28/05/2026
My mum passed away unexpectedly yesterday. It’s completely floored me. My 4ft 11-inch “pocket rocket” of a mum was made of steel. Sent to work in Milan at just 14 years old, she became domestically savvy at a very young age. This is her passport photo when she arrived in the UK at just 19—leaving a hot Naples and landing in a cold, unfamiliar Bradford in the late 1950s.
Meeting my dad not long after, she went on to have three children, of whom I’m the middle. She held down a full-time factory job, yet she would still walk home every single lunchtime just to prepare dinner from scratch. I used to get back from school to a steamy kitchen, the pressure cooker going at full throttle and long for Findus Crispy Pancakes—rather than fresh vegetables, meat and pasta. But it wasn’t happening. Her firm, “You’re not eating rubbish,” instantly ended my plea. Her love of food and cooking from scratch continued to the very end. There was always a tomato sauce bubbling on the hob and she could always make something fabulous out of basic ingredients. Her gnocchi was legendary. And I was never allowed to leave her house without something wrapped up in tin foil.
She knew everything about everything. One minute she could tell you the price of absolutely anything in Aldi, and the next she’d be giving you an update on the economic problems in the UK and Italy. If you spent half an hour with her, you always came away with a full recap of world politics.
I wanted to share this because behind every small business, there is a deeply personal story to tell. It defines us, and it gives us the passion for what we do.
I inherited my determination straight from my mum. Her steel became my backbone.
I could never have bought my business without her support, but more than that, I couldn’t have run it without her spirit inside me. So, this was my mum. She inspired me, she shaped me, and now more than ever, I know that her extraordinary strength and courage made me exactly who I am. And she will always live on in me.
To my wonderful, clever, loud, talkative, never boring, crazy Italian mum, I’ll miss you more than any words can say.
Buon viaggio 💔