Why Italians Love to Talk About Food [Hardcover]

Elena Kostioukovitch (Author), Anne Milano Appel (Translator), Umberto Eco (Foreword), Carol Field (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 2009

Italians love to talk about food. The aroma of a simmering ragú, the bouquet of a local wine, the remembrance of a past meal: Italians discuss these details as naturally as we talk about politics or sports, and often with the same flared tempers. In Why Italians Love to Talk About Food, Elena Kostioukovitch explores the phenomenon that first struck her as a newcomer to Italy: the Italian “culinary code,” or way of talking about food. Along the way, she captures the fierce local pride that gives Italian cuisine its remarkable diversity. To come to know Italian food is to discover the differences of taste, language, and attitude that separate a Sicilian from a Piedmontese or a Venetian from a Sardinian. Try tasting Piedmontese bagna cauda, then a Lombard cassoela, then lamb ala Romana: each is part of a unique culinary tradition.

In this learned, charming, and entertaining narrative, Kostioukovitch takes us on a journey through one of the world’s richest and most adored food cultures. Organized according to region and colorfully designed with illustrations, maps, menus, and glossaries, Why Italians Love to Talk About Food will allow any reader to become as versed in the ways of Italian cooking as the most seasoned of chefs. Food lovers, history buffs, and gourmands alike will savor this exceptional celebration of Italy’s culinary gifts.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Kostioukovitch, Umberto Eco's Russian translator, seems an unlikely source for a volume that feels like an instant Italian food and food history classic, but she's lived in Italy for 20 years and brings a nonnative's eye and taste to a fairly comprehensive gastronomical project. Structured as an imaginary journey from region to region, north to south, the book opens with a chapter on Friuli Venezia Giulia and proceeds down the peninsula from one region to the next. Each chapter takes a more or less similar approach, leisurely discussing the respective region in a variety of terms from history to geography and culture; sooner, as with the chapter on Puglia, or later, as with Lazio/Rome, food becomes the paramount topic. Though the book is absolutely not about wine, the author deftly touches on matters like the history of Campari and Frascati. Though there are no recipes, there are helpful sidebars that list dishes, products and beverages typical of each region, and in between are chapters on subjects pertinent to Italy's food and identity. Some, such as olive oil and pasta, are to be expected, while others are organized around topics like pilgrims, joy or larger themes like the impact of the Americas or totalitarianism; all are full of the sort of well-researched literary arcana and cross-cultural connections that enrich the entire book. (Oct.)
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About the Author

Elena Kostioukovitch was born in Kiev in 1958, studied in Russia, and moved to Italy in 1988. She is an essayist, translator, and literary agent. Her 1988 translation of Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose was a literary sensation in Russia and led to a longtime collaboration with Eco. Since 1988, she has been the editor of the Russian series for Bompiani/RCS Publishers, and, since 1996, of a series from Edizioni Frassinelli. She isthe recipient of numerous prizes, including the Welcome Prize (2006), given by the Russian National Association of Restaurateurs. In 2006 Kostioukovitch published Perche agli Italiani piaci parlare del cibo (Why Italians Love to Talk About Food). A bestseller in Italy and Russia, the book received the Bancarella della Cucina award and the Chiavari Literary Award in 2007. Kostioukovitch lives with her husband and two children in Milan.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; First Edition edition (October 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374289948
• ISBN-13: 978-0374289942
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #711,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An off-beat take on the Italian cookbook and Italian culture, November 28, 2009

By 

Michael A. Duvernois (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Why Italians Love to Talk About Food (Hardcover)

Kostioukovitch is Umberto Eco's Russian language translator, and has lived in Italy for the past twenty years. This book is about half pensive reflection on topics of (presumably common Italian) conversation such as totalitarianism, "Joy," pilgrims, and America, and half discussions of the foods and wines of Italy as she takes an imaginary trip around the country. A lot of food is described, quite lovingly, but there aren't really any recipes. It's an odd book, a Russian writing about Italian food and food traditions for Italian readers and then the book is translated into English and brought to the States.

I'm predicting wildly mixed reviews. It's a cookbook in the sense that MFK Fisher's books are cookbooks. It's a travelogue in the sense that Paul Theroux's books are. It's a fun, literate look at Italian food and conversations. But no recipes, and with her Russian background there's a suspicion of inauthenticity around the whole project.

In 2006 Kostioukovitch published this work in Italian as "Perche agli Italiani piaci parlare del cibo." Since then it's been a bestseller in both Russia and Italy and the winner of both culinary and literary prizes in Italy.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Published in English for the first time, December 11, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why Italians Love to Talk About Food (Hardcover)

WHY ITALIANS LOVE TO TALK ABOUT FOOD is published in English for the first time and provides a fine food and culinary survey of Italy's major regions. From how popular dishes emerged to specialty tastes, eating habits, and even the Church's influence on Roman foods, this is an outstanding survey of Italian regional food developments, and is a top pick for libraries who have Italian recipe collections but want to achieve cultural depth and insight.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars why Italians love to talk about food, February 11, 2010

By 

Dame- inseine (Normandie, France) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Why Italians Love to Talk About Food (Hardcover)

This was a gift which was very well received. A Really interesting book just right for keen cooks or anyone interested in food and /or Italy.