Giovanna Bellia La Marca was born in Italy and came to live in the United States at age ten. Retired after a twenty-year career as an art and Italian teacher, she now teaches cooking classes at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City and leads culinary tours of Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. She also devotes herself to writing, cooking, entertaining, and travelling with her family. She resides in Cliffside Park, New Jersey.