Mashable Senior Creative Producer Mark Stetson sat down with the cast and creators of the Netflix family comedy Nonnas. The film follows aspiring restaurateur Joe Scaravella (Vince Vaughn), who’s looking for purpose after the death of his mother. He decides to risk everything to honor her by opening up an Italian restaurant, Enoteca Maria, in her honor. The hook: He hires local Italian grandmothers (Lorraine Bracco, Susan Sarandon, Brenda Vaccaro, and Talia Shire) as the chefs. Before long, everyone in Joe’s life rallies to help, including his best friend, Bruno (Joe Manganiello), who goes so far as to do all of the contracting work for free.
“It’s based on a real place,” Vaughn told Mashable. “It started off by being Italian grandmothers that were really cooking the recipes from their families…And so they were the chefs and preparing these family traditions unique to their own family that was really shared and created this unbelievable feeling of family.”
The actual Staten Island restaurant’s palette has expanded since its opening in 2007, with “nonnas” from all different cultures throwing their family recipes into the melting pot. Joe Manganiello goes on to describe the experience of eating in the now famous restaurant: “We had dinner and the nonnas served us. There’s a Puerto Rican nonna now, and there’s a Japanese nonna and…we had this gigantic meal that just wouldn’t end. It was just endless. I mean, one plate would have been somebody’s full dinner and there were like 12, you know? It just kept going!”
“These women who didn’t have a shot, for whatever reason, to have outside jobs or hobbies or find their artistic pursuits, found it in the delicacies of what they cooked,” Sarandon added. “So it wasn’t just a duty. I think it was also their expression. And that’s why they kept their recipes very secret…because it was their specific, patented dish.”
“And that’s why they covered all their furniture in plastic,” joked Lorraine Bracco.
Nonnas is now streaming on Netflix.
