Pasta Paisanos
Austin Italian eatery launches benefit dinners for displaced immigrants
L’Oca d’Oro co-owners Adam Orman and Fiore Tedesco kick off their third season of Pasta Paisanos on February 26.
If there’s one thing Austin’s hospitality community knows how to do, it’s show up for each other. This spring, that spirit takes shape once again at L’Oca d’Oro, where co-owners Fiore Tedesco and Adam Orman are kicking off the third season of "Pasta Paisanos," a collaborative dinner series that blends handmade pasta and meaningful fundraising.
This giving season will run February through May, as Tedesco invites some of his most admired chefs and creatives into the kitchen for one-night-only dinners. A new cycle means a new new beneficiary: this time it's Casa Marianella, the East Austin nonprofit that provides shelter and critical services to immigrants and asylum seekers.
It’s a natural next step for a project that has already raised more than $60,000 for local organizations including Lilith Fund and Good Work Austin.
Casa Marianella occupies a singular role in Austin. As the city’s only shelter devoted exclusively to immigrants, the organization operates several homes that support women and children fleeing violence, families seeking stability, and adults navigating the asylum process.
“For the last eighteen months, I’ve seen up close the brave and important work they do and draw great inspiration from the organization. The community of support for the families they work with really deserves to be celebrated," Tedesco says, adding, "I am personally so grateful for the work they do.”
Each Pasta Paisanos dinner will feature a multi-course menu dreamed up jointly by Tedesco and his visiting guest, with optional wine or cocktail pairings available. From every ticket sold, $20 will go directly to Casa Marianella. Plus, the restaurant will tack on an additional 25 percent of sales from the evening. The team hopes to raise at least $10,000 by the end of the season.
The series begins February 26 with Rick Lopez, executive chef of La Condesa. Then March 18, chef and restaurateur Marc Vetri heads to Austin from Philadelphia to spotlight his latest cookbook, The Pasta Book. And in April, Grammy-winning Austin musician Adrian Quesada, best known for his work with Black Pumas, heads to the kitchen. Additional chefs and dates for this spring will be announced soon.
Tedesco says this collaboration with "creative people [he] admires deeply" is what he is most excited about in this series.
"Rick Lopez has been a friend since we met working together 15 years ago," Tedesco says. He's also known Quesada for a few years and is excited to collaborate with him and see what they come up with. On Tedesco's "Mount Rushmore of Chefs," though, is Marc Vetri.
"His dedication to the craft of pasta-making and his contributions to the Italian American diaspora have been deeply meaningful and guiding me to my path as a chef," Tedesco says. "I am so tickled to get to spend some time making food together. A dream come true."
Openness to experimentation is part of what has made Pasta Paisanos resonate. It’s less about rigid culinary themes and more about shared inspiration — the kind that happens when talented people gather around a common purpose.
Tickets for the February 26 dinner ($80) with Rick Lopez are available now.
Through a separate program at L'Oca d'Oro, residents at Casa Marianella may one day be able to try some of the food at the well-known Italian restaurant. Pay What You Will Tuesdays started in December 2025 and were a hit, encouraging the restaurant to extend them indefinitely. The program balances itself by offering meals for as much or as little as diners choose, allowing higher-paid visits to subsidize those at a lower cost.
