Knock on Wood Podcast interview with Alumna Maria Grispino Nappi 94`

Alumna Maria Grispino Nappi`94 and Nonna Grispino Joined our podcast to us to talk about their time at Wood

Alumna Maria Grispino Nappi`94 and Nonna Grispino Joined us to talk about their time at Wood and what led them to publish their cookbook , The Butcher's Daughter Take a look at the podcast https://youtu.be/aJQlz9h3wGg-

Show Transcript

welcome to the knock on wood podcast today is a very exciting day at would number 1 for our students it's the 100 days until graduation so we have a little bit of a celebration down the cafeteria going on but the the big celebration we have is the podcast that you're about to see so with us this morning we have some special guests we have the crispinos we have Nona crispino and we have Maria crispino and Maria is a graduate of would 1994 and they're here to basically tell us about their experience of wood and then tell us about all the great things that that happened that brought it to this day today um um as you see in front of us you know we have a a cookbook that is um basically a summary of a lot of great recipes that have been created over the years by the family so we'll get more into that as we go but the the first question I have and and maybe you know throw it out to uh to Maria to start tell us about your your high school experience the Archbishop Wood um as an Alum you know I can you know relate to when you come back you have any think back to to when you were here you know some of the things that were fun exciting and some of the things you learned so tell us a little bit about that experience I had a great experience at Archbishop what it was always a family even back then I was the first year that turned couette so the very first year of boys and girls for me it was in a difference because I came from Nativity and we were always co-ed but we were the first year to start coed and the first 4 years uh we were the first graduating class that was all co-ed and um I remember we you know it was the side and the girl side and um specifically the boy side teachers made it really really fun okay we had Mr cray so he let us watch the history of the World Part 1 and 2 and Mr Mason was teaching math I think he always made really really fun um and I remember the dances specifically a lot because we always had Friday night dances and you probably remember this I don't know if you guys still do it but they would cover the entire basketball floor with a tarp we didn't we everyone danced absolutely everyone dancing it was so fun we didn't have phones and we just all really looked forward to it I asked you a question that first year when you came together for the boys and the girls glad to talk throughout the day cuz I know when I was here in 82 the only time that we could talk was in the quad you know at lunchtime in between in between I heard that but for us that started we didn't know the difference because we came from co-ed schools okay um and all the feeder were still the elementary schools were covered so for us it wasn't it wasn't a big difference but right so what brought you to would wouldn't have happened without this young lady right here right so tell us about your experience coming you know to the United States you know okay how your your business got started and what that was like basically started we come in this country and I come 67 it's 71 and the city in Philadelphia we are no kids nothing with my husband so we move if we get from the city better education for my kids okay 1 of my son wins they start school we move is 77 okay with the house H then she was not even a year old when we move over here with the house because we would like a couple school do you have a better education so I just wanted the Nativity Awards and we still was a travel from Mormon to German area now we cannot go no more long time to have work said it and we see around the woman list there was nothing Italian there was nothing so we bought little pieces and the candy Line in New York Road we built a fresh store and we built Almonte the tradition this 1 here and day by day for to build the store we was travel in the city is your work so 1980 we start to build the store in 1981 hop on the store trust almond maybe it was 14 years in the city wow because the better education for my kids I give education to the humanity what we have because Italia there nothing no good bread no pasta no pursuit or no war nothing there well that's where we start yeah a day by day we grow every day because my son Tan in love they arrest the kids in the store so they see at the shoes where they are today and we with the help the all the customer all the love has my kids that was a very interest being a business as where we grow the way we are today thanks to my my son and my daughter and now my great kids is in and I'm a we start the Archbishop Wood I'm in all of my family the Archbishop many years now since 1 9 area to now still my family are special what we love because a good school a good education for kids the way they today the kids the education the best way to learn to have a family no problem is called yeah yeah that's awesome and and you had said there's 12 in total maybe even more if I can't my throw the kids in my sister kids and my kids friends that there was a group here that was everything I feel like Farmers which what yeah yeah and I feel like yeah I I can still remember when I was a young boy my mom would take us to to your store County Line yeah yeah because exactly what you said like she said that's the best place to get the best Italian food yeah so we would go in there we walk around actually had a lot and usually had like the little sample cookies and it's a little boy cheese cheese yeah there you go yeah my dad goes there all the time and he can't come back out without 5 on the side that just like unnecessary never yeah that's what he says when he comes it all looks so good yeah yeah so at architecture plan our vision is the history of Excellence for the leaders of tomorrow so if you want to talk about how the history of altomontes helped you inspire you to write that code and how that motivated you to launch it so we'll we'll start with faith because I think those are that's the 1 thing that ties us Faith and family um it was a sacrifice to send us to Catholic School tuition but it's all the difference in our