The Inspiration behind the Portrait

Yes, Mama Michelina is real. She is the original Michelina, mother to our founder Jeno F. Paulucci, whose passion for quality Italian food continues to resonate to this day.

Old World Recipes. New World Inspiration.
Michelina immigrated to America from Italy before the Great Depression. While her husband went to work in the mines of Minnesota's Iron Range, Michelina provided room and home-cooked meals to his fellow miners. It was a hard life, but one that Michelina embraced with resilience and determination.

By creatively blending recipes from her homeland with locally grown ingredients, Mama Michelina prepared heaping platters of pasta and sauces for hungry boarders. The delicious, hearty dinners were a source of comfort to the tired workers and Michelina's cooking quickly became well known. Before long, Michelina was hired to cook for the area's wealthiest families. And young Jeno saw firsthand the ways that good food can sustain a community.

The Tradition Continues.
Jeno went on to make food his career and created Michelina's in his mother's honor in 1990. Today, our recipes pay tribute to the al dente pasta and rich, robust sauces Mama Michelina originated almost a century ago.

Enjoy a Michelina's today and experience an authentic taste of Italy. Mangia!