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About Your Guardian Chef

Your Guardian Chef is a food blog with traditional Italian and French recipes to make memorable meals whatever the occasion.

Hello and welcome to my blog!

Laura Giunta Tobin

My name is Laura, I am an Italian living on the French Riviera, a fusion of the great Mediterranean cuisines.

I am a full-fledged Italian and like most Italians, I take my food seriously!

Cooking is an artistic expression, and like any form of art, you improve with practice. So I have been practicing since the age of 5!

To better her skills, my mother took four Cordon Bleu Courses in Rome: Corsi di Cucina Amatoriale Cordon Bleu , and as a child growing up, I learned from her.

I am not a professional chef, as my thirst for knowledge drove me into technical higher education and thereafter into a corporate career.

For me, cooking is a relaxing diversion to escape the stress of a challenging life.

My mother's 4 Cordon Bleu diplomas

I left Italy when I was 28 but I still have my home in Rome and my family in Calabria which I visit frequently.

MBA Graduation at London Business School
MBA graduation London

Before I settled in the South of France (only 30 miles, 50 km to the Italian frontier) in 2010, I lived in many different countries six at last count!

Because I love food and I am very interested in trying new cuisine, when I travel the world, I always spend time learning and understanding local food and cultural traditions.

It brings me back to my childhood and creates everlasting memories that will stay with me for life.

Building your own memories

Above all, this Blog is for you...to help you build your own memories.

Your Guardian Chef is here to help you, like a Guardian Angel!

Whether you are an experienced cook or just starting, this blog is for your if:

🍷 You have a busy and challenging life but you....

- like cooking and are passionate about gastronomy and fresh food
- wish you could make your everyday meals more enjoyable and healthy
- strive entertaining friends and family in a tasteful manner
- curious about the tradition and history of various food cultures

What you’ll find on my blog

Growth: from easy recipes, you can make every day to ambitious ones you need a weekend to master. Grow your cooking skills through authentic Italian and French recipes and other amazing recipes I discovered traveling the world.

Clarity: detailed recipes are easy to follow with step-by-step instructions, photos, videos, and printable recipe cards. My newsletters will guide you through various cooking projects or challenges, and video playlists of recipes will make it easy for you to browse through, 75% of all the recipes have a video.

Reliable: all recipes are tested and researched. They include measurement conversions, size adjustment, details on equipment, and pan sizes. Ingredients are detailed with unbiased brand recommendations when it applies. Uncommon ingredients have cross-cultural translation and/or adaptation to help you find a substitute in your country.

Holistic: not only recipes but also practical organizational approaches to smooth your dinner preparation every day, as well as formal entertainment. Time-saving techniques and kitchen gadgets to speed up your cooking using fresh ingredients, all from scratch.

Educational: Italian cultural approach to opulent banquets and how to make them. Thoroughly researched culinary traditions, details on ingredients, best types, and brands to buy. History of food culture from the Roman Empire to the current day.

What you won’t find on my blog

  • Compromise in quality and freshness of the ingredients as a shortcut to make a meal faster
  • Cheese, cream, and garlic added everywhere, with excess
  • Artificial or pre-packaged ingredients
  • Italian spices and Italian dressings that are not Italian
  • Italian recipes that are not Italian
  • Superfood and vegan meat
  • Ketchup! It is just me, I don't like it

NB: If you find an image of a recipe with ketchup, that is tomato sauce, as ketchup has never crossed my kitchen door.

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How to find recipes

Recipes are mainly categorized by course, by ingredient, and a category dedicated to kitchen organization and gadgets to make your cooking easier.

I have also tagged the recipes based on their origin: Italian, French, and from around the world. However, some recipes have several nationalities. Especially Italian and French recipes often overlap as the two cultures have been historically very close.

To understand more about food influences and trends, I have created a dedicated section to Italian food culture, where you will find articles about the history of Italian cuisine from the Roman Empire to the current time.

You can find all the categories on the INDEX page.

Your Guardian chef voice

Starting in 2022, all the recipe videos are narrated by my dear friend Deborah Moore.

Deborah Moore

Deborah is an English actress who narrates in her warm voice all the steps you will need to follow to complete the recipes and reveal essential tips to make the recipes even better.

As a bonus, Deborah is fluent in Italian and will leave you with no doubt about the correct pronunciation of all the Italian names of recipes and ingredients.

Never mispronounce Bruschetta again!

A little more about me

In 1997 I left my full-time career to get married to my Irish husband Robert and raise a family. I have two sons, Liam (Age 22) and Francesco (Age 15).

We spent memorable times together in the kitchen, preparing our favorite meals and eating at the table with our sons every day. Inviting friends and family to lavish dinner banquets.

Unexpectedly, my husband Robert passed away in August 2018. Memories are what I have left to cherish, and amazingly, most of our happiest memories are linked to food.

Interesting Facts About Me

  • I worked as a petroleum engineer on an oil rig in the North Sea
  • I worked in the City of London as an investment banker associate
  • I am a licensed sailing captain
  • I lived in the United States for four years, Greenwich Connecticut, and Miami Florida
  • I speak four languages fluently: Italian, English, French, and Spanish
  • I have two chickens and one dog and they feature at the end of all my videos
  • The only food I don't like is ketchup
Me working in my garden with my animals

Dishing with Delishes Podcast Interview Picture of Laura Tobin with link to the podcast interview

It was such an honor to be a guest of Elaine Benoit in her famous podcast series Dishing with Delishes. We cried and we laugh, we talked about success, failures, favorite food and secrets behind my videos scene. "Put down your spatula and listen up...."


Education:

London Business School - MBA Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies

Università degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza' - Master Civil and Environmental Engineers

Publications:

2016 - April - "Salvare il mare, il sogno di un bambino: Francesco Tobin"; L'Editoriale; Monaco
The story is about my son Francesco, how he developed his artistic talent and at 9 years old used his skills to make a difference for the seahorse and his environment in Larvotto Beach, Monaco.

2016 - January – ‘Lunch with LT’ in English and Italian; Italy Food Monte Carlo; Monaco
Michelin Star Chefs are coming for lunch...but I am the one who is cooking!

2015 - December - Volunteer Contributor to ‘In the Kitchen with Stars’ by Angela Van Wright, second edition published in support of the UNAKIDS Foundation; Monaco

Featured by Press:

2016 - October: ‘How to make France's 'most-loved' dish: Magret de Canard’, TheLocal.fr

2016 - August: 'How to make France's famed Île Flottante dessert'; TheLocal.fr

2016 - August : 'How to make the tastiest ratatouille'; TheLocal.fr

2016 - May: 'How to make a traditional French cassoulet'; TheLocal.fr

2015 -November - ‘Challenging the Michelin Star Chefs to come for lunch’; L'Editoriale; Monaco
Laura invites four " Chef étoilé Michelin " for lunch at her home, to prove to her readers that even a home cook can entertain and satisfy the most demanding of guests.

Awards and recognitions:
HACCP Laura Tobin
cannolo award

Companies I worked for:

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Laura Giunta Tobin

Hi, I’m Laura. Welcome to my Blog! Here is where you’ll find an authentic Italian perspective on Italian cooking. Won’t you join me?

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