By Darlene Brace
You may wonder how a small-town girl from Jamestown, NY became internationally famous and an award-winning chef, author, and Mediterranean Lifestyle Ambassador. Amy Riolo did just that. Amy lived in Jamestown until she was 12 years old, and then she and her family moved to Washington, DC. Amy grew up in an Italian family, and her passion, curiosity, and love for food was instilled in her at a very young age. She recalls cooking meatballs, sauce, and other homemade Italian food in the kitchen of her maternal grandmother and other family members. This gave her the passion and background knowledge of cooking that she would perfect later as part of her career.
Amy’s other passion was fashion. She attended Cornell University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Apparel and Textile Management. After working in that field for a time, she went to Italy to visit relatives. When she arrived, she noticed that the relatives in Italy were much healthier than her relatives in the United States. She realized that this was due to their healthier lifestyle and diet that was more of a Mediterranean type of diet. She did a lot of reading and research. She engrossed herself into their history, culture, and foods. She hoped that she could help her relatives in the United States become healthier.
where Amy Riolo Selections extra-virgin olive oil is made.
Amy realized that even though she majored in a different field in college, she wanted to pursue a career in writing and cooking. She wanted to share all she had learned, and she started writing about foods and cooking. Living in Washington, DC presented a multitude of opportunities for Amy. Initially she worked at whatever kinds of jobs should find in this field. She worked teaching cooking classes, did restaurant consultations, and joined many culinary and cultural organizations. She also worked on developing her author’s platform. She gave presentations and was a guest speaker at events in the United States and overseas. Amy also created and appeared in weekly cooking videos called Culture of Cuisine, which was shown across the United States.
In 2008, she published her first book called Arabian Delights. Since then, she has published a total of 16 books. A few of the book’s titles are Diabetes for Dummies, Diabetes Cookbook, Italian Recipes for Dummies, and Quick and Easy Mediterranean Recipes. As Amy’s work became more well known, she showcased her culinary expertise on numerous television and radio programs both in the United States and overseas. This included The Hallmark Channel, Nile TV, the Travel Channel, Martha Stewart Living, FOX, ABC, and Calabria Uno TV and many others. She continues as a culinary consultant and does trainings with corporations and restaurants. She is a best-selling and award-winning author, and her work is often published in newspapers and magazines internationally.
In 2019, Amy launched a private label called Amy Riolo Selections, that are made in and imported from Italy. Currently she has a balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, organic pasta, and a pesto sauce. Amy loves sharing these high- quality artisan products with her followers and readers.
When Amy was asked what she thought was most important for readers to understand, Amy said, “I learned about the love of food and the basics of cooking with my family while growing up. What I love the most, is the power of food and recipes, and how it connects us to other people of other times and places. Many of my recipes were handed down from generations long ago. Food is an instrument of culture that outlasts everything else.”
Amy is currently working on writing her 17th book, yet she is often found mentoring culinary and writing students, young and old. If you want to find out more information about Amy, her books, and all her accomplishments, you can visit her website at amyriolo.com. You can also look at her pages on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, and Pinterest.
As you can see this small-town girl has become very successful and famous with all her accomplishments. Today her parents and extended family still live in the Jamestown area. Amy usually comes home for the holidays, and she certainly still enjoys cooking food with her family, where this all began.