REVIEWS

Beth Diamond

I had not heard of Stanley Tucci before receiving this book. However, on reading the blurb I discovered he was famous in the world of films. I am afraid I did not enjoy this book. I gave up reading it, which is unusual for me, but I found the style, with recipes every few pages annoying, and as a non red meat eater I disliked the frequent references to it. I suspect a foodie, without my anti red meat bias, might well enjoy the book.

Laine Greenland

Taste was a surprising book for me. I had seen several TV programs with Tucci describing his love for food. The passion for eating and preparing food and the thought into every meal came as the surprise. I'm sure that many of us have fallen in love over dinner, and many of us fallen out of love too! The recipes are useful but his description of the food better. The little stories of his gastronomical journey amusing. His burning of food made him feel like one of us. An enjoyable book way out of my usual genre.

Jenny Spacey

This book really does illustrate Stanley Tucci’s life through his love of food, and the way it allows him to interact with family, old friends and new acquaintances. He explains how cooking delicious meals is a way of carrying on old traditions, forging new ones and honouring the memory of his upbringing. I was fascinated by the recipes whilst acknowledging that I wouldn’t attempt some of them. I would certainly like to experience eating them though. His style is humorous and uplifting and he tells us about difficult, tragic times in a measured way. I am so glad that he is able to enjoy food again after several years of pain and medical intervention. A very uplifting, inspiring book. A joy to read about family lives that revolve around beautifully crafted meals that incorporate joy and togetherness.

Rosemary Fydler

I was excited when this book dropped, unexpectantly, through the letterbox. Initially I enjoyed the descriptions of family life, food and recipes. Sadly this did not last. I got bored by the continuous praise for Italian food, the visits to now defunct restaurants and the joy of eating eye wateringly expensive cheese (when there is so much hardship about at the moment). So, sadly this book was not for me.

Margaret Davies

An interesting and different way to write a biography - a mixture of memories, reminiscences and recipes. Very different to other biographies I have read but very entertaining. I am a baker rather than a cook so not sure if I will be trying any of the recipes but I admit I was wishing I was tasting some of the recipes rather than just reading about them! Stanley has an easy writing style which I enjoyed. Not having watched any of his TV travels I found myself looking them up on iPlayer and enjoying them as much as this book. Chapter 12 is worth waiting for - brings tears to the eyes, both from laughter and… Well, you will find out!

Nicola Cooper

I received this book to review just before leaving on our trip on Viking Star to Iceland. It proved to be the ideal travel book. Although it’s a biography of an actor I actually love, this does not matter at all. It’s a beautifully written story of family, friends and food {plus the odd cocktail}. I loved the direct writing style, almost like chatting with a friend, and the short chapters allowed natural pauses to fit in with holiday activities. I must admit there were times I were I found it difficult not to read ‘just one more chapter! I really enjoyed reading about journeys to different places, some familiar and some not, and I loved the inclusion of recipes and various cocktail making instructions. For, what appears initially a light read, I found myself totally absorbed with the more serious section of the book and could totally relate to the issue of how something which defines you can make you stronger. Thank you Viking for sending me this book to read and review and thank you Stanley - I’ll toast you with an Old Fashioned.

Elizabeth Clough

I really enjoyed reading this book, part autobiography about his life growing up in America, and partly about his love of Italian food with plenty of recipes included. He is engaging and enthusiastic throughout. I had not realised what a prolific career he has had, and I will look out for his film Big Night.

Angela Gallagher

This book is aptly named as it will have you salivating right from the start. In fact the evocative writing means pretty much every sense is engaged. You are pulled in and are right there - whether it’s at the table in his childhood home, at his family celebrations as an adult, or through the agony of his cancer treatment which takes away the thing he realises makes him who he is: the appreciation of food. I’m reminded of Helene Hanff’s wonderful books and, though the subject matter is different, I think it’s because of the passion Hanff and Tucci each feel for what they’re writing about - you can’t help but feel the joy behind every word. I loved this book - it was funny, emotional, heartbreaking and fascinating. If you’re a foodie you’ll love it but even if you’re not you can’t help but be warmed by the tales within it.

Paul Griew

Taste – My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci is the author’s autobiography based on his relationship to food, from early memories of his mother’s cooking to later meals at restaurants and his own culinary endeavours. Unlike the reviews on the covers, I found it pretentious and self-indulgent and includes some quite serious name-dropping, although to be fair the author recognises the latter. It includes many recipes, from his mother, himself and his current wife. Some examples of his self-indulgence include: “because of my mother’s culinary prowess, eating at neighbours’ houses as a kid was always a bit of a struggle. However, my friends were always happy to spend time at our table”; or, discussing the TV cook Julia Child, only one paragraph is about the programme, the rest tell us about how his mother watched television (whilst ironing) or about how he appeared in Julie and Julia alongside Meryl Streep. So, all in all an enjoyable read if you are prepared to forgive the self-absorption, although this may perhaps be the norm for an autobiography. And I’d be delighted to be invited round to his house for dinner.