A New Chapter for Yummy Italy: A Journey of Transformation and Connection

Recent years have taught us that sometimes we are thrown off our intended course of action in the blink of an eye. While from a business view-point, 2020 to 2023 could have been viewed as a disaster with the hospitality and tourist industries being the hardest hit, for me throwing in the towel was not an option. While I and many others all over the globe made the best of a critical situation, I was organizing and holding online pasta-making classes from my kitchen and promoting and constantly creating new content for my social media community. Trying to always ‘be ahead of the game’, create a source of income and increase an audience in view of an unknown return to ‘normality’, in hindsight, the effort far exceeded both the short and long-term return and the pressure to be consistent in creating new and engaging content started becoming increasingly stressful.

Being an empath, I was also absorbing the heavy, anxiety-driven atmosphere that surrounded me, despite making a conscious effort to switch off the TV and seek out empowering and positive news content which, I soon realized, was akin to finding a needle in a haystack. That, coupled with a critical personal situation which I was having to navigate, the total lack of professional and consequently personal security, as well as the continuous ‘fight or flight’ energy that had been so prevalent in both my daily professional and personal life, led to burnout.

At the time, my inability to create a clear business strategy might have seemed like procrastination, trapping me in a frustrating cycle of guilt. But now I understand that my focus was entirely consumed by external pressures and the demanding, material-focused reality I was immersed in—one that had been slowly but surely draining my energetic resources for an extended period of time.

For many, the years from 2020 to 2023 were dominated by fear and the struggle to maintain psychological and physical well-being. Yet, those years also created opportunities for new ways of thinking and connecting—both with ourselves and with the world around us. They sparked a global shift in awareness, encouraging many people to explore deeper connections, new perspectives, and a greater sense of shared humanity.

Thanks to the generous spirit of my friend Asha Singh, co-owner and founder of Restabilize (www.restabilize.xyz), the first practical steps towards my transformational journey took place through her monthly ‘Mindfulness’ online workshops which she had offered free-of-charge to friends, with a view to providing support during the profound uncertainty of everything we had been living through. It was an empowering space where a group of women from all over the world shared their thoughts and feelings around everything that we needed to navigate and survive in our respective countries during 2021. It was also an uplifting online community where Asha offered practical tools to work through our profound unease, but most of all, at least for me, it was a nurturing environment where the core of the work focused on the intrinsic power of gratitude and being able to find it even when our existential walls were crumbling and the void of the unknown was considered to be the place of our greatest fears.

In the meantime, in particular during 2023, tourism in Emilia Romagna slowly but surely started to come back to life, but the dynamics that had shaped the pre-plandemic years had been turned on their head. Medium-tier tourism (a significant chunk of my target market) all but died out leaving space for a slightly increased top-tier market and an insurgence of what the Italians call “Turismo Mordi e Fuggi” literally “Bite and Run Tourism”. With the influx of cheap flights coming in from all over Europe, Bologna, in particular appeared to have become a city where the bustling traditional trattorias of days gone by became hidden in the mire and old, family-owned fabric stores, hand-made shoe shops, beautiful jewellers and artisan purveyors closed down, since making way for rows upon rows of wine-bars serving platters of mediocre charcuterie and industrially-produced sparkling wines.

The question remained: how do I transform a business and create a website that had had a very ‘off-the-beaten track’ offering to a very specific target market that had now largely disappeared? As a seasoned marketeer having worked for huge brands such as PRET and Automobili Lamborghini, all of a sudden, I found myself at an impasse. Attempting to strategize a business in a context that was in a continuous state of ebb and flow, I started off by increasing my offerings, focusing on one area, then another, changing the focus onto things I loved doing, but which were not necessarily financially viable. And, let’s face it, when you are trying to market your own company, it’s hard, if not impossible to be objective. As a result, the Yummy Italy website stayed offline with business coming in either via word-of-mouth recommendations, blogposts or books where I had been mentioned (specifically The Food Traveler’s Guide to Emilia Romagna by Amber Hoffmann), as well as high-end tourism platforms. And despite working through the last couple of years, the direction that I wanted to take with the Yummy Italy was still unclear.

I have been turning to energetic work and meditation to resolve past challenges and shape my future for several years now. However, a couple of years ago, I came across the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza (www.drjoedispenza.com), and his approach deeply resonated with me. While I recognize that everyone has their own path when it comes to personal growth and transformation, personally, I found his teachings particularly compelling. While they are rooted in insights from Buddhist mindfulness, Hindu meditation practices and other ancient wisdom traditions combined with scientific research, they explore how thoughts, emotions, and beliefs can reshape the brain, influence our reality and transcend limitations.

Finally, last June, I decided to sign up to one of his 3-day Progressive Retreats which took place in Basel, Switzerland at the end of February 2025. And thus came a moment of profound transformation which was shaped by my experience at the Dr. Joe Dispenza retreat.

I had wanted to launch the new Yummy Italy website before I left for the retreat, but with a shopping list of tiny final modifications to be made, I realised that this just wasn’t going to happen. And instead of getting stressed out with the potential failure of a controlled outcome (the old Helena), I just surrendered to ‘the flow of things’. As nothing is coincidental, and our lives, when we emit the right energy, are filled with beautiful synchronicities, it was fitting that I launch the site after the insight gained during the retreat. 

