Parma Ristorante: Elena Corsini Mastro’s Central California Legacy

By Sarah Campise Hallier

Photography by Patty Schmidt

Originally published in Appetito Magazine February 1, 2026

Elena Corsini Mastro is hard to miss.

As we arrived for our long-anticipated interview, bulky camera case in hand and nervous smiles on our faces, we were stopped in our tracks by her poise. 

We walked into the tail end of a meeting between Elena and a small group of cheerful ladies, thrilled to plan an upcoming shower at the restaurant. Their family has been dining at Parma Ristorante for decades, and it only felt right to celebrate this special event here. 

Maybe it was the food, the ambiance, the golden ochre walls and perfectly-ironed tablecloths that diners have come to know and love. But in that moment, watching the women banter and giggle, we knew that it wasn’t the room or the location or even the tagliatelle drying on the top cupboard above the bar that beckoned the ladies in that day.

It was Elena. 

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