Italian Easter Feast

AT GIANNA, the latest member of the Link Restaurant Group in New Orleans, Chef Rebecca Wilcomb honors her family’s heritage with authentic Italian cooking. The restaurant is named for her grandmother Giannina, who still resides in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy. Inspired by her grandmother’s cooking and years of research and travel throughout other parts of Italy with her colleagues, Rebecca opened Gianna last April on the day before Easter.

Rebecca came to New Orleans in 2008 and began working at Link Restaurant Group’s flagship Herbsaint, earning accolades that include the 2017 James Beard Award for Best Chef: South. Although she grew up mainly in Massachusetts, she says her cooking style developed in New Orleans.

“I THINK MY COOKING STYLE WAS DIRECTLY INSPIRED BY MY TIME [IN NEW ORLEANS] AND LIVING HERE—THE PLACE, THE INGREDIENTS, THE PEOPLE, THE WAY OF LIFE ALL INFLUENCED MY COOKING STYLE.”

“I think my cooking style was directly inspired by my time