A friend from many years ago was a caterer on movie sets. I thought she had an amazingly interesting and glamorous job – she said it was mostly just cooking in shitty and inadequate kitchens! Anyway, I thought of my friend when I read Stanley Tucci’s memoir, Taste, because there’s one chapter on what Tucci ate on movie sets (it was my favourite chapter).

Tucci subtitles the book ‘My Life Through Food’, and he weaves recipes through reminiscences about his childhood –

…in Italian families, nothing is discussed, ruminated on or joked about as much as food (except death, but I’ll save that subject for another book)…

– his early years as an actor (when he supplemented acting with working in restaurants) –

I was also particularly fascinated by how a restaurant’s structure mirrored that of the theatre. The kitchen was ‘backstage’, which, during a lunch or dinner rush, was ts own mad biosphere filled with frantic humans barely controlling flames and blades. Simultaneously, the dining room was ‘onstage’, where some of the same humans, after walking through a swinging door, instantaneously became cool, calm and collected, almost to the point of being benign. I have only ever witnessed this schizophrenic behaviour, and of course exhibited it myself, while performing in the theatre.

– his marriage to Kate (and her death from cancer); the birth of his children; COVID; his marriage to second wife, Felicity; and his own battle with cancer (from which he has recovered). I recalled Susan’s comment about Tucci’s ‘enviable metabolism’ when I mentioned how much I was enjoying his Searching for Italy television series. His memoir offered some insight –

There have been … rather strange beneficial effects from the radiation treatments, neither of which I anticipated. One is an increased metabolism. I already had a very fast metabolism, yet now mine could keep pace with that of my eighteen-year-old self.

Tucci applies a very casual, conversational style which I felt was a little loose in parts. I imagine that his editor wanted to retain Tucci’s voice but the end result was some chapters that were well-structured and focused, and others that meandered.

As mentioned, my favourite was the chapter on the catered food on movie sets (‘…basically, the way it works is, the bigger the budget, the better the food…’). He goes on to describe English breakfasts complete with ‘sausage baps’; disappointing fare on Italian sets (why cater when you can simply go out for lunch?! On the plus side, wine was always available); ‘extraordinary’ German breakfasts; the religiously observed lunch hour on French film sets (tables set to fine-dining standard); and his stand-out, Iceland, where he ate many things new to him, but all exceptionally good.

Tucci has a good sense of humour, and I enjoyed his snarky comments –

When we lived in Florence we never could get used to the unsalted bread, which we found dry and tasteless. I must confess that sometimes I think the best bread in Italy is in France.

I think this is one for Tucci fans – if you are curious, get a taste of his style by watching the fabulous Searching for Italy series.

3/5

This past year I began a relationship with a Negroni and I am happy to say it’s going very well. Here’s how I make one. …
(There are those who consider serving this cocktail ‘straight up’ to be an act of spirituous heresy. But they needn’t get so upset. I never planned on inviting them to my home anyway.)