LORRAINE FANNERAN, restaurateur and founder of Real Italian Foodies
La Cucina is. . . a very small Italian deli and takeaway in Limerick specialising in authentic Italian food.
I run it with my partner in life and business, Bruno .. . He looks after the kitchen and the food side of things and I look after the front. It's debatable whether I actually "work". I basically talk all day whether it's in the shop or on Twitter.
Bruno is Italian. . . I went on a school tour to Italy when I was 14 and swore I'd marry an Italian. There was only one Italian in the college we went to, Tralee RTC, so he didn't stand a chance.
We are obsessed with everything Italian, culture, lifestyle, food . . .so we travel there a couple of times a year. We mainly go to Atina where Bruno's dad is from, it's a tiny little village up in the mountains between Rome and Naples. The family has a restaurant there called Il Vicolo, so we are spoilt rotten when we are there.
Family and food are very important to us . . .There is nothing else. That's our life. We are a little obsessed with food to be honest. We travel a lot just to eat. We even have a hashtag on Twitter #italianfoodiesontoour.
Working with my partner is. . wonderful, he doesn't have the Italian temperament at all . . . *lies*.
Social networking has proved to be very important for us. . . It has completely transformed our business and, as a result, our lives. We have a very small business in Limerick, so we have to shout pretty loud, and social media allows us do that.
My twitter name @italianfoodie has resulted in us starting a new company called Real Italian Foodies, and we are launching a range of fresh pasta sauces to go on sale nationally in October.
I do tweet a lot. I have even been referred to as the “Queen of Twitter”. The Italian agrees, I am a queen alright!
It can take over your life, if you let it . . .but resistance is futile.
The best advice I've ever been given. . . Do what you're good at and outsource the rest, especially the ironing, in my case.
If I wasn't doing this . . .I would be topping up my tan in Australia. I still haven't forgiven the Italian . . .
When I'm not working. . . I'm tweeting and changing nappies.
The thing that I'm most proud of is. . . My two beautiful girls, Alessia and baby Sofia.
My earliest food memory is . . .Findus Crispy Pancakes (my house wasn't what you'd call foodie).
The best thing I've ever eaten is. . . linguine with clams, eaten on the Amalfi coast.
My dream dinner party guests would be. . . Jamie and Jools Oliver and the Two Greedy Italians, Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo.
And I'd cook them. . . Italians are a tough crowd to cook for, so I'd let them cook.
Five things I always have in my larder are .. . olive oil, pasta, tinned tomatoes, chilli flakes, Maldon sea salt.
My ideal day off is spent . . .with my girls and the Italian.
I wish I was better at . . .house stuff.
I often imagine myself .. . living in the sun.
Not many people know this about me, but .. . I'm terrified of dogs.
My guilty pleasure is. . . Doritos, salsa with, grated Cheddar melted on top.
In conversation with Marie-Claire Digby
La Cucina is at 5 University Court, Castletroy, Limerick. See realitalianfoodies.com, twitter.com/italianfoodie
