In 2013, Federica Andrisani moved from Milan to work as a pastry chef in Marano Vicentino, a tiny town in the Veneto region of Italy. Her new boss was the youngest chef to earn a Michelin star in Italy, and she was thrilled to work at El Coq, living in the staff sharehouse and absorbing every lesson.
A year later, Oskar arrived. A fellow chef and friend of her boss, he had been working on a boat and planned to stay at the sharehouse for a few weeks, helping develop the menu. The first day they met, Federica was confused by Oskar's blue eyes and fair skin. She thought her boss had said he was from Tanzania, but she had never heard of Tasmania.
After-work drinks led to a marathon Google Translate session at the house, and by 4 a.m., they were kissing at the kitchen table. Federica thought it would be a brief love affair, but when Oskar's time in Marano ended, he returned unexpectedly during her shift. She saw him enter the dining room from the snowy night, and despite the chaos, she felt a surge of happiness. At the end of her shift, he asked for a ride back to the staff house, and two weeks later, they moved into a tiny apartment with no hot water.
Building a Life Together
Soon, they were planning their future restaurant via Google Translate. Federica says, "We didn't speak the same language but somehow we understood each other so well. In the kitchen, the synergy was amazing; off the clock, the chemistry was like nothing I had experienced." Three months later, they headed to Tasmania on a working holiday visa. They ran pop-ups in Hobart, and people loved their food. After some time back in Italy and visa hurdles, they opened Fico in 2016. Five years later, they married, and in 2024, their second venue, Pitzi, was born.
It took Federica about five years to become fluent in English. During that time, their relationship evolved from a fantasy to something more mature. With new understanding came more nuance and friction, but their connection was never lost in translation. Federica says, "Sometimes I tell the story of how we came to be here—married and running businesses in a place I didn't even know existed—and hardly believe it happened. It seems crazy to meet someone and start a whole life via Google Translate, but here we are."
