Instagram stars Nonna Gracie and Tony Cash answer rapid fire questions
Learn what Nonna Gracie and Tony CashNYC like with lohud food reporter Jeanne Muchnick’s rapid fire questions. Tania Savayan/lohud
This Westchester grandmother never planned to be a social media star: she just loves to cook
Eighty-two-year-old Grace Geramita, the social media grandmother known as Nonna Gracie, has released her first cookbook.
“Sunday Dinner with Nonna Gracie,” available for pre-orders Oct. 20 but not officially out until April 21, features more than 75 of her favorite Italian recipes, everything from Eggplant Parmigiana to Tagliatelle Bolognese and biscotti.
More than a cookbook, each entry also includes stories of the roots of the recipe and what the dish means to Geramita, who learned how to cook from her mother.
As reported in an earlier The Journal News/lohud story, the Italian native turned Eastchester resident never set out to be an internet star. Nor did she ever think she’d have her own olive oil brand. But now, she’s a triple threat, as a cookbook author, social media influencer and mascot for Nonna Gracie’s Olive Oil, which launched in April.
Geramita, who was born in Sarno, a small town outside Naples, came to the Bronx when she was 18 with little more than the clothes on her back, a devotion to family and a fierce love for cooking. A cook since she was 10 — and still at the stove seven days a week — her style is “very natural, with everything fresh.”
Simple recipes that reflect her childhood have long been what she served at Sunday dinner to her daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Now, her more than one million followers aka her “Internet grandchildren” are invited to the table thanks to her IRL grandson Matt Gresia, who manages her account.
Geramita’s goal, she said, is to get the younger generation cooking. “They’re so busy,” she said. “I worry about them.”
To that end the book includes plenty of cooking tips and techniques passed down through generations.
Preorders available at sites.prh.com/sunday-dinner-nonna-gracie.
More Westchester cookbook news
Geramita isn’t the only Westchester resident with Italian roots that recently got into the cookbook game. Christian Petroni, a Food Network star (and longtime county resident), released “From Parm to Table” in September, a cookbook filled with personal anecdotes of growing up (and eating) in the Bronx. He, too, has a large Instagram presence.
In other social media news
Adding to the social media clout: Geramita’s 13-year-old great-nephew Tony Barisano aka Tony CashNYC, an Eastchester resident who’s risen to social media fame thanks to his trademark “Yo guys” intro and what sounds like a stereotypical old Italian man shtick (but really is his persona).
Since starting his page in April, the eighth grader, who counts actor Alec Baldwin as a fan, has more than a million followers. He can often be seen along with Geramita tasting (and commenting) on her dishes.
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Jeanne Muchnick covers food and dining. Click here for her most recent articles and follow her latest dining adventures on Instagram @jeannemuchnick or via the lohudfood newsletter
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