Maristella Innocenti
Maristella Innocenti and her sister Lorella were born in Pistoia, Italy, 15 miles down the road from Florence, in the northern, central plains of Tuscany. They shared a childhood inundated with food and generations worth of family recipes, headed by their mother Alberta.
The training that Maristella received from her mother followed her into adulthood. Through a variety of jobs she carried with her a love of cooking for her friends and family.
In 1999, Maristella came to New York to join Lorella at her restaurant I Coppi, located at 432 East 9th Street. She began as a manager, but couldn't seem to keep out of the kitchen. She was constantly underfoot, making suggestions, throwing spices around, adding a splash of olive oil, until her sister finally suggested that she listen to her calling. Scared at first, Maristella quickly realized, "this was my future, my destiny.'
From the beginning the Innocenti sisters knew that I Coppi would be a testimony to true Tuscan cuisine. They use Tuscan ingredients as much as possible, and only the best Tuscan olive oil. The menu is a combination of their mother's recipes, and Maristella's own creations. The result is a cuisine not often found in New York. Their pesto bianco and eggplant parmigiana with beschamel sauce, are unique in the way of Italian cooking. Bread is served Tuscan style, without salt, pasta is homemade, and meats like lamb and wild boar are always grilled on their wood burning oven. Pizza, too, is cooked in the wood burning oven with a delicate thin crust. Maristella says of the pizza, "you can eat two, they are so light." The Cacciucco alla Livornese, or fish stew, is one of her mother's timeless recipes.
Maristella, like her mother, has received no formal culinary training. She never calculates anything, she says, but keeps her recipes "all in the tips of my fingers". Her driving motivation, she exclaims, is "passion".
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