The Power of a Shifted Perspective

Having organised more events during my life than I can remember, the largest of which was for 5,000 people, and with an eye for detail and planning strategies (as well as dealing with crises – one of which was reorganising a Lamborghini launch event on Mount Etna with an exploding volcano – but that’s a story for another time), that were fundamental in creating one-of-a-kind and uncompromising events, one of the most important things that struck me both before and during the retreat was how flawless the organisation and execution were. Let me put this into context: in the space of a week, the Dr. Joe Dispenza team and their partners in Switzerland, Younity (https://www.younity.com), put together two 3-day retreats, back-to-back, each with 8,000 participants. The pre-event communication was second-to-none, with emails and videos explaining every tiny little detail, leaving nothing to chance. And while on a practical level, participants had been made aware of how long the various queues would be, there was also magic in them; the immediate and deep connection with other people with open hearts, the possibility to talk with some of those people on a profound level without first ascertaining whether or not they were of the same mindset, but also the possibility of connecting long-term with those same people and experiencing some of the miraculous synchronicities that abounded during the event itself.

So, how is it possible, even in one of the world’s most organised countries such as Switzerland, to create such a perfect event? Other event participants who had been on other retreats had confirmed that they were all executed in a similarly faultless manner. And while I was participating in what for me was a profound transformational journey, at intervals, my event-organiser DNA stepped out to analyse every single detail. I finally came to a conclusion: because every single thing that was done WAS HEART-CENTRED. Every single action came from a place of love and such care for those participating. However, it was also evident that the intrinsic dynamic of the respective event teams was that of mutual respect, trust, a fundamental understanding of gratitude and the collective desire to raise consciousness. And the energetic message that was palpable, was that practicing gratitude fosters a deep sense of trust in the way that our lives unfold.

Experiencing Dr. Joe Dispenza live and meditating alongside 8,000 others, all focused on personal growth and becoming the highest version of themselves, was a powerful moment for me. The collective energy in the room was immense, and it reinforced how deeply he embodies a passion for life and a genuine care for humanity. Regardless of one’s perspective on his work, witnessing first-hand the positive impact he has on those around him—and the ripple effect it creates—was truly inspiring.

Attending the retreat was more than a personal investment for me—it was a deep recalibration of how I approach life and work. I walked away with a heightened awareness of energy, intention, and the power of creation. Instead of pushing through challenges with sheer determination and resilience (something that I had always done before), I learnt and am learning to embrace a more fluid, intuitive and heart-centred approach, one that aligns with vision rather than just execution.

This shift in mindset has led to a renewed perspective on my work, and more specifically, on the launch of www.yummy-italy.com — a new evolution in and new energy for Yummy Italy tailored for corporate clients and discerning travellers seeking unique and meaningful experiences.

A New Energy for a New Audience

With the new website, I am bringing to life a platform that better reflects Yummy Italy’s core values and its deep cultural storytelling that both corporate and private clients require. Whether it’s bespoke executive retreats, team-building experiences rooted in food and wine, or high-level hospitality curation, I, and as a direct consequence, Yummy Italy, are evolving to meet the needs of a clientele that values not only authenticity, excellence, and a touch of magic, but also an appreciation of things that genuinely come from the heart.

This isn’t just about launching a website; it’s about launching a new way of engaging—with guests, with experiences, and with the essence of Emilia Romagna, its farmers, its artisans, its animals, its land. It’s about shifting from what could be described as a partly transactional model to one that is deeply transformational, ensuring that every experience curated is not just memorable but also deeply impactful.

One of the core messages that I have always communicated to those who have enjoyed Yummy Italy experiences is that of gratitude; to give thanks for the farmers who grow the vegetables they eat and who care for the animals. To give thanks for the Parmigiano dairy cheese-makers who are up at ungodly hours turning milk into gold. To give thanks to the artisan wine-makers who turn grapes into poetry. To give thanks to the animals who died to be on our plates. Over the years, our connection with the divine has been significantly disrupted and people no longer ‘say grace’ before meals or give thanks for what they have on their table or in their lives in general. After all, food is at the core of survival. It is a way to connect with both static and evolving cultural traditions, with the land and its people. But it is also a feeling. In German there is a beautiful word, ‘Heimat’, the concept of which doesn’t really exist in many other languages as a singular word. ‘Heimat’ expresses home, belonging, identity, nostalgia and a deep-rooted emotional connection to place – even if one hasn’t been born or grown up in that place - and it this what I would like to communicate with Yummy Italy.

In this vein, I would like to thank every single being, be it human, animal or plant, that have made Yummy Italy possible and I thank everyone and everything that will make what I do in the future even more heart-centred than ever. I would also love to give a massive shout-out to Webber Design (www.webber-design.com) whose patience and understanding of my needs for this website have been second-to-none.

What can Yummy Italy do for you? 

If you’re looking to elevate your corporate events or curate extraordinary gastronomic experiences for your teams and clients, I’d love to explore how Yummy Italy can bring your vision to life. Check out my bio here: https://www.yummy-italy.com/about

Let’s create something exceptional—together.

Visit www.yummy-italy.com and let’s start the conversation.