Taste the Tradition
More Than A Cooking Class
At CaLisi Cucina Rustica, we offer more than a traditional Sicilian cooking class. We invite you into an intimate, hands-on experience where food, culture, and family come together. Through generations of cherished recipes, personal stories, and long-held traditions, we share our deep connections to the meals that have nourished us throughout our lives and the memories that give them meaning.
CaLisi Cucina Rustica offers a unique experience of traditional Sicilian cooking classes, blending family recipes with modern culinary techniques. Led by an inspiring 83-year-old Nonna, her daughter, Debra, and a rotational guest chef, each class highlights a handful of simple, high-quality ingredients brought to life across a curated menu of traditional dishes, celebrating the depth and versatility of Sicilian cuisine, enriched by heartfelt stories of heritage and family.
Located in Long Beach, California, we invite you to join our vibrant community of food lovers and gather around the table for an experience that goes beyond the kitchen.
About Us
Welcome to CaLisi Cucina Rustica, where old-world meets new. Each class partners with a local chef to bridge traditional homemade Sicilian dishes with modern culinary techniques. Rooted in authentic Sicilian cuisine, we cook exclusively with what’s in season, highlighting the versatility of simple, fresh, and humble ingredients. Through generations of family recipes, we share our unique history, culture, and traditions—keeping them alive, one class at a time.
Meet Mary (AKA Nonna)
Mary, a first-generation Sicilian American born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, began cooking for her family at just nine years old—and she hasn’t stopped since.
Raised in a family where food was at the heart of everyday life, Mary learned the recipes, techniques, and traditions of Sicilian cooking the way generations before her had: in the kitchen, alongside family, and around the table. What began as a childhood responsibility grew into a lifelong passion for cooking, feeding people, and bringing them together.
Over the years, Mary has written multiple food and nutrition columns, taught cooking in her local community, and hosted more gatherings than anyone could possibly count. But perhaps her greatest legacy lives in the recipes, stories, and traditions she has lovingly passed down to her children and grandchildren.
A natural-born hostess and storyteller, Mary has a remarkable way of making everyone who gathers around her table feel as though they belong there. Food has always been one of the ways she expresses love, and whether she’s teaching someone how to make one of her family recipes, sharing a story from her childhood, or insisting you have just a little bit more to eat, it’s nearly impossible to leave her presence without feeling nurtured, welcomed, and loved.
Today, at 83 years young, “Nonna Mary” is the heart and soul of CaLisi Cucina Rustica, sharing a lifetime of Sicilian food, stories, and traditions with a whole new generation—one recipe, one story, and one table at a time.
Meet Debra
Debra grew up cooking and baking alongside her mother before embarking on a 30+ year career in the food and beverage industry, including 15 years in New York and 17 years in Los Angeles. Her front-of-house career took her from serving and bartending to restaurant management, with time spent at some of Los Angeles’ most acclaimed restaurants, including FIG at the Fairmont Miramar and a 12-year tenure at Santa Monica’s Rustic Canyon, where she worked during the tenures of celebrated chefs Evan Funke, James Beard Award winner Jeremy Fox, and Andy Doubrava, and was part of the team when the restaurant earned its first Michelin star.
After more than a decade at Rustic Canyon, Debra made the decision to bring her career closer to home—and closer to her mom—in Long Beach. She joined Michael’s on Naples as Assistant General Manager before leaving to help open MARLENA in 2023 as General Manager. There, she helped bring together the opening team, including Chef Michael Flores and longtime friend and former Rustic Canyon colleague Ferdinando Mucerino, who led the restaurant’s wine program.
Throughout her career, Debra developed a deep appreciation for thoughtful hospitality, fresh, locally sourced ingredients, and the relationship between food and wine. Her years working in restaurants led by chefs including Ray Garcia, Evan Funke, Jeremy Fox, Andy Doubrava, and Michael Flores helped shape her approach to food, while her time working with Mucerino further deepened her knowledge and appreciation of wine.
Today, she brings those influences—and more than three decades spent taking care of guests—to CaLisi Cucina Rustica.
Together, Mary and Debra bring over a century of combined culinary and hospitality experience, rooted in family tradition and brought to life through every class at CaLisi.
Our Story
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My "Why"
We’re not a big corporation, and we have no desire to become one. We’re a mother and daughter with a deep love for our Sicilian heritage, doing our best to honor where we came from, build community, and keep generations of our family’s recipes, stories, and traditions alive by sharing them with others.
For me, that mission is deeply personal. My husband and I weren’t blessed with children of our own, and one of the reasons CaLisi means so much to me is that I don’t want everything our family holds near and dear—the recipes passed from one generation to the next, the stories told around the table, the traditions that have shaped who we are—to simply end with us. Sharing them with our community is our way of carrying them forward. Every time we welcome someone to our table, teach a family recipe, share the story behind it, or watch guests gather over a meal made with love, a little piece of our family history lives on.
And there is another reason this chapter is especially meaningful to me: I get to share it with my 83-year-old mama, Nonna Mary.
My mom has been battling Parkinson’s disease for many years, and these experiences have become so much more than something we do together. They give her something to look forward to. They bring her purpose, connection, laughter, and joy. And perhaps most importantly, they give her another reason to keep fighting a really freaking hard fight.
That is the heart of CaLisi Cucina Rustica. Yes, we gather to cook. We gather to eat, drink beautiful wine, and share a meal around the table. But what we’re really doing is preserving memories, celebrating our culture, creating new connections, and making sure the things that matter most to our family continue to have a place at the table.
And every person who joins us becomes a small part of that story—and helps us carry it forward.
Benvenuti nella famiglia CaLisi. We can't wait to host you.
Our Services
Cooking Class Experiences
Upcoming Events
Upcoming Events
Nonna Mary-Inspired Sicilian Wine DinnerTue, Sep 15Hartland's
From Sicily to Japan — A Tale of Two IslandsTue, Sep 22Hartland's