About Us
Chef Linda Johnsen
Our Story
As a little girl, Chef Linda always knew being of Italian heritage meant something special. “We have strong family values and long standing traditions, especially when it came to cooking.”
Chef Linda grew up in the suburbs of South Philadelphia, just 20 minutes south of the city. When the women in her family wanted authentic Italian products, they would go to the Italian Market in Philly. The Italian Market is not just one market, but many different open air markets offering fresh produce, herbs and spices, pastas, cheese, meats and hard to find Italian wares. The sights and smells of the Italian Market are something you never forget. Chef Linda remembers the fires burning in the large metal drums that line the streets during the winter months to keep customers warm as they searched for the perfect products to create authentic Italian meals. The Italian Market is still thriving today and is where most of the city’s top restaurant chefs go early in the morning to select only the freshest products.
In Linda’s family there were two very strong Italian women who were masters of their crafts. Her grandmother was a wonderful loving woman who always put her family first. She would spend hours teaching Linda how to make the perfect homemade pastas. And her daughter, Linda’s Aunt Rosemary is the one in the family who even today keeps all the traditions alive. Her pasta sauce is the best Linda has ever tasted.
Chef Linda spent every Sunday with her Grandmother Filomena and Aunt Rosemary making a pot of Sunday Sauce and learning the secrets to making “homemades” or pasta. This is where the tradition and techniques of Italian cooking were passed down and what she now shares with our guests. She learned early on that food brings family together and continues to invite guests into our restaurants today to share her passion for food and who find as they leave they are now part of the family.
The traditions, flavors and techniques which Chef Linda continues to carry on today are that of her heritage and her grandmother…”Filomena.”
My Specialties
My recipes have been featured in many media sources, but if you were to ask the guests at Filomena’s which dish they kept coming back for they would always say the bolognese or lasagna
Fresh house made papperdelle pasta with beef and pork bolognese
Pairs perfectly with a bold red Italian wine such as Viette Barolo from Piedmonte, Italy
Mom Mom's Lasagna
Lasagna with fresh pasta sheets perfectly blended with three cheeses and fresh made Sunday Sauce
