The long history of cooking is marked by an unappetizing menu of intimidation, impenetrable cookbooks, one-way monologues, and inaccessible expertise.

• From TV talking heads to elitist overseas schools for aspiring chefs, the so-called gourmet kitchen has been out of reach.
• Moreover, so many of the ingredients touted, praised, pureed, or basted are no friend of the everyday cooks' bank accounts, much less their vocabulary.
• And so the little people must watch, but not participate in, the culinary experience.

Cucina.com turns the kitchen tables on all that, and puts everyday consumers right smack in front of the stove (and the camera).

• Cucina.com puts our stories, our family recipes, our oral traditions, and, of course, our proud history on the stage for all others to view and celebrate.
• Cucina.com believes we all have an "inner chef" within us, and a deep-seated desire to share our passion and gastronomical greatness with others.
• We appreciate the many flavors of life and experience; indeed, the Cucina.com lens sees not one, but hundreds of ways to cook lasagna.
• As we see it, food is family. We celebrate not the celebrity or the 5-star or Iron chef, but the over-achievers in our own backyard: mom, dad, grandma, sis, and even Aunt Millie, whose blackberry pie changed our world.
• Participation is our spice of life, and we are grounded in collaborative, bottom-up education, as well as a deep-enduring respect for one another.

Jog your memory, reach into your tradition, and join our mission. Remember, a great meal is as much of about the journey of putting it on the table as it is about taking it off the table!

Welcome to Cucina.com, a potluck of participation where our sacred text is the cookbook of life.