William Shakespeare might not have been Italian, but he had the right idea. Case in point: Sundays weren’t Sundays without the traditional Italian suppers at the DePace homestead in north Wilmington.

Three-year-old Mara spent her weekends prepping the weekly feast with her grandmother, and still remembers her Uncle Louie exclaiming, “Sing, Mara! Sing for all of us!” Truth be told, young Mara was a lot more interested in music and voice lessons than slingin’ hash with grandma. But fate is fate, and those hours in the kitchen would end up defining most of her adult life.