That's it. I'm determined to marry a chef. An excellent chef. I want to be romanced with food--good food.
And what sparked off this bout of craziness? I've just finished reading The Food of Love by Anthony Capella. It's a romantic comedy about a young 22-year-old American woman on a one-year art exchange programme in Rome. While there, she falls in love with an Italian guy, thinking that he's a chef. Little does she know that it's actually his good friend, who's really a chef, who's been helping him to romance her with all his wonderful culinary creations. As expected, the chef also falls for the American signora, and a love triangle starts brewing...
Though the plot is somewhat trite, and the writing of the main story itself isn't what one would term as literary genius, Capella excels when he writes about food. One can almost taste the delicious flavours and smells he is describing. His extensive knowledge on Italian cuisine and the research put into the book is evident.
I love reading about the intricacies of Italian cuisine which are cleverly weaved into the story. Learn what type of pasta is suited for certain kinds of sauces, get introduced to the completed world of coffee drinking which the Italians seem to have turned into an art form, learn about traditional Italian cooking, 'savour' the cuisines from the different regions of Italy, and be thoroughly seduced by all the wonderful food that are dished out.
Be seduced also by the descriptions of the quaint villages of Italy, the romanticism of Rome and the many art galleries that dot the city.
So if you're in for some light reading which makes for easy digestion, this is one delectable read. Buon Appetito!
Posted by DSD at October 13, 2004 11:28 AM | TrackBackI read a bit of the book over the summer, but I couldn't finish it. I just didn't like the female protagnoist. I felt no sympathy for her and resisted her as a character. I'm not usually like this, but something about her, just grating!
But I did like the setting, of course. =) Very much. Will send your way all the chefs I meet. If I meet any at all.
Posted by: monoceros at October 13, 2004 9:21 PMyes I agree. In fact, I didn't like the whole love story. I thought the plot development of that part of the book was terrible. The characters are cliched as well...didn't like any of them frankly.
But like you said, the setting was lovely and I love all the bits about Italian cuisine. Maybe it'd be better called The Idiot's Guide to Italian Food. Slice and trim away the love story, and it'd be perfect literary confectionary!
Posted by: dsd at October 14, 2004 9:39 AM