Today, that thread has a name: At Carla’s Table, the project created by Carla Skerman, a proud Italian-Australian with deep Sicilian roots.
A descendant of the Di Marco family from Linguaglossa and the Di Francesco/Cristaldi families from Castiglione and Giardini Naxos, Carla grew up in a home where the kitchen was at the centre of family life.
Around the table, recipes were shared alongside rituals and stories; food was not just nourishment, but identity, celebration and love.
At 19, she was awarded a scholarship (supported by the Italian and Australian governments) that took her to Siena as part of a program aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries.
The experience deepened her connection to Italy and sparked a lasting commitment to her cultural heritage.
After more than 20 years in senior corporate roles, and now a mother of three, Carla felt it was time to honour that early promise to reconnect with her roots and pass them on to future generations.
Through her Instagram platform, she documents and preserves family traditions alongside her grandmother, Carmela ‘Mela’ Di Francesco, 89, and her aunt Anna McLean.
Every Wednesday in Brisbane, the kitchen becomes a bridge to Sicily. Together they prepare traditional dishes and sweets such as osso dei morti, crostoli, handmade Sicilian maccheroni for Christmas, festive torrone and salamariggiu made according to their family recipe.
These are practices carried out with care and without shortcuts, just as they were in the past.
But At Carla’s Table is not only about preserving tradition. Carla also shows how these recipes can be adapted to modern Australian kitchens, maintaining their authenticity while fitting contemporary lifestyles. It’s a dialogue between past and present.
The project has resonated well beyond Australia. Members of the Italian diaspora in the United States and Canada have reached out, recognising their own experiences in her videos: a grandmother kneading dough, an aunt correcting technique, a dialect carried through laughter and memory.
At a time when cultural identity can easily fade, Carla chooses to preserve it through simple, everyday acts—food, language and family rituals.
For her, the project is also an act of gratitude to earlier generations.
“At Carla’s Table is my way of keeping our family table alive, for today and for future generations,” she says.
“Our grandparents arrived in Australia with very little, but they brought recipes, language and traditions that shaped who we are.
“I was given an educational opportunity to strengthen the connection between Italy and Australia, and now, through food and family, I feel I’m honouring that commitment.”
In an increasingly multicultural Brisbane, Carla Skerman’s project shows how memory can become something active through a weekly ritual carrying the flavours of Sicily and building community around the table.
