In one way, there’s not much to it: some fairly standard childhood memories; a half-funny anecdote about the time Meryl Streep ordered andouillette (a stinky sausage made with chitterlings) in a French bistro; an account of the (to him, frankly batty) manner in which his British wife roasts potatoes. But in another way, it is… oh, dear. How to frame this for a family newspaper? Suffice to say that when he gets going, Tucci can make a woman feel quite agitated. Why, she may think wildly, will he not treat me to spaghetti con le zucchine alla Nerano at La Scoglio on the Amalfi coast? ... The tone of his book is light and, for an American actor, moderately ironic ... he doesn’t get Oscar-speech mushy ... There are lots of gaps ... after a while, it ceases to matter that he’s no Robert Evans, nor even a David Niven. The mind clings, like a good sauce, to other things. The fact that Tucci finds his wife’s greediness sexy and endearing – and that she, in turn, felt no need to hide this part of herself on their early dates, chasing after a restaurant cheese trolley with her eyes as if it were the last train home and she was about to miss it – makes me very happy. I’m not even being facetious when I say that, if we’re serious about ending cultural sexism, a good place to start might be right here. The world needs more men like this: the kind of bloke – and a Hollywood star, to boot – who could not be more delighted when a woman asks for seconds; who cooks for a girl like he really means it.
If you’re looking for detail on the career of the great character actor Stanley Tucci, you should probably pass on his lovely new memoir Taste: My Life Through Food ... This fusion of love and food is what gives Tucci’s book its sweetness. He writes of his family’s rituals with tenderness ... Reading this book will make you more attentive to the glorious – or modest – food on your table, and to the people with whom you are privileged to share it.
... a gastronome’s delight. It has piquant surprises tucked inside and will leave readers both sated and wanting more ... Tucci is quite opinionated about food. Well-placed 'fuck's signify outraged incredulity and offer hits of hilarity throughout.
