Business Beat: Meet the mother-daughter duo keeping Sicilian cooking traditions alive

Thousands of miles away from Italy’s coastline, a local mother-daughter duo are helping to keep Sicilian cooking traditions alive.

Debra Lisi Ruiz-Zelenka, alongside her 83-year-old mother Mary Frances Cali Ruiz, offer traditional Sicilian cooking lessons together at Hartland’s in Long Beach — with help from a smattering of chefs from beloved local restaurants.

Dubbed CaLisi Cucina Rustica — a portmanteau of the pair’s names — class attendees can expect to get hands-on, intimate experience learning how to make recipes passed down through generations, hearing stories from the mother-daughter pair, and getting a glimpse into how food keeps people connected.

I sat down with Debra Lisi Ruiz-Zelenka to hear more about how Calisi Cucina Rustica came to be, and why Long Beach residents should consider booking a class there.

Q: Can you share some of your childhood memories of cooking?

A: “Well, it all began with my mom, so I’ll start there, since she is the heart and soul of our cooking class experiences.

My mom began cooking at the age of nine, and hasn’t stopped since. When my sister and I were babies, and my mom, an always-on-the-go-getter, who was now home all day with her little ones, was in need of a project and creative outlet. So she reached out to a local paper to inquire about a position with them.

She had been offered a full-time writing position right before she had us, but turned it down because she wanted to be home to raise her children herself. Now, at home with two little ones in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, NY, she found herself in need of something more.

She was already making all of our baby food from scratch because of how easy and healthy it was, compared to store bought baby food. So she pitched the idea of writing a food column for a local paper and began doing just that.

I have clippings from some of the articles she wrote about food, nutrition, stories, and family recipes she shared in her columns. Apparently, they were very popular, and she had quite a following, so she continued to write for the paper until we moved about an hour or so north of the city a few years later.

Mary Frances Cali Ruiz demonstrates cooking techniques. (Photo courtesy of CaLisi Cucina Rustica).

Debra Lisi Ruiz-Zelenka and her mother Mary Frances Cali Ruiz help students make pasta during a CaLisi Cucina Rustica cooking lesson. (Photo courtesy of CaLisi Cucina Rustica).

Debra Lisi Ruiz-Zelenka and her mother Mary Frances Cali Ruiz during a CaLisi Cucina Rustica cooking lesson. (Photo courtesy of CaLisi Cucina Rustica).

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Mary Frances Cali Ruiz demonstrates cooking techniques. (Photo courtesy of CaLisi Cucina Rustica).

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Now in Mahopac, a small town with zero public transportation, my mom found herself home alone with the kids all day again, while my dad commuted to the city. She made all of our meals from scratch, including homemade bread and Sicilian-style pizza, and I have wonderful memories of us baking together. We used to love to bake desserts together. That was one of our favorite things to do.

I have such vivid memories of baking in our little kitchen, with flour all over the table and countertops, my sister and I fighting over who would get to lick the perceived larger beater, the anticipation that would build as the aromas of whatever was in the oven would fill the house, waiting for the baked goods to cool. I remember summers on the deck, basting layers of pastry dough with an egg wash and thinking it was the coolest thing in the world. I was painting my food!

Some of my best memories, though, were from when I got sick with mono when I was in the eighth grade and had to be home-schooled for a few months. When I was feeling up to it, in between tutors, we would bake. We baked everything. Cookies, pastries, breads, pies, you name it. My tutors used to love coming over to our house for our sessions because not only did it always smell so good when they walked in the door, but they got to sample whatever it was that had just come out of the oven.

And then there were the holidays. Christmas Eve, in particular, was a big one. We made the Feast of Seven Fishes every year – a Sicilian tradition my family had honored for years. And all of us women cooked. We started cleaning the fish as soon as we got up in the morning, usually starting with the mussels, clams, squid, and shrimp.

