The Sweet Family Connection In Giada De Laurentiis' New Hallmark Movie

For Giada De Laurentiis, family is very important. The celebrity chef often takes to Instagram to record her adventures with teenage daughter Jade, including a recent post for International Women's Day featuring a pic of the two with the caption, "So proud of the woman you are becoming!" Lately, De Laurentiis has been channeling the talents of her older family members who were members of the showbiz industry, especially her actor parents and famous Italian film producer grandfather Dino De Laurentiis (via CheatSheet), as the executive producer on a brand new Hallmark Movies & Mysteries film, "Always Amore." "I've always wanted to do this, following in my family's footsteps, especially my grandfather," said De Laurentiis (via People).

According to IMDb, "Always Amore" follows the story of widow Elizabeth, played by Autumn Reeser, who bears a bit of a resemblance to De Laurentiis. Elizabeth hires restaurant consultant Ben, played by Tyler Hynes, in an attempt to keep her late husband's restaurant open. Anyone who has ever seen a Hallmark movie won't be surprised that love might mix into the plot.

Giada De Laurentiis told People the movie is a marriage of some of her favorite themes. "I love the story of a family trying to stay together even with a loss, and rooted in family traditions, and of course, in food and love, which are all the things that we all really want to see," said De Laurentiis. The culinary star's sentiments are echoed in the trailer for the movie in which the lead character Elizabeth speaks about her family restaurant. "Everything we do comes from the heart, and I don't want to lose that."

The "Everyday Italian" star noted the similarities between "Always Amore" and her own life, including some of the characters who are like members of her own family. De Laurentiis said that the chef in the film is stubborn like her grandfather and that every character was somehow influenced by a member of her own family. Nonna, played by Patty McCormack, reminded the cookbook author of her Aunt Raffy, of whom she said, "she's the one that still holds everybody together and tells us the stories" (via People).