Francesca is Sicilian and Neopolitan. Her passion for cooking began when she was a teenager in Naples where she spent her summers helping her Sicilian aunt at her restaurant in Milan called La Cesta. After moving to Michigan in 1984, she went from being a prep cook to cooking main dishes and later to cooking for parties and events in private homes.

Francesca has spent 20 years in Ann Arbor working for restaurants such as the Old German, Metzger's and Red Hawk. She began teaching Italian cooking in her home in 2000 through Ann Arbor Public Schools and now devotes her time to bringing enthusiasm and enjoyment to her students. In 2017 she took her first group on a culinary tour visiting Naples and the Amalfi Coast in Italy. She hopes to offer more trips in the future.

Francesca has two cookbooks. Her first, titled Dai Fornelli al Tavolo (From

the Fire to the Table), was printed in 2018. Her second is titled Le Quattro Stagioni Nella Cucina Italiana (The Four Seasons in Italian Cuisine).