It must take super powers of concentration to focus on making focaccia in this kitchen, with the distracting views over Pittwater, but Silvia Colloca, opera singer turned stage and screen actress, somehow manages. Born in Milan, she grew up with great food and started blogging about it at Silvia's Cucina to record her family's traditional recipes more than three years ago. Publishers noticed and her second cookbook, Made in Italy, was launched recently to coincide with her SBS cooking series of the same name. She lives on Sydney's northern beaches with her husband, actor Richard Roxburgh, and their two sons, Raphael, 7, and Miro, 4.
The staples
My pantry: [Cavaliere Giuseppe] Cocco pasta is amazing. Although it's just flour and water, in Abruzzo, where this pasta comes from, they have the right flour and the right water, which makes all the difference. Mutti finely chopped tomatoes I can just eat from the tin with a spoon. Fruit for Life Dried Goji Berries are full of antioxidants and fibre and they're a great snack. I also put them into my homemade granola. Dried mullet roe is a flavour bomb just sprinkled onto seafood pasta with lemon zest. I use Golden Shore Besan Chickpea Flour for flatbreads or throw it into regular bread for some extra flavour and protein.
My fridge
I eat Farmers Union Greek Style Natural Yogurt with granola for breakfast and [use it] in baking. I serve Kuhne Sauerkraut as a side to meat or with a cheese sandwich. Miro eats Ovoline bocconcini like sweets and I put them on pizzas and in salads. Benino pickled hot chillies are great on an antipasto platter.
I'm cooking
Last dinner at home:
I made a pizza with a slow-risen spelt and rye base that fermented over a couple of days. I kept it really simple on top – just tomato, mozzarella, a couple of anchovies and a bit of chilli.
Secret vice
I keep the Haribo Goldbears in the highest cupboard in the kitchen because they're also the boys' secret vice.
I'm drinking
I don't drink coffee or tea, so in the morning I just have hot water and lemon juice. I like coconut water occasionally, because it has no sugar and is good for rehydrating after Cross Fit classes. Macon-Villages Chameroy white wine is beautiful and dry, like a sauvignon blanc, but not fruity. I really like my Campari bitter, with an orange slice and ice, no soda. I sometimes have El Espolon tequila, which is good enough to drink straight. I also like to use the empty bottle for flowers.
Saturday night tipple:
It's usually vodka and tonic made with Zubrowka Polish vodka.
My toolkit
This waffle maker was my great-aunt Italia's, the chitarra (a wooden box with strings attached, used to cut pasta) was my great grandmother's. I can't live without the egg beaters. I can't be bothered putting together kitchen equipment when these are so quick and easy. I love this ciambella cake tin because we make a simple lemon and vanilla cake all the time.
Favourite
I travel with my Microplane grater. Parmesan cheese, lemon zest – it's amazing.
Inspiration
I often go to bed thinking about ingredients. It's a bit of an obsession. It might be something I've seen at the markets, but it could come from anywhere. I love all my cookbooks and food magazines and they inform my creativity, but I don't really cook from the recipes.
Kitchen highlight
The expanse of workbench that looks out to the view.
Most memorable meal
It was the first meal Richard and I cooked together. He was cooking an Asian feast for his friends and we'd just started dating, so he asked me to come along and help him cook. He didn't know how much I loved to cook. I'd told him, but he didn't really know. He set some tasks for me and five minutes later he turned around and I'd finished them all and was making flatbreads and a dessert. He thought, "H'm, she's a keeper".