Each of us would end up taking on a couple of dishes that we became responsible for over the years. My mom always made fried calamari, octopus salad, conch, and baccala. I made shrimp scampi, mussels marinara, and linguine with clams. Then we would incorporate non-shellfish, like swordfish, tuna or salmon (my dad’s favorite). Yes, if you’re counting, you are correct.

We almost always ended up with more than seven fishes. But it was Christmas Eve, and that was my mom’s holiday. And you don’t mess with mama or her traditions.

I should also note that my sister and I began working in restaurants when we were in college. We started as bus girls in a fine dining French restaurant with white linen table cloths, called The Long Pond Inn.

This classic French culinary trained chef, Don Pinger, was printing his menus nightly in the 90’s, long before the farm-to-table seasonal menu movement became popular in the U.S. He was an incredibly talented chef and way ahead of his time. I owe so much of my career to him and his restaurant. I had no idea at the time that that job would set me on a course that would alter my life so much, but I am so glad that it did.

After my sister and I had been working there for a little while, my little brother began working there in the back-of-house. He started as a dishwasher and worked his way up to a line cook position. During this time, in between selling real-estate, my mom had begun teaching cooking classes for our local community, and later, when my brother had graduated high school and became a chef himself, they started teaching classes together, incorporating her low and slow home-style cooking with his professional chef-trained techniques.”

And decades later, that became part of the inspiration for what is now CaLisi Cucina Rustica.”

Q: Why Hartland’s? The venue at 1900 E. Ocean Blvd first opened as the International City Club, and it didn’t see such beautiful tablesettings until you started your classes there. Nor has the space seen the level of gourmet dining since then.

A: “When I first came up with the idea of CaLisi Cucina Rustica, I did a ton of research, investigating various locations around town, from churches to commissary kitchens to restaurants that were closed on a Sunday, Monday or Tuesday night.

Knowing I’d be working with chefs, I knew that I’d need to work around their schedules, so weekend nights were out of the question. My mom and I viewed a few places together, and when I took her to Hartland’s, that was it.

It was a done deal. Everything about it fit our vision. The view and the space were just perfect for what we had in mind. Plus, it reminded us both of Sicily. The coastal setting and ocean views just spoke to us in a way that we couldn’t put into words.

It just felt right. It felt like home.”

Q: Do you have any collaborations with Hartland’s and Liv’s on 2nd owner chef Rob White planned?

A: “Absolutely! We have a date set for Aug. 14. We haven’t finalized our menu yet, but my mom and I are very excited to plan that one with Rob. He is such a sweetheart and a pleasure to work with. It’s really important that we admire, respect, and gel with every chef we work with. If the chemistry isn’t there, it won’t work. So, we are very selective when choosing a chef to work with.

That was another part of the inspiration for CaLisi Cucina Rustica. I had left the industry after over three decades so I could be more present for my now 83-year-old mom who has Parkinson’s, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss aspects of it.

This endeavor now allows me to do what I love with people I love working with. It’s a culmination of my life’s work in the industry and my mom’s life as a whole. And the fact that we get to do it together in this chapter of our lives is, well, everything. I am so grateful and feel truly blessed.”

Q: Tell me more about working with Massimo Aronne, formerly of Michael’s on Naples and now of Massimo’s. I know he serves some of his grandmother’s dishes on his menu. I bet the two of you have connected on a deep level — how does that feel? How does that impact the attendees’ experience?

A: “Working with Massimo has been a dream. When I first walked into Michael’s on Naples as a guest with my mom over seven years ago, we were greeted with such warmth and gracious hospitality that we immediately fell in love with the restaurant and its staff. So much so that when I decided to leave my 11 year job at Michelin-starred Rustic Canyon Restaurant in Santa Monica, Michael’s was the only place I applied to.

The people I met there instantly became my second family. I connected with them more than I had with the colleagues I had known for 11 years. It was such an amazing restaurant, in no small part because of Massimo himself. When I became the AGM there, I got to work closely with Massimo, and it was an absolute pleasure to do so. I had always had a love for Italian cuisine and culture, and working at Michael’s alongside Massimo and his crew felt like a homecoming in a way. Like I had come full circle.

