Creating Community Since 1995

About Cristina Racchella

Cristina Racchella is a native of Rome, Italy and moved to the Princeton area in 1995.  She has been involved in the local communities in many different capacities: Founder and Owner of the Italian Cooking School CriCooking LLC, Faculty member for Princeton Studies Food and for the Department of French & Italian at Princeton University, Teacher of Italian conversation for the Cultural House and the Princeton Adult School, Yoga instructor for the Princeton Center for Yoga & Health, member of “The Improbable Improvisers” group and recently Leader and Organizer of Yoga & travels retreats to “Hidden (in) Italy”.

A “Renaissance Woman” - “Our own Sofia Loren” -“Ciao Bella” - “Mama Bear”, these are just some of the many ways that hundreds of students and people who met Cristina used to describe her creative, contagious, joyful spirit that animates her life, her professional journey and each aspect of her relationships and connections with people.

After graduating with a master’s degree in biology, Cristina worked in Italy for some of the major Pharmaceutical companies in the world where she developed a successful career in training and marketing.

Upon arriving in the States in 1995 and becoming a mother of two babies, it became pretty clear that her career and her life needed to take a different path: a new land, new people, a new culture, a new language and the constant presence and reminders that “Life is beautiful” and surprising when you see it with the eyes of a child: all the “ingredients” for a new adventure were present…that’s when CriCooking LLC was born. A creative Italian Cooking School for kids, a space where children could gather every Friday after school to explore the magic world of transforming ingredients into something absolutely delicious and unexpected. The creative process and the exploration of food through the 5 senses were the heart of hundreds of cooking workshops that Cristina offered in Princeton and in many preschools in the nearby towns.

The CriCooking School is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2021 and,although transformed in many aspects, it still keeps the same spirit and mission: to bring together the community and to offer a space where people feel free to create from nothing,  develop their knowledge about new trends in nutrition, learn about the Italian culture and the variety of regional gastronomy and have fun connecting and sharing with others.

Always open to reinventing herself and explore new possibilities, in 2015 Cristina became a yoga instructor (200RYT) under the guidance of Dr. Jeff Migdow, former director of teacher training at Kripalu Center for Yoga and health and creator of Prana yoga methodology. She has also studied with Larry Payne, Rudy Pierce, Richard Miller, Rachel May, Gail Seckettar and others, deepening her knowledge of Gentle yoga, Dynamic Hatha yoga, Restorative yoga and mindfulness in nutrition.

This new aspect of her life and teaching yoga is what truly allows Cristina to contribute to her community, integrating her scientific background with the transformational experience of exploring the Yogis lifestyle.

Cristina's mantra is "If you can breathe, you can practice yoga", as she offers modifications to each posture, allowing everyone to fully experience the rejuvenation, healing, clarity and relaxation that come from deepening the asanas through Yoga practice. Incorporating chakra awareness, breathing techniques and meditation are the elements that contribute to complete each practice with a sense of joy and unity......."A sense of yoga".

Having grown up in a dynamic family where food, art, literature, and culture were part of the daily interactions with her father (architect, painter, sculptor, and chef) and her mother (a French professor), Cristina developed a natural inclination to be creatively self expressed in many arenas.

Cristina’s strong Italian heritage is informed by many cultural elements, and of course food is one of them. The culinary regional variety is reflected in her cooking workshops and mindful tasting experiences that she leads throughout the 4 seasons, both in the USA and in Italy.

Cristina is also a comedian improviser, on stage and in life!!! “Just say YES and take whatever comes to you as a gift”—this is her attitude.

Yoga, Teaching, Cooking, Traveling, Improvisational comedy: all these have a common requirement, being PRESENT in the MOMENT!!! They all reinforce each other, generating a flow of energy, creativity, wellness and balance to share with others as a community.