Just the right flavour!
Life in General|I’ve just read a book that is a recipe for a great summer read. Sink your teeth, your gaze, caress it with your fingers, and let the flavour of this book roll around on your tongue. Quite seriously, this is a book to indulge the senses.
“The Food of Love” by Anthony Capella was one of Richard and Judy’s (UK TV presenters for those of you who don’t know them) recommended summer reads of 2005. I’m ashamed to say it’s been sitting in my t-b-r pile for probably just that long. This may be partly due to the fact that I’ve not had much luck with any of the books they’ve recommended. I’ve not consciously disliked them, and perhaps I’ve liked books they recommended that I don’t know they chose, but due to a run of books that they put their little round sticker on that were not to my taste, I hesitated to read this.
In Jamie Oliver’s quote on the front cover he tells you that you can almost taste the food. Not only is he spot-on with his review, isn’t it something when a chef quotes for a romance book? You may be wondering what on earth is going on, but this isn’t your average romance. I feel anyone could read this and take something from it. If you love romance and even if you don’t, this is an intriguing and altogether different book. If you love good food, if you have an appreciation for all things Italian, if the idea of food and sex, and love, and sex, and food brings a smile to your face, then this is the book for you. The sex is non-explicit and yet it’s as decadent as the desserts Bruno cooks for Laura. Tommaso is a waiter who spots a woman that he believes he’s instantly in love with. Laura is in Rome to study art history and has decided she’ll only date a man who can cook. Bruno is Tommaso’s best friend and a chef. Throw in a twist on the old Cyrano de Bergerac story and what you may expect is a hash of yesterday’s leftovers. This story is anything but an old recipe. It’s a new invention, as creative as Bruno is in the kitchen. If the idea of food and sex at the same time is not to your taste then start reading and when you get to this paragraph you may change your mind:
“A tartufo is a chocolate gelato shaped to look like a truffle, but it is an appropriate name for other reasons too. Made from egg yolk, sugar, a little milk and plenty of the finest Criollo chocolate, with a buried kick of chilli, Bruno’s tartufo was as richly sensual and overpowering as the funghi from which it took its name – and even more aphrodisiac.
The rest of the chapter is just hysterical as well as somewhat enlightening. This is a wonderful book that I give top marks to, and now I’m off to see what else this author has written. Probably the best book I’ve read so far this year. Go on…indulge.