Debra Lisi Ruiz-Zelenka and her mother Mary Frances Cali Ruiz during a CaLisi Cucina Rustica cooking lesson. (Photo courtesy of CaLisi Cucina Rustica).

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Debra Lisi Ruiz-Zelenka and her mother Mary Frances Cali Ruiz during a CaLisi Cucina Rustica cooking lesson. (Photo courtesy of CaLisi Cucina Rustica).

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I had worked in all types of restaurants up until that point including Italian, French, Spanish, Indian, Irish, fine dining, fast casual, martini bars, cocktail lounges, sports bars, clubs, hyper-seasonal, farm-to-table, for highly regarded, and James Beard Award-winning chefs, and I learned something from each one.

But working at Michael’s was different. Different in a sense that it felt like I was returning to my roots, to my upbringing, to my family, to my home. And it has felt like that ever since, even after I left Michael’s to open Marlena as the General Manager.

I remember sitting down with Massimo and having that difficult conversation, saying how grateful I was for my time with them and how I had initially planned on being there for many years to come, but this opportunity fell into my lap and I had to consider it. I remember asking him for advice, relating to his decision to leave La Parolaccia to open Michael’s with Michael Dene, and he was so honest, supportive and insightful in his response.

When I told him I had decided to take the position at Marlena, he was just as supportive as when I had taken the position as his AGM. That’s a special kind of human being right there. But that’s Massimo. He is who he is. He’s humble, down-to-earth, gracious, hospitable, supportive, and kind.

He’s genuine. He cares. And those are qualities you don’t often find in a person, partner, or boss these days. And those are the qualities my mom and I are looking for when we consider partnering with a new chef.

So when this idea first came to mind, Massimo and chef Mike (whom I first met at Rustic Canyon in 2009, and introduced to Robert of Marlena, where he is the executive chef) were the first two people we said we wanted to work with.

My mom and I adore both of these individuals. They’re family to us. So getting to work with them on this level, in this intimate experience, building community by sharing our family traditions, is an absolute joy and dream come true.

And I think the guests absolutely feel that. It’s all about family, connection, and love. And I think they walk away feeling like they are part of our family after sharing an experience with us. We certainly feel like they are a part of ours.”

Q: What’s next? What are your hopes and dreams?

A: “That’s pretty much how CaLisi Cucina Rustica came about — while sitting in the kitchen having breakfast one morning with my mom and husband, trying to figure out what I wanted to do next, after leaving Marlena.

I guess the short answer is I have several ideas I’d like to explore. I’d like to put together some wine dinners at Hartland’s with Rob for sure, and work with other local chefs to do the same. Pop-up wine dinners and chef collaboration dinners have been something that I have been discussing with a handful of highly talented chefs for some time now.

It’s just a matter of nailing down dates because they’re all so busy. I am also working on building my restaurant consulting business. I figure what better way to utilize my 30+ years of experience than by paying it forward by helping restaurants succeed.

The consulting side of CaLisi offers hospitality education and training sessions for restaurant staff, things like steps of service, wine education and wine service, and ways to optimize operating systems and increase profit margins in a challenging time for restaurants.

And dreams?

Well, I’m kind of doing it. Keeping my family’s traditions alive by cooking with my mom and these amazing chefs for our community is already a dream come true.

Though, I wouldn’t turn my nose up at the opportunity to be an undercover restaurant reviewer for the Michelin Guide. And being a food critic, undercover shopper, and food blogger are all things I’m interested in as well.

Pretty much all things food and hospitality related, without the demands of a restaurant GM, so I can have more time with my mama while she’s still here, is the goal. And that brings us back to how we got here.”

If you want to book a class with CaLisi Cucina Rustica, visit calisicucina.com.