Jenna Arcidiacono
Class of 2000
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Jenna Arcidiacono’s first job at age 14 was slinging chili dogs and root beer floats at Cook’s Drive-in in Kentwood, Michigan. Slowly she began realizing that cooking was more than just a way to pay for stirrup pants, music cassettes, and perms. She soon moved to East Lansing where she received her BFA at MSU while working in restaurants near campus.
Wanting to live in a big city after graduation, she moved to San Francisco where she fell in love with the city and a handsome Italian man who was visiting from Milan. After living in Italy for three years and spending some time in the kitchen with her new mother-in-law, her passion for Italian Casalinga cuisine grew stronger. Jenna worked for small businesses, corporations and also took a chance on a few of her own small entrepreneurial ideas. She finally realized it was time to take the leap and open Trattoria Italiana in 2010. Her dream was to bring back the “Mom & Pop” feel by using locally sourced products and meeting her guests in the dining room, much like dinner at home. She and Maurizio are proud to continue winning multiple awards during their nine years of business. She continues to learn by hosting culinary trips all over Italy twice a year with Onward Travel. |
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