Customer Reviews

Food of Love

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This first novel by Anthony Capella is a fresh and sassy romp of a love story. Very Italian, very gourmet, very funny, very sexy, it's a perfectly delightful summer read, a mini holiday in Italia. Witty, satirical in places, sad in other places, but ultimately satisfying, Capella has captured personalities with style and precision. It reminded me of nothing so much as a Shakespearean comedy, not so much in terms of literary value, but with respect to its bawdiness, its charm and its humor. Delicioso and molto buffo! Bravo to the author - can't wait to read his next offering.

Bruno is not just an Italian cook, who can prepare dishes from typical recipes, he is a chef who gathers ingredients and creates his own masterpieces of flavors. However, he is not confident in other areas of his life, such as love. When his roommate and friend, Tommaso, asks for his help to seduce an American tourist by secretely preparing wonderful meals for her, Bruno doesn't see the harm in agreeing to let Tommaso take the credit. Little does he know that the American woman, Laura, is the same one he has been watching in the local markets. Bruno creates foods that show his feelings, but Laura believes that Tommaso is the chef. What is she really falling for? The food that Bruno passionately prepares or Tommaso?

It is a joy for any reader who loves food to read about the dishes that Bruno creates. This was a yummy book because of the delicacies and because of the love story. The author, Anthony Capella, really knows his Italian food! I highly recommend it! It is a great new addition to the food and fiction category.

She put down the spoon, amazed. It was all gone. She had eaten it without being aware of eating, her mind in a reverie.

"Did you like it?"

She looked up. Somehow she wasn't surprised. "What was it?" she asked.

"It doesn't have a name," Bruno said. "It's just... it's just the food of love." [Page 255]

This romantic comedy, mainly set in Rome, is an enjoyable tale of two Italian men who romance an American student with food. Although a very different story, a part of the theme is reminiscent of "Cyrano de Bergerac."

Reading THE FOOD OF LOVE will leave you dreaming about a visit to Italy, a fine Italian meal, perhaps preparing a meal of your own, and the sentiments of romance.

I enjoyed every single page of the story. From the moment I picked up the book, if I wasn't chuckling, I had a smile on my face.

The vivid description of characters, neighborhood, and locales reminded me of my time in Italy as study-abroad student. Each character was engaging and authentic - from the protagonists to the secondary characters.

I loved the restaurant/kitchen scenes; the descriptions of Bruno shopping and cooking; and the scenes of the small Italian town where he found some solace.

I got a kick out of the Italian sayings and their translations: Parla comme t'ha fatto mammeta. Translation: Speak as your mother showed you - i.e., Cut the [bull]. [Page 36]. Applied in appropriate segments, they were funny and added to the make up of the characters that used them. I could envision Tomasso and Bruno talking like that.

Along with a happy ending, the story finishes with a few simple recipes. Normally, I don't cook, but I was inspired to try making some of the dishes. I'm happy to write that my cooking endeavors were a success.

Cleverly written, THE FOOD OF LOVE is a recommended read.

Fafa Demasio

For any kind of foodie or to anyone who delights in Italian cuisine, this book is a must. Tommaso is a handsome, very Italian looking young man who attracts girls like flies to honey, but who especially appreciates the charms of blonde, non-Italian females. He works as a waiter at one of Rome's most up market restuarants and shares an apartment with his old friend, Bruno, a rather plain looking man who happens to be a brilliant and inspired chef. Laura is an American art history student, in Rome on a scholarship, determined to follow the advice of her Italian girlfriend to find herself a boyfriend who is a chef, as they're supposed to be "good with their hands". When Laura and Tommaso meet, he introduces himself as a chef and a Cyrano de Bergerac situation occurs with Bruno cooking incredibly wonderful, sensual meals for Laura, for Tommaso to pass off as his own work. It's an engagingly light read, full of descriptions of mouth watering Italian dishes, overlaid with love and laughter, perhaps not for those readers who aren't at all interested in enjoying good food...and there are such people...but for those who enjoy the use of all of their senses, a sheer delight!

What a fun book! A treasure for anyone who loves Italian cooking - Real Roman Cooking - with flair and imagination that takes you beyond a great spaghetti sauce. Capella's descriptions of the meals make your mouth water and inspire adventure with herbs, meats, and tantalizing desserts. His characters are spicy and entertaining. This would be a great movie.

