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Jump to navigationJump to searchThe Food of Love by Anthony Capella (view source)
Revision as of 12:08, 25 November 2012
, 12:08, 25 November 2012no edit summary
There were quite a few stickers and recommendations on the front of the book. "Richard & Judy's summertime read 2005" said the first, but I'm not impressed by daytime television. "A fantastic story, you can almost taste the wonderful Italian food." said Jamie Oliver, but that didn't impress me either. Before you act on a recommendation you've got to respect the person who makes it. Then there was the bookshop's "3 for 2" sticker. That convinced me I needn't be quite so snobbish about my reading material.
It's another reworking of the classic [[Cyrano De Bergerac]] story: boy meets girl and asks his friend to help him win her heart. All goes well until the friend falls for the girl too. Laura Patterson is studying art history in Rome. Tired of the type of man she's meeting she decides that she'll only date men who can cook. She's spotted by Tommaso Massi who tells her that he's a chef at one of Rome's best restaurants despite the fact that he's a lowly waiter. To win Laura's heart he gets his best friend, Bruno, who is a talented chef, to cook for Laura, but Bruno falls in love with Laura too.
This book will appeal to a lot of people. If you like Italy then you'll be introduced to the real Rome. The story's set in Trastevere, a working-class suburb of Rome, and you'll get to know the bar where the owner is constantly adapting his Gaggia coffee machine with any car parts he can collect, in the hope of making the perfect cup of coffee. You'll visit the food market at Mercato di San Cosimato, where Bruno buys the food for the meals he cooks for Laura. You'll become familiar with the side streets and alleyways. There's a trip to the beach and, later in the book, some marvellously evocative descriptions of the countryside in Le Marche.
