By Marie-Antoinette Issa.
In a scene reminiscent of a classic Hallmark movie, there is a particular kind of magic that happens in Silvia Colloca’s kitchen come Christmas. The tree goes up in November, the Advent calendars get handed out to her children (including the 18-year-old) and the house fills with the scent of almond cookies, jams and the cinnamon doughnuts her Nonna used to make. It is a festive season shaped by Italian tradition and warmed by the Australian Summer she has come to call home.
Silvia may have grown up in Italy, but the way she talks about life in Australia reveals something deeper than geography. She is Italian-born yet in every way a true Aussie at heart. Her home hums with blended cultures where Italian is spoken as often as English and where her husband has embraced the family’s heritage so fully that he now has an Italian passport.
That spirit of togetherness feels perfectly aligned with the launch of her new cookware range with Essteele Per Silvia, which celebrates the rituals that have shaped her since childhood.
Those rituals begin with scent. "If I think back on childhood memories, food comes to mind straight away because most memories from my childhood are from my food moments,” she says.
"They're very simple food moments like a pot of coffee bubbling on the stove in the morning or the smell of my Mama's tomato sauce bubbling away in a pot.” Sundays in her family home unfolded to the sound of simmering and the comfort of knowing lunch would arrive after hours of slow cooking. That sense of anticipation still anchors the way Silvia cooks today in Australia.
When she is far from home, all it takes is a frittata to bring Italy back to her. "It’s like an Italian tortilla made in a frying pan, never in the oven,” she says. Her mother’s method involves spring onion, thinly sliced potatoes and a mixture of eggs, milk and Parmesan. "Her frittata is always fluffy, soft and delicious.”
Italian flavours remain central to Silvia’s life now. "About 99% of everything culinary at home is Italian, even though my husband is Australian,” she says. "He has fully embraced the culture, learned the language and even got an Italian passport.
"I mostly cook and tend to apply my Italian cooking skills to our family meals because Italian food is easy and perfect for midweek dinners.”
Food during December has its own rhythm. It starts with "freshly brewed coffee and a slice of panettone” a tradition Silvia balances with a laugh as she quotes her father’s philosophy. "He always says if you eat your sweets in the morning, you have all day to burn them off. He’s 81 and still follows that.”
Festive cooking has also produced its fair share of stories. With three children and a busy household, even Silvia’s best intentions can go sideways. "Recently, I burned a loaf of sourdough bread I’d nurtured for two days. I forgot to set a timer and got sidetracked. The bread was baked for two hours and 42 minutes at 215 C and it wasn’t salvageable. It was black and ruined, which broke my heart after so much work.”
Not every tradition is flawless, but all of them are joyful. Her favourite childhood Christmas memory is straight from her Nonna’s kitchen. "My Nonna’s cinnamon-flavoured doughnuts are made with eggs and mashed potatoes for softness. We couldn't wait to eat them and always burned our mouths. There were never enough.”
When asked which three dishes she would happily cook for the rest of her life, Silvia barely pauses. "First classic pasta with vongole had it last night,” she says. Fresh bread earns its place, too. "I love baking it. Even though burning it can happen. Fresh bread with olive oil and salt is perfect.” Rounding out her trio is risotto Milanese, "rich, indulgent and a true comfort food especially in colder weather.”
At Christmas, Silvia’s table brings all these influences together. The Italian flavours of her childhood. The relaxed generosity of an Australian Summer. The joy of cooking for loved ones.
It feels fitting that Per Silvia arrives at a moment when so many home cooks are creating their own festive rituals. For Silvia, cooking has always been more than food. It is memory, heritage and the kind of warmth that lingers long after the meal is over.