(Diane Kinman is the author of "Franca's Story: Survival in World War II Italy")

I had just finished reading 'The Food of Love' by Anthony Capella since I had nothing to do, but read. Mind you, reading is one of my favorite pastimes.

I had recently bought a series of books. The Food of Love was just one of the books I just picked up so I can get that 'three for the price of two' deal at Waterstones in London (British's equivalent of Barnes&Noble). I wasn't really interested, but it was one of the more interesting options I had. Well, I'm glad I made the right choice! I started reading it last night and I haven't put it down since.

If you love food and a little romance, which I am both fond of, it's an excellent book to read. Mr. Capella was remarkably thorough in his description of the rich and textured Italian dishes that the words assails you with a sense of smell and taste that leaves you hungry for more. This book took me by surprise and I'm sure you would not be disappointed.

A clichéd storyline based on the classic Cyrano de Bergerac, this book reads like a rookie novel written by someone who has a knowledge and passion for Italian culture and cuisine, but little experience in developing a story. I can understand Bruno and his passion for cooking, but have no clue as to his passion for Laura. It seems to be primarily based on her being a blonde American. How exotic. Her character is so underdeveloped- we know she's studying art history, and she enjoys Bruno's cooking with a passion. That's about it. And Tomasso, he's just the cliché for any over-sexed Mediterranean male who encounters foreign females.

It's a light and entertaining read if you can get beyond all of the reasons you should put it down and walk away. That being said, I will, however, check out this author's more recent novels. He does seem to have a way with technical details, hopefully his storytelling has caught up.

My best friend, Joyce, bought me a copy of this book and sent it to me to read. Her note said she couldn't stop thinking about me and my love of cooking, especially Italian food. We are both of Italian decent & grew up together in a mostly Italian neighborhoood as children; and still friends today. This book hit home. It was so entertaining, I couldn't wait to get home from work at night just to read more. Loved the little Italian phrases throughout ... I continuously laughed. I just might have to read it again one day! Thank you Anthony Cappella and Joyce Sciarra Levin ..... Ciao, Paula

I read this last week on a long-haul flight - perfect diversion on a noisy, crowded plane with indifferent plastic airline food!

This is a take on the famous Cyrano story where an inarticulate man in love speaks to the love of his life through the only means at his disposal: in this case cooking rather than poetry.

Bruno loves Laura who loves Tommaso who really could not give a damn about anyone except himself. Put them all into the kitchen of a Michelin-starred restaurant, throw in a few comic extras (the college teacher with neuroses about food, the barrista determined to brew the best cup of coffee in the universe, "quaint" Mafioso, etc), add in a diversion in the rural depths of Le Marche and you have a very jolly read.

If you like food, then you can smell the cooking and taste the flavours as they can only be experienced in Italy. You can walk the back streets, visit the markets and learn about the great Roman love of traditional food.

My only criticism is that Laura is perhaps a bit over-drawn: she is too obviously a character created by a man rather than a woman and reminded me a little too much of the much admired Nigella Lawson.

I agree with the reviewer who enjoyed the little asides of very rude Italian slang - a guide on what not to say when in Rome!

I will most certainly be looking for other books by this most welcome new author.

This is a fabulous novel.
It's about two young Italians who fall in love with the same American student in Rome. The American's a fox, knows it, and would normally be unattainable, but for the fact that she's a fool for good food. So her handsome but shallow Italian admirer convinces his best friend, a shy and slightly morose chef, to dazzle the woman with some exquisite cooking, for which the callow one takes credit.
This the shy chef does, with remarkable results, since he also falls in love with the American woman (gazing from afar), and his suddenly-inspired cooking evokes the full range of emotions that she awakens in his heart.
This segment also includes some wonderful discussions of classic Roman cuisine.
So...that's the set-up, and the rest of the book does not disappoint.
Unfortunately the book starts slowly, with some awkward writing. But if you hang in through the first twenty pages the writing suddenly turns crisp, the pace quickens, the plot takes some delightful and unanticipated turns; and you find yourself at a banquet, savoring a remarkable meal that's about the awakening and refinement of the only appetite that matters.
It's tragic that a book this good is already out of print.