Jill Paradis has called Piedmont home since 2008. She has enjoyed learning about all the local Italian customs and tasting and experiencing all the wonderful dishes and nature in the Monferrato. She is a trained sommelier and enjoys teaching and talking people about the local wines of the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato. Jill is from Colorado and was previously a bilingual (Spanish/English) food safety trainer and consultant. She has been living in the countryside since 2010 and enjoys creative writing and following curiosity where it leads Since living in Monferrato and fixing up an old cascina, bit by bit, she knows more Italian words about renovation, house projects and agriculture than in her native English. She had a vineyard made wine, and continues to care for hundreds of hazelnut trees. She is interested in truffles and their symbiotic relationship with trees. She is passionate about the kingdom of fungi and how they have been around a billion years before humans and how they are not exactly a vegetable and not meat but a little like both, delicious to eat and fun to cook. Jill offers (cultivated) mushroom cooking classes and writing workshops.