TASTE, My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci

TASTE, My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci

For someone British, brought up on baked beans on toast and a culinary highlight of bacon, sausage and eggs for breakfast, an introduction to Italian food back in the ’70’s was a revelation. Having just read “Taste” by Stanley Tucci is another revelation, almost a revolution!

Mr Tucci of whom I had heard very little until he started filming a BBC cookery series, is a second generation American of Italian origin from Calabria who has managed to write his memoirs with emphasis on recipes and menus from his childhood and later acting career. This is no mean feat I can assure you. First of all that he remembers all the ingredients and the location or event when he first tasted these particular food dishes or drinks and that he is still perfecting these wonderfully simple and classic recipes many years later. To add to the mixture Mr Tucci has a great sense of humour and guffaws of laughter have been echoing around our house whilst I read it.

Life hasn’t always been a laugh for Stanley, it’s had its ups and downs and the end of the book has a bitter sweet twist which reminds us that no-one is immortal.

There were times when the amount of food consumed had me reaching for the Maalox but the delights of the Italian cuisine and Mr Tucci’s undoubted genius for combining this with snippets from his varied life as a youngster in Katonah, New York to film actor, writer, director and producer living in London, England are worth reading again and again, and who knows, I may even try one of the recipes!

RINSKE