Let's Eat Italy!: Everything You Want to Know About Your Favorite Cuisine

by François-Régis Gaudry

“A fantastic read for foodies and a luscious culinary reference.”
— Booklist

From the same team that created Let’s Eat France! comes this celebration of Italian food in the form of an oversized, obsessively complete, visual feast of a book. With a mix of gastronomy, food science, history, cultural references, legend, lore, charts, graphs, photos, and illustrations, every one of the 400 pages in Let’s Eat Italy! is an alluring and amusing journey into Italian food.
 
Readers will find recipes for classic Italian dishes spanning all regions, like pappa al pomodoro, Bolognese, risi e bisi, risotto, focaccia, frittata, and so much more—all accompanied by photos and delightfully entertaining information on the origins and modern uses of the foods. There’s an ode to the panettone, the traditional Christmas sweet delight. A dedication to the magic of basil, Italy’s “royal” herb. A love story between pasta and potatoes that examines the many dishes that marry these two starches in delicious harmony. And, of course, pasta information aplenty; it’s featured in guides like that on the ultimate noodle, spaghetti, which includes all the different forms, the top spaghetti artisans in Italy, and the semolina flour mills and farmers. True Italians speak espresso, so readers will delight in the poster-like graphic that depicts 27 different types of espresso drinks. Tips for the kitchen include cooking beans in a chianti bottle—a trick Tuscan nonnas have been using for ages in the dish known as fagioli al fiasco. Learn how contemporary food trends (like the oh-so-hip orange wine, which Italians have been drinking for nearly 8,000 years) trace their roots to Italy. But the influence of Italian food doesn’t stop at the table—an entire spread looks at the Italian Mafia’s favorite dishes as seen in Hollywood, through the lenses of Scorsese, Leone, and Coppola. Let’s Eat Italy! is a splendid exploration of this beloved cuisine, from pizza to gelato, Milan to Sicily, and from the many kitchens of Italy to your own.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cuisine, Cooking, Italy, Nonfiction, Food, Italian Literature

400 pages, Hardcover

Published November 9, 2021

Reviews

[Rebecca Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

another piece of overstimulating perfection!! can’t recommend this series enough to just be bludgeoned with information. it’s impossibly well delivered and organized and so clearly a work of passion, just like let’s eat france. i’m morally a bit put off by going france > italy > paris in a series, but i’ll probably still do it just because it’s so fun.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is huge. Both physically and in the amount of information that it contains. Very browse-able, there's an interesting tidbit on every page. Good fun!

[Brianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[sarkazmuje · Rating 5 out of 5]

powód nr 1 dlaczego jeżdżę do Włoch co najmniej raz w roku

[Jeffrey Dziwiulski · Rating 5 out of 5]

By the same team that brought out the similar "Letss Eat France!", a big giant book that is probably not really a cookbook but more a food culture book with recipes. Ties in history, geography, and cooking. EXCELLENT graphic design and a bit like surfing the web--you can dip into it at random and read/look around. There is an index to help with navigation (and some discrete cross references).

This book is also akin to those Konemann "Culinaria" cookbooks. The Culinaria "Italy" is better at dealing with regional cooking I think--a bit more detail for obscure regions (such as Marche) but Lets Eat Italy is a more fun to peruse, witty, more focused on food types and styles.

Now I wonder what is next---"Lets Eat German/Austria/Switzerland!"? "Let;s Eat Spain & Portuga!l"? "Lets Eat China!" One can only hope! ;-)

[Judith R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a feast in itself but it will make the reader wish they could hop on a plane to Italy. There are some recipes throughout the book, but what fascinated me were the pages illustrating the amazing variety of regional ingredients and traditions. Who knew there were so many kinds of hazelnut spread or artichokes? Lots of fun history and well indexed. Peruse this huge tome outdoors on a sunny day and pour yourself a Spritz.

[Céline FrenchAlps · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tous les amoureux et les passionnés de l'Italie et de sa cuisine ! Je me suis régalée (virtuellement malheureusement) de tout ce que contient ce pavé gigantesque. De l'Histoire, de la géographie et de la culture mêlées aux traditions de la bonne table avec des recettes proposées. On ne peut avoir qu'une seule envie en lisant ce livre : partir en Italie pour passer à table !

[Ann Shumbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is more of a go to book. I love it. I think it makes a beautiful gift and something that I wanted to add to my cook book collection. It's so pretty I don't want to get it dirty but love that it's everything italian. Lots of great recipes, interesting facts and just a great must add if you love cook books or Italy.

[Giorgio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely accurate in recipes, idioms, habits. The only problem is that you'll need to live in Italy (or even in particular regions) to access the variety of food being catalogued, from cheese to beef breed to seafood.

[Valerie Roussel-Lemay · Rating 4 out of 5]

C’est vraiment un bel objet. Les illustrations et le graphisme sont vraiment intéressantes. Un peu ennuyeux pour des cuisiniers aguerris, par contre parce que ce sont vraiment les BASES.

[Andrzej Nitecki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cudo!

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I immediately sought it for the library when I saw it had come out because I loved Let's Eat France! Now I can't wait to own it. These books are special.

[Jennifer Stouffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this more than 5 stars I would. Incredible amount of detail with fabulous graphic design and good information. Fantastico!

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd call this a picture book for grownups. It covers every possible topic about food in Italy, with information accompanied by helpful pictures, mostly infographics.

I highly recommend it if you are interested in Italian foods and drinks.

[Christiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm having a good time with this one! Kind of like a coffee table cook book, if that's a thing. I made the spaghetti Pomodoro recipe and I'm not mad about it.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

To nie jest książka kucharska, tylko pięknie wydany album, który opowiada jedzeniem o włoskiej kulturze i historii.

[Elisabeth Remy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A marvelous encyclopedia and cookbook about Italian gastronomy, with details about nearly all possible ingredients.

[Niki Ganong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this gorgeous coffee table book as a reference for trip planning a vacay to Italy. It's not just so dang pretty to look at, it's really informative!

[Pierre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un vrai délice

[Sylvie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Très bien fait et intéressant !