Mara's house looks out over the main entrance of Bologna's most famous park, the nineteenth-century Giardini Margherita, just a stone's throw away from the city's historic centre. It is a beautiful and picturesque area, where you can either choose to explore the calm lawns of the park, or wander through the crisp air of Via Santo Stefano's porticoed streets. 
When Mara was a little girl, she loved to watch her aunt, who was a renowned cook and hostess in a town near Bologna. Over time, Mara learned the culinary secrets that had been passed down through the generations of her family. Today she is passionately dedicated to researching and developing typical dishes from the Emilia region.