life so with the book I 1 of my favorite things to do is to talk to customers and they'll come in and they're like oh my gosh my my own I used to make this or my mom used to make this but I don't remember what it was called and I didn't get the recipe and they're not here anymore and I and I thought for a second I'm like if I don't write it down it's not going to be here for me either or for my kids or for my nieces and nephews so I started slowly to um get the recipes out of her head was not easy to do I had to I had to be on her hip to get the recipes that she didn't have anything written down either so but back in the day didn't write stuff down you just had it up here right you create a exactly yeah you know eyeball it or by feel or by touch now we laugh about it but I was writing it I'm like Mom how much did you put in for like this 1 like I would take it out her hand put it in the measuring cup and she would get mad she's like oh you don't you don't have to write it down you don't have to measure them I have to measure um and uh and then the other part is their immigration Story I mean what my mom and dad created is the American dream um everything that carried with them from Italy to here so that story needed to be told as well um and in the beginning of the book it um the history of my mom my dad how they came over how old Monty's was started um but also a time that doesn't really exist anymore even in Italy we were invited this was so cool um we went to Rome Roman Parliament invited us oh well to present the book wow that is so cool isn't that neat we were so honored and I didn't fully realize because when I used to go to Italy it was always like oh the Americans here here come the Americans um because I am American proudly Italian-American but this time they accepted the book I got a standing ovation at Italian parliament and they said you're more Italian than the Italians here in and in that moment I I realized basically this book is a time capsule of in Italy that doesn't even exist anymore there something that They Carried with them here that they kept the tradition and the faith and the culture and family and when you go to Italy it's not really like that anymore but they kept it sacred and I was able to get it down yeah it's it's funny you you touch on that that tradition because I I I feel here it would like similar to tradition when you were in Italy that you were right here and you want to kind of preserve that and then build upon that you know it's really what we're trying to do here at wood in this day and age you know we're trying to take like the history of everybody went through here all their great experiences and then preserve that share that and then have the students that are going through would now experience you know what that was like and then kind of take that and build upon it yeah and that's exactly you know what you're doing the cup of yeah you're sharing this basically with the world and then the world's going to be able to you know take this by the way my my wife you know when when I said I was coming and doing this interview she said you got to make sure we find out a way you get the cookbook so my wife is already what in the cookbook yeah but uh but it's it's it's a credit you know to both of you and your and your family you know for for not only you know barking on the American dream following it through I'm sure there's a lot of challenges you know over the years a done it's not it was no easy exactly if you want you can do it passionate and honesty yeah talk a little bit about that like how do how do you sprinkle that in into your recipes like I said if you want you can do anything you want nobody's better than me or the somebody else we're in the same level everybody we have experienced program with honesty like I say I grow up make my kids develop in a store and I want to be the mom I don't want to live the kids at home by themselves or the babysit that's what this very end have with the honesty a a passion what do we have we built what we build today you have to love it to work and never say this is an Omega because I learn A to Z what I come at this country we don't have any money I don't know nothing about business my we go teach me and my husband each other I'll run no language and no money heads were with built water we have today with the help all the good customer the lover has because they see what person we have because what I don't want for me I don't about it because I'm a business I have to do more money no I share the stuff I learned something everything every day if I make a recipe it was no good I try again you never forget they come from and never say I'm no good for this 1 here you try again and you try to you get you dream come true right you test you feel this 1 here same thing like and any recipe that's our life and I would imagine you know you relied heavily upon your faith you know because when you're embarking on something new they don't have all the answers you gotta basically put a lot of it and God's hands like dude part you know to make it happen and put the rest in his hands you ought to be honest with the custom with the vendor at Pi see something I don't like because know everybody we like the same thing I turn the not going to start the next chapter I do what I have to do because I never give up that's outstanding so we talked a lot about the cookbook do you want to tell us where we can get it so everyone watch is able to go out and buy it yes so it's available at Altamonte is Italian market and there you can get it autographed and personalized um we also have it available online at okay for showing good and give us 2 of the like favorite recipes that I should run home and say so my wife you gotta cook this tonight over the weekend everyone loves the eggplant parm 1 I'm getting the most like feedback that people love and another 1 um I love the greens like there's 1 that eskel and beans that's like good for any time it's called The Butcher's daughter but there's so many vegetarian recipes in there because the hard of our home growing up was the garden so the book takes you through all the seasons of basically it's like a year in the life growing up Italian in America so there's Butchery in there there's also Garten recipes and Suites and whatever Mother Nature's giving you through the season is what the book takes you through to