Made in Italy: Food and Stories

I bought this book on a whim whilst on holiday and now find myself reading it from cover to cover. The whole concept is to put the food and the chef in context; the book reads like no other cookery book I have come across. A whole range of ingredients are explained in short essays throughout the book (eg olives, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, parmesan etc). The recipes are split into starters, soups, risotto, fish, meat, pasta and deserts. In amongst the essays and recipes are wonderful photographs and short autobiographical vignettes from Locatelli.

I also have the excellent 'Sliver Spoon', but it is eclipsed by 'Made in Italy'. The former is a huge repository of recipes, listed in exhaustive detail. Locatelli's book on the other hand takes you back to the origins of the food, where it comes from, how it is produced and what to look out for in the market and deli. My wife is currently in food heaven - I find the recipes easy to follow and yes some of the ingredients are a little difficult to get (especially in the West Highlands!) but using your common sense you can easliy find substitutes.

This is without question an instant classic, destined to be a well used kitchen companion for the future. I like one posted idea of having one for the kitchen and one for the coffee table - I would add a third copy for an emergency present. Anyone who enjoys food will appreciate this book immensely. Now I only have to decide which recipe to attempt this weekend...........

A 'must buy' (1/1 people found this helpful)

Inspirational. One of the best cooking books I've bought in a long time. The combination of stories, recipes and product information sets the book apart from others. His passion really comes through in this book so much so that I enrolled on a 'pasta by hand' course soon after buying the book. I'm eagerly working through the recipes, all of which so far have been winners. Buy it now, you won't be disappointed.

The passion for food (0/0 people found this helpful)

This book is great.
Not only the reciepes are very good, not only the paper quality is excellent as well as the photos, it is the narrator who makes this book great.
Giorgio put all his love for italian cuisine on this. This is not just a recipe book, this is a book about Italy and its history, it's a book about food and nutrition, it's a volume with tricks that only italian grandmothers know.
I can only highly reccomend this book: you won't go wrong with it.

The best food book in my collection (1/1 people found this helpful)

This is not just a book of recipes - its a book about italian food, with recipes to punctuate the information. I have many recipe books, and this is by far the best so far.....
well written, well presented, and the first recipe book I ve actually taken to read in bed.
HIGHLY recommended.

Perfetto (2/6 people found this helpful)

I love this book. It has beautiful fotographs, wonderful personal stories which as a born and bred 'northern' Italian can relate to and the food recipes are just magnificent. Yes I agree to some extent with one reviewer who writes that the food is predominantly northern Italian but if this reviewer knows anything at all about Italian food then he should also know that in Italy food is never just 'Italian' but regional. You should never own just one Italian cook book but as many as there are regions in Italy because if its a good book the recipes will all be authetic to that region. This is where the true beauty of Italian food lies in its diversity according to its region. Made in Italy is food at its best; it contains fairly easy recipes with great fresh ingredients. Believe me when I say that strong olive oil is not always best, much to the disappointment of the aforementioned reviewer - one reason why Italian olive oil comes in many different stregths from very mild to quite strong and peppery is because we use olive oil according to our traditional regional cuisine. If you love meats, risottos, pasta, meaty fish, gorgeous desserts then stop right here...you have just found your perfect italian cookery book. I have eaten at Locatelli's in London and the food was glorious just like the book. Go on spoil yourself and buy it you will not regret it.

Made in Italy: Food and Stories

Giorgio Locatelli

Reader Reviews:

An instant classic (0/0 people found this helpful)

A 'must buy' (1/1 people found this helpful)

The passion for food (0/0 people found this helpful)

The best food book in my collection (1/1 people found this helpful)

Perfetto (2/6 people found this helpful)

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