“When we don’t have guests, we try to be attentive to portions and keep a balanced diet. We also work out a lot,” Casiraghi told BACO, on our visit to their white-tiled kitchen, where all the magic happens.

The funny thing is, neither of the two has a background in the culinary arts or a lot of experience in the kitchen. Prior to starting Gnambox, Paleari worked in the graphic world and Casiraghi worked in interior design.

“It’s not like we came from huge families where our grannies and our moms were cooking meals all day every day. We simply love to take beautiful photos of good food and have friends over for dinner,” Paleari said.

After meeting online and falling in love, they created a national buzz around themselves with their social media savvy and a slew of special guests.

Everyone from Italian rock stars to their own mothers have cooked at the Gnambox burners,  enriching the website with a home cookin’ feel and friends’ cherished recipes.

And many of these guests are in the fashion world too. Knitwear scion Angela Missoni has shared her family’s simple recipes like baked squash and panna cotta. Up-and-comers like Brazilian model Rodrigo Braga; Matteo Gioli, Ilaria and Veronica Cornacchini of Super Duper Hats and Viola Naj-Oleari and Marta Caffarelli of Milanese jeweler Atelier VM are just a few trend-influencers that have graced the family-style Gnambox marble-top table – the first thing one sees when entering the duo’s home.

Italian cuisine, with a modern twist is what sets the duo apart from other TV cooking shows. Recipes like savory pies with artichokes and cumin, and cauliflower strudel, are just a few dishes that are a modern play on old standards. There are also international ones too like piri piri chicken and chicken burgers with paprika and rosemary.

“Sometimes it is the simple recipes like just plain pasta that has major success. People really come to the site, because they are really ready to cook,” Casiraghi said.

Gnam Box’s recent projects include: a trip to Israel, a cooking exhibition during Design Week at Milan’s fashionable 5Vie district and a spot at the Expo Gate.

With the spotlight on Italian food like never before in light of the World’s Fair, and all the wannabe  Italian cooking shows in the states and in the UK, it is a wonder why Gnam Box is not translated in English yet. Stay tuned!
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:  ERA Olive Oil: Liquid Gold,  Gnam Box: The Hipster’s Dinner Party, EXPO GUIDE TO MILAN, Mumbai’s Le 15: Chewing on Couture, Alessandro Enriquez of An Italian Theory , Interview with Russian Oligarch Yelena Baturina, Brigitte Niedermair on Man’s Fixation with Fashion, Food

At the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana e-commerce conglomerate Yoox celebrated Milanese artisan design with a collection of objects created exclusively for Yoox.com and now available to buy on the website. The jewelry boxes of Attico Cristina Celestino, the Van der Rohe-inspired lamp Peqpab of Dimorestudio, the laser-carved and polished brass trays of Francesco Meda and the decorative and elegant plates of Osanna Visconti di Modrone were all on show and are now available online.

At Spazio Sanremo in the 5vie district, the Max Lamb instillation takes you in an extraordinary peaceful dimension. Quiet and calm, the exhibit makes you focus on the chairs on show and on the way they were made. “These 41 pieces were made by me between 2006 and 2015,” explained the British-34-year-old designer. “They are all unique and each one is a different exercise in the making. The work begins with the raw material, not from the design, and they are supposed to be quiet, humble and to tell the story of how they were made. The emphasis is about how they were made, not the seating.”

It’s on to via Santa Marta where throngs crowd Uberta Zambelletti’s Wait and See concept store and the popup Gnambox garage, where food lovers are lining up for an easy and interesting lunch.  Amid the madness, the handcrafted decorative interior wallpaper of Picta Papers. Young Milanese designers Orsola Clerici e Chiara Troglio founded this company a couple of years ago to export their ten-year-long experience as interior decorators and their signature taste in decoration worldwide. “It’s handpainted wallpaper,” said digital artist Beatrice Frisia. “You can choose your own style online on pictawallpaper.com exploring the collections. Then you can customize it to fit your space needs. And it’s easy to ship. The price range is between 50 and 250 euro for square meters.”

Studio’98 together with Vetreria Etrusca presents the interesting project of Changing Atmosphere. The goal is to recycle old glass bottles into something useful and elegant. From an idea of Guia Bartolozzi, this architects’ studio turns an industrial product to a design object. “These were born as wine bottles and they were transformed into a new object as a candle holder or a vase. This was born as an exhibition but it turned that everyone visiting asks to buy them!” Price range 10-30 euro.

Last but not least, we took a trip to via Tortona 21, the Milanese design district.  The 23-year-old creative designer Marianna Tomaselli made real-time customized handpainted espadrilles at the Manebi showroom. It’s a summer must have.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: Chiara Rusconi of A Palazzo , Bonotto: Fashion Textiles at Salone , Salone Scenes: World’s Chicest Block Party, The Fashionable Side of Fuorisalone