A mum is always a mum. She’s the one person who can truly influence our choices, whether directly or indirectly, and remains a constant source of inspiration.

How many times have we said, “I make tiramisù the way my mum taught me” or “As my mum always says…” and so on.

Italian Australian chef Pia Gava discovered her love for Italian cuisine and the art of handmade pasta from a young age by watching her mother prepare pasta and gnocchi for the family.

“Every time, I’d try to sneak a raw gnocco off the prep table, and my mum would scold me, warning it’d give me a stomach ache,” she recalled, “It never did, of course - the potatoes were already cooked.

“She had this amazing ability to make everything look so easy; her kitchen was always calm and serene when she kneaded the dough.”

Gava was captivated by her mother’s skill and instinct. Time seemed to slow down when they were in the kitchen together, like when one admires a piece of art.

Then, on one fateful day, her mum invited her to help.

“I still remember that moment. I asked, ‘Are you sure?’, because usually, mum didn’t want me touching anything in the kitchen,” she explained.

With experience, Gava began to “feel” the texture of fresh pasta between her fingers - something crucial to perfecting handmade pasta.

“Everything is done by feel and intuition,” she said, “[But at the same time], you need to precisely time the preparation; if you rush or take too long kneading, the final product will suffer.”

Despite the strong culinary influence, Gava pursued a career elsewhere, but one day realised her true calling was where it all started.

“I studied a bit of writing and publishing, and then there was MasterChef. That show really fascinated me; something about it just drew me in,” she shared.

“I left the idea of entering MasterChef on the back burner for a few years, until I finally decided to give it a go.”

Gava’s first attempt was unsuccessful, but she tried again.

“The first step was filling out around twenty pages of forms,” she recalled, “I left it until the night before the deadline because I wasn’t sure I really wanted to do it.

“Eventually I made up my mind and promised Mum that if I got in, I’d present gnocchi - my absolute favourite.”

Having made it to the next round of applications, Gava then had to complete a few cooking auditions, including one where participants were handed a ‘mystery box’ of ingredients and given only sixty minutes to create a dish.

Confident in her Italian roots and everything she’d learnt from her mum, Gava didn’t rehearse before the final audition, where she had to cook on TV for the MasterChef judges.

“Mum was with me, watching anxiously,” she said, “I think everything that could’ve gone wrong in that hour did! I even cut myself - who cuts themselves making gnocchi?!

“The potatoes I got were enormous and took forever to cook!”

Despite the hiccups, Gava made it through, receiving the coveted apron and joining the 2017 season of MasterChef Australia.

“They told me my gorgonzola gnocchi were the best gnocchi the judges had ever tasted. Mum was so proud of me,” she remembered.

From that moment on, Gava knew Italian cooking had to be a part of her life. Though she works full-time elsehwere, she dedicates her weekends to her now-popular cooking classes on fresh pasta and gnocchi.

“My classes are already booked out until November, but I also do lots of live demos, like at the South Melbourne Market or at food festivals,” she explained.

Gava has also taught in schools, passing on the art of handmade pasta to younger generations; “It’s so important because kids love getting their hands dirty with flour and creating. Once you put them in the kitchen, you’ve got their full attention.”

She’s also worked with the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Melbourne and has even run cooking classes in Italy, in the stunning setting of a villa in Capri.

“Teaching in Italy was a huge honour,” she said, “I love teaching - it’s where I feel completely at ease and can pass on all the love for Italian cooking that my mum gave me.”

That deep love inspired Gava to write her cookbook, Pia’s Table, published in 2018.

“It’s got an ‘80s vibe on purpose. It reminds me of Mum, her old Women’s Weekly cookbooks, and all the recipes she tore from magazines and kept in a drawer,” she shared.

“I gave her the first copy. I’ll never forget the look on her face. Sadly, Mum’s no longer with us, but I’ll remember that moment forever.”

Gava is already working on a new book about pasta, the result of years of meticulous research. “Every Italian region has its own traditional pasta, and I want to honour that,” she said, “I want people to know it for what it really is.”

Just like Gava’s mum made it feel like child’s play, Gava wants to give the same gift to others.

“Pasta can be simple to make - sometimes it doesn’t even take long. I want to make it accessible to everyone.”