
The entertaining area is spacious and sunny, with an easy flow out to the garden through French doors. Giapo is proud of his ‘constantly mowed’ fake grass lawn and hedge in the generous garden that backs onto the public park.
Around the corner to the left, the kitchen connects to the dining room via a long bench that becomes a sideboard. Annarosa likes having a closed-off kitchen because the mess is hidden away when they are entertaining guests. The woodgrain-effect tile (Italian, of course, but no longer available) runs through the entire ground floor.
Around the corner to the left, the kitchen connects to the dining room via a long bench that becomes a sideboard. Annarosa likes having a closed-off kitchen because the mess is hidden away when they are entertaining guests. The woodgrain-effect tile (Italian, of course, but no longer available) runs through the entire ground floor.
Annarosa says the majority of the interior decorating was inspired by photos on Houzz, including the gallery of framed family photos on their dining room wall. The portrait of Annarosa by a family friend, New Zealand artist David MacGregor, acts as a good-luck blessing for the family and guests who come to the home.
Everyone is a cook in this family. The two children often help out in the kitchen, using a chair and footstool to reach the bench. The choice of marble as a benchtop provides a durable surface the family isn’t afraid to get a little messy when creating meals. The window above the sink overlooks the hedge and a herb garden.
Fresh herbs and vegetables are on display on the kitchen bench. In this household, tomatoes are “the most-consumed food,” and used regularly in home-cooked sauce for the family’s favourite meal of pasta, bread and salad.
Francesca loves getting creative in the kitchen. “She is an amazing cook,” says Annarosa. One of her favourite dishes is fish cakes. A stool from Storage Box makes cooking more manageable for the little ones.
Terracotta dishes passed down from Giapo’s grandparents are used to make gnocchi, another family favourite, which Annarosa says young chef Francesca is an expert at making.
The two most-used utensils in the kitchen are the stainless-steel tongs given to the couple before they married more than 15 years ago, and a favourite knife. “A kitchen can be run with one good knife,” says Annarosa, who is so fond of her knife that nobody can touch it except for her.
A variety of oils – one for each meal – is located in the kitchen corner. To catch spills, each oil has a saucer given to the family by Giapo’s mother in Italy.
No space is left empty in the kitchen, and even the area under the nearby staircase provides extra pantry storage. Cans, long-life items and bottles, along with deep fryers and mixers, are hidden away. The family does one big supermarket shop each week and small trips to the local shops as necessary for fresh produce.
The fridge is a reflection of the family’s love of cooking, with colourful fresh produce filling the shelves. Bottles of San Pellegrino water and milk of all kinds (“Francesca is obsessed with it,” says Annarosa) line the inside of the door. In exchange for vouchers to their store, the couple welcomes neighbours and customers to drop fresh produce in to the shop – they often use it to make small-batch ice-cream varieties, depending on what is in season.
The couple’s favoured coffee is made on the stovetop in a Bialetti, a style icon since the 1950s in Italy. This is the same pot Annarosa’s mother used. The Graziolis have had their pot for more than 15 years, and say the taste of their coffee has been refined and seasoned over that time as a result.
The only original structures to remain in the kitchen after the renovation are the cupboards behind frosted glass doors. Although they are put to good use to store china and servingware, and reflect the garden from the kitchen window, they are slated for change. Giapo and Annarosa say the style of the doors no longer suits the updated look in the rest of their house.
Francesca points out her favourite painting among the many picturesque scenes by artist Vito D’esposito of harbours and villages around their home town near Naples, where they still have extended family.
The neutral colour palette of their country-style decorating contrasts with their eclectic photos and art, with pops of red, green and blue in furnishings, pottery and artwork. The newest artwork by an anonymous artist from The Netherlands is Giapo’s favourite. He says he loves it for the contemporary edge it gives the house, and for the bold statement it makes.
Creative works made by the Grazioli children are also on display, from colourful painted pottery and drawings, to paper-mâchéd objects dotted on shelves and walls. These creations are candleholders and napkin rings, made using household objects such as patterned napkins and paper towel rolls.
Their parents take their world-class ice-cream just as seriously, with Giapo recently publishing a paper in journal Appetite, on how the music you listen to while eating gelato has an impact on how it tastes. Giapo says food (and ice-cream) is a multi-sensory experience of sight, smell, texture and sound.
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Their parents take their world-class ice-cream just as seriously, with Giapo recently publishing a paper in journal Appetite, on how the music you listen to while eating gelato has an impact on how it tastes. Giapo says food (and ice-cream) is a multi-sensory experience of sight, smell, texture and sound.
TELL US
What do you think of this social family space? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Who lives here: Giapo and Annarosa Petrucci Grazioli and their children Francesca, 6, and Pascale, 4
Location: Mission Bay, Auckland, New Zealand
Size: 90 square metres
The focal point of the ground-floor kitchen, dining and living area is the long table, which the couple always dreamed about having. It’s where the majority of entertaining is done. “We like to entertain a lot, almost once a week,” says Annarosa.
The process of dining is not taken lightly, with the couple planning in advance for eight- to nine-course meals. They always advise their guests to not have breakfast or make plans for dinner, because long Italian lunches at the Grazioli household last all afternoon and into the evening.