Stanley Tucci

This was delightful. I love food talk, and I love Stanley Tucci, and I love his book. It's not much of a memoir - he touches on certain parts of his life very lightly, except for his cancer diagnosis and treatment. What it is is his love letter to food and cooking and how they bring people together and create community, even in some unlikely places. Unsurprisingly, there is a lot of humor, but it's very dry and casual, and suits the tone of the book. Yes, he can be a bit pretentious at show more times, but his self-awareness ameliorates any annoyance I might have felt. I ate this book up. See what I did there?

4.5 stars show less

Stanley Tucci is one of those celebrities who seems to be able to do anything: act, direct, produce, write – and, yes, cook and proselytize for good food, whether in Italy, the land of his ancestors, the United States, the land of his birth, or England, where he lives now.

Those who watched Searching for Italy, in which Tucci traveled about that country eating and cooking the best dishes in each region will find his new book, What I Ate in One Year as delicious as any fresh pasta dish. The show more book does precisely as one would expect from the title: it's a foodie's diary, with accounts of excellent dishes wherever he found them, from sandwiches to elegant feasts in the best restaurants. Italian cuisine is the star player -- hardly a day passes without at least some pasta in it somewhere -- but Tucci also talks about eating Japanese, Eastern European and other cuisines with equal gusto.

But perhaps the best part of the book is that Tucci doesn't limit himself to food. He talks about all sorts of love, from his love for his first wife (who died of cancer) and his current wife, his children, his parents, his friends. He talks about growing older. He talks about loss, and the fear of loss. He talks about ambition and celebrity and exercise and acting and the fleetingness of time. One comes away from the book wishing she were Tucci's friend, or at least could get an hour or so to sit in conversation with him over an excellent meal.

The book is written in short chapters that should make it easier to stop and do something else when necessary, but which had the opposite effect on me: I kept thinking I'd read just one more short entry before doing this, that or the other, and easily found myself about 50 pages down the road before I could tear myself away. He is gently humorous, self-deprecating and charming. What I Ate in One Year was a joy to read. show less

Stanley Tucci's food memoir Taste: My Life Through Food was a lovely accompaniment to his recent CNN series on Italy and its food. I haven't seen much of Tucci's work other than The Devil Wears Prada but after following him for several season on CNN, his voice came through so clearly. He is self-deprecating about his fame, often pointing out his name dropping of chefs and actors so we know that he knows. While the focus is on food and he includes lots of recipes, this is a deeply personal show more memoir with stories of his first wife who died of cancer and then his own two-year bout with a cancerous tumor in his throat that was a surprise to me. He maintains his humor even as he describes the pain and depression, and I am all the more joyful about his wonderful series: he celebrating Italy and life! show less

I've read many biographies, mostly of historical figures long gone. This is my first memoir/autobiography. The structure is what drew me to it: part memoir, part culinary history, part cookbook and a whole lot of humor. The last line of the intro captures the spirit of the book: "The following pages offer a taste of such a memoir. I hope you find them palatable. (More puns to follow.)"

Light-hearted and a bit irreverant, with many promised puns, Tucci chronicles the importance of food to his show more cultural heritage, his relationships and his life. He shares anecdotes from his childhood, recipes and commentary (even in footnotes where he notes that the best bread in Italy is in France.)

"Food was the connective tissue that brought them, again and again, into each other's homes, backyards, front porches, campsites, beaches and hearts." His anecdotes reminded me how important food is to many of us. Making sure we make Mommy's sticky buns and Nan's stuffing at Christmas. Or, sharing the family recipe book on cheap printer paper. Food matters. As he says, "Perhaps the most precious heirlooms are family recipes."

Not only do you learn of his life, but also a bit oh history along the way. Like Cuban-Chinese cuisine in NYC, that historic bitto cheese is the most expensive cheese in the world, or how catering is done on film sets (he brings two of his own nespresso machines to set!).

Tucci closes the book with his battle with oral cancer. The loss of appetite and ability to eat normally for several years gave him a deeper appreciation of how important food is to his life. And it was so heartwarming to learn how Ryan Reynolds, Colin Firth and other famous friends were so supportive. Thankfully, he is cancer free and cooking again. This book is an easy, fun read about an interesting person and, of course, food.

"What a fascinating conundrum of a man is that Stanley Tucci." Indeed he is. show less