Elisa Costantini Newtown Square’s Famous Italian Cookbook Author

Local Star feature by Christina Manning

Photos courtesy of Elisa Costantini

Newtown Square resident Elisa Costantini was born in 1938 in Poggio Valle, Italy. She started cooking at age six, with her aunt, who trusted only her blood relatives to help cook the big feasts for the town. “My aunt made us work in the middle of the night,” Elisa said, “so no one could steal the recipes!” When Elisa was nine, she became the cook for her entire family. That required her to wake up at 2:30am, to start making the bread. Unfortunately, her responsibilities also required her to drop out of school.

Newtown Square resident and Italian cookbooks author Elisa Costantini

When she was 23, Elisa came to the US for the first time. “I had to show up on a certain day,” Elisa said, “otherwise I would have lost my US citizenship, which I inherited from my mother, who had been born in Camden, NJ.” As if that wasn’t challenging enough, Elisa had to come to the US by herself, leaving behind her husband, Francesco, and their one-year-old daughter Nadia, because their paperwork wasn’t ready in time. “Leaving your husband to care for your child was unheard of back then,” she recalled. Alone and scared, Elisa made her way to America, by boat. Thankfully, Francesco and Nadia’s paperwork came in the very next day, and the family was soon reunited. They started the next chapter of their lives in West Philadelphia, where Elisa’s son Frank was born.

The family moved to Newtown Square in 1977. Elisa polished off and perfected her cooking skills at Divine Providence Village where, for 35 years, she has provided food for children with special needs.

In 2013, her life took a heartbreaking turn: Her husband of 52 years lost his battle to cancer. For months afterward, Elisa was depressed and lost her passion for more than just cooking. Her children became worried about her health and mental well-being. When her son Frankie found recipes Elisa had scribbled down on pieces of paper and even on some birthday cards, he thought to ask her, “How are your grandkids ever going to know how to cook your delicious dishes?”

Elisa’s family convinced her to compile her all-time classic recipes into a cookbook. They started a Kickstarter campaign, made a simple Facebook post, and soon thereafter, Elisa had raised $27,000 to produce her cookbook! In only 60 days, she and her family organized, cooked and photographed 150 recipes. “I never measured anything when cooking a recipe,” Elisa joked. ”I didn’t even own a measuring cup!” To say it was a family effort is an understatement! Elisa’s cookbook, Italian Moms: Spreading Their Art to Every Table, was published in 2015. After that, everything seemed to snowball. Elisa was even invited to appear on QVC, Good Morning America and Rachel Ray several times.

In 2018, she released her second cookbook, Italian Moms: Something Old, Something New: 150 Family Recipes. Elisa said the inspiration for most of the recipes in that book came from people who missed the recipes of their Italian mothers or grandmothers who had passed away. When asked if she could provide those recipes, she said. “Of course I know how to make those!” Her second cookbook has also been a great success.

Throughout her fame, Elisa has never forgotten the many people who helped get her books published and sold so widely. She has donated portions of her book sales to local schools and charities in her community. Looking back over her lifetime of cooking and lovingly feeding her immediate and extended family, she gratefully shared: “These cookbooks have given me a new purpose in life!”