Ericuzza’s story
Erica graduated in Media & Communication in Milan in 2011 and did a couple of internships as a TV producer for two Italian TV programmes. After realising how tough it was to find a paid job in Italy she decided to continue her studies. So she moved to London in 2012 to pursue a masters in Filmmaking at Goldsmiths University. Once Erica finished her masters in 2013 she started looking for a job in the creative industry. Erica thought a degree in Italy and one in the UK, plus speaking 3 languages would have easily got her a job. However she didn’t realise how wrong she was until the best job she could find at 25 years old was making teas in a post-production facility in Soho. Erica thought if she held tight she could have progressed within the company, make new contacts and eventually become a TV editor, instead she ended up working night shifts in a freezing machine room for a salary that could barely cover her rent and her travel card. Erica decided to quit that job and go with her family on a holiday in Colombia. She was hoping that detaching from her London reality would help her to get some motivation.
In January 2014 Erica found what she calls a “real” first job. She was an account executive for a small broadcast hire company in London. She had a desk, a PC and a phone, and her working hours were 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday. Erica had all of this for a salary that could finally pay for a much better home and a bit of fun. The best part of that new home was the kitchen. She finally had the money to buy some good ingredients and had a decent space where she could get back to her favourite hobby: cooking. As much as it can sound like a perfect cliche’, Erica says, she is an Italian who loves her traditions, especially food and cooking. She grew up watching her mum cooking every meal every day. Her mother would move in the kitchen like a ballerina on a stage and Erica would watch her “dancing” every day until she grew older. By then cooking for her became a real art. Erica’s mother taught her the basics of cooking. She would think out loud and she would explain why things were executed in a certain order so that Erica could appreciate the values of organisation and planning. With time Erica realised that cooking was her main way to de-stress, but most of all one of her favourite ways to give love. Their home became the main place to host meals with family and friends until she moved to London.
In Erica’s new home – London she was able to finally host again, inviting friends and family around for nice meals and get togethers. A lot of people started asking her for recipes and Erica was happy to share her passion and knowledge with whoever was interested. Eventually she ended up meeting her future husband: a northern English man who was not exactly gifted with remarkable cooking skills and educating him to good food soon became Erica’s main mission.
In January 2018 Erica took an opportunity to join a global fin-tech company where she was able to use her language skills and earn more money, but at one cost: give up on creativity and art. It was a very tough move, much harder and more challenging than she expected but she did not give up. Cooking for her boyfriend and her friends was Erica’s main way to escape from the very repetitive yet stressful and demanding job she was doing every day. On the other hand she had money to afford three-times-more-expensive imported Italian products and save for the wedding. After 2 years in that role she managed to change the department and her quality of life changed immediately for the better with a drastic drop of her stress levels. After a couple of months in the new role COVID 19 came and Erica started working from home. This is when the idea of Ericuzza’s Kitchen was born.
It goes without saying that working from home meant one thing to her: having fresh home made meals every day. With the national lockdown her daily Instagram activity was mainly about food and eventually people started showing interest into her posts and stories, asking to share more and more recipes. Following advice from few friends Erica decided to create a new Instagram page entirely dedicated to her passion – cooking. So she created Ericuzza’s Kitchen. Ericuzza is the diminutive of her name Erica, so it means little Erica and it’s the way her friends have always called her since she was young (as she is quite petite – she says). With this page Erica intend to share her traditions and love for food with all those who may think that behind a great dish there has to be great cooking skills. Surprisingly, “less is more” is the secret to many of the most known Italian dishes (and also of her cuisine) and by sharing her recipes Erica is hoping to inspire as many people as possible. Finally, Ericuzza’s Kitchen allowed her to find some of all the creativity she had lost when she left the creative industry.
