I met Modern Italian member Nick Cascino in the wonderful world of Facebook. He actively posts pictures of his food creations to his friends who literally cannot get enough of Nick’s small capolavori or masterpieces. In fact, Nick’s been told that his cannoli are “better than sex”. Originating from Montreal, Canada, Nick grew up in a Sicilian household. With a degree in computer science and a professional background in financial accounting, Nick currently works as a credit manger which allows him to work from home. This permits him to indulge in his passion of creating his own fresh home-cooked meals every day which he also shares with his neighbors living in his condominium complex. While Nick is not only limited to cooking hot meals, he also enjoys baking desserts. One elderly neighbor in particular never gets tired of Nick’s cakes and provides him with special requests of such desserts.
When asked how Nick learned to cook, I was not surprised to hear that he learned from his Nonna. The oldest of 4 children, Nick spent much of his childhood over his Nonno and Nonna’s house. Nick described himself as a child with “ants in his pants”. So his Nonna let him learn from her in the kitchen, as she let him roll meatballs and observe her seasoning tomato sauce.
In 1985 Nick decided to leave his full-time job and alongside his father open up his own business. It served as both a delicatessen and also a small eatery where people enjoyed Italian sandwiches for lunch. Nick was seen as a pioneer in Montreal’s Little Italy for opening the first eatery there of its kind. The business was soon serving 350 people within the lunch hour alone. He found that his clientele enjoyed his a la carte style and could not resist the cheap prices. His customers were later providing him with the idea of serving hot sandwiches with both veal and chicken cutlets.
Besides occasionally lending a hand in the kitchen to his friends who own restaurants (he’s previously worked in a 5-star restaurant), Nick no longer works in the food industry. If anything, he may decide to one day open up a bistro in the U.S. around the New York area serving 40-45 people. For now instead, he enjoys posting unedited photos of his meals online as a hobby to his friends who ask him on a daily basis, “What’s for dinner?” A modest cook, Nick admits, “I’m in competition with no one. I only compete with myself”. Nick does not shy away from experimenting with other ethnic foods as well. “Food is food”, he says “I experiment with Italian, Greek, French, American, and Canadian.” He enjoys infusing many cultures into his own style of cooking. For Nick, cooking is “creating magic”. “Putting a plate in front of someone and seeing a smile come to their face is my goal. That is my throne”, he states.
Nick's tips for cooking:
1) Always use fresh ingredients.
2) The origin of water is a key ingredient to making pasta & pizza. The water in Canada comes from snow-peaked mountains. Nick tells his friends in the States that it would be difficult to duplicate his dough due to the differences in water.
3) Give food its proper time to cook. Never rush.
4) Try cooking according to different cultures.
5) Observe different cooks in the kitchen. Especially in Italy!
Check out Nick’s step-by-step demonstration of Stuffed Ricotta Shells:
Slide Show of Stuffed Ricotta Shells
To view Nick’s photos of his mouth-watering food creations, please visit Nick’s Facebook Profile
-Gina Andracchio
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