use I love that and then Marcus you know what's your favorite recipe in the book I think I have 1 go ahead so the past and most and totally the most frosting in the poor in a table the homemade pasta the Young the pasta macaroni everything is simple not a lot of hard work to the simple stuff at a is what at all along you have a good quality meat flour go olive oil every day no use anything cheap what you think what the read the level before you buy the that's great so final question we asked everybody in ask both of you as well so obviously you know a lot of living you know years have gone by you know from graduation from coming to this country what's 1 of the things that you wish that you would have known at the teenage years when you're in high school that you've learned by living life that maybe you can share you with the high school students now that would help them and they they have a lot what I don't know when I grow up okay today is therefore that never can imagine the way I grew up I grew up in a farm or law was you have to do 5 years old they don't have no ice School because he if I do the 5 years school and then you hope for the parents I remember I want to go School I wanted to there is school my mother she said you are told me I remember the principal of the school 1 1 de I was talking to my mother send the heart to school my mother say you're going to help me to pick up the olive you're going to help me to do this I remember them I went behind my mother cry because I want to go to school and the the prince told me you know tomorrow morning come to school I going to buy the book I going to hire everything what you need are you going to disagree with your parents exactly I will still off I will say what do you do that's why today I give the education to everybody never too late to learn I understand even the water why your school I have I did a lot at this 1 here so time you need a school of education if you know what are you doing sometime in the school college you know for everybody because everybody they have to do a work if you love it you can do anything you want yeah when you build you build good foundation and you go step by step and you learn as the best education for me I have a hand on it every day yeah I think the best way to learn is especially through that experience and taking it step by step yes even with my English I never went to school to learn English I picked all other I know I read I don't know I write 100% my do my job I understand everything what need to do for my business yeah I'm amazing yeah I did you can pick up you know languages you pick up and learn you know and develop you know I never went to school in English here yeah I never lost to the tradition I never lost my accent then yeah even afterward almost 6 years in 1 ago in Italy go home and I know better than anybody else over there and my kids they do the same thing because they have a good teach yes what about you Maria looking back on it I looking back I would say Be not Afraid you know those that mind don't matter and those that don't mind the doctors just quote but um you know don't be afraid to look stupid or ask the question um try not to care too much about what what other people may be think of you because your will find you just do what you love and then get comfortable being uncomfortable because that is where all the growth you know happens you can do hard things you know watch what you put in your mind in your body work your work your like exercise every day eat really well read all the things you know that people who have come before you who who who've learned and been there that can guide you yeah getting comfortable being uncomfortable you know when we talk about you know leadership and stepping up as a leader you know that that's the literally the first step you know because anytime you try something new you're not not going to be good at it you know most people and so if you kind of put that to the side and say you know what I'm going to do it anyway you know I'm going to be uncomfortable I'll figure it out I'll work hard you know I'll get educated on it and before you know it you know I'll be an expert on it that's critical and that's 1 of the skills we're trying to teach you know here at wood yeah get involved you know Step Up mistake you learn about mistake make mistake it's easy no make a big mistake what you cannot repair any mistake at Facebook yeah so yep yeah the other thing is for me the discipline that happens when nobody's looking you don't want to get up you know at 4:00 in the morning to to work your body you know everyone else is going to party and I'm writing this book and it's taking forever you know like you just have to grind through it because at the end of the day um you know you you have to put in the work to get the rewards the only way out is through you just have to do it so hand me the hand me the the book there yes it's almost 400 pages so the the butcher's daughter so I encourage you to go out and get 1 of these we we'd love to support our Lums and our families and all the the folks that came before us you know we love to support them and all the great things that they're doing out there you know as we speak so I encourage you get out there get the cookbook you know pick a recipe or 2 enjoy the good food and it's a tribute to these folks of making this happen so thank you once again thank you very much oh you're welcome you're welcome that's why we if we can do anything you I need just to let me know um be available anytime you guys want well that that sounds nice I really appreciate that offer we will take you up on that we're trying to reach out to more and more alarms and you bring them back and that's the question they always ask hey you know how can I help because this young kid is her future yes if we going to teach them everything it says Rose mark behind the rows they have a lot of torque and you have to survive like because today it's you know he is for young kids because no I grow up with no TV no phone and nothing this this this 1 here you need no education the strong base to grow up from the world because today it's no use for you guys absolutely yes I wish I can do something okay awesome awesome thank you well that concludes another episode of the knock on wood podcast stay tuned for future episodes and enjoy our work here take care and have a great day