Taste: My Life Through Food

I wholeheartedly admit that I have a major crush on this sexagenarian. With his charm, humour and bald pate, Stanley Tucci (or The Tuch as I refer to him), has that somethin' somethin'. My husband doesn't understand my crush, but he accepts it. Good man. 

Stanley Tucci is a man of many talents. He's an actor who has been in such films as The Hunger Games, Julie and Julia, Captain America: First Avenger, The Devil Wears Prada and Easy A (my personal fav) to name just a few. He's a humanitarian and a self-proclaimed and avid foodie and it's this love of food that is the basis for this memoir.

No matter where he is - Westchester, New York to England to film sets around the world - Tucci's love of food is clear. With charm and wit, he shares personal anecdotes to show how food has influenced his life and how this appreciation of food connects him to his family and Italian heritage. He also shares his health battles, how his family has handled the pandemic and I loved the touching way he mentions the two loves of his life.

'The Tuch' reveals a bit of food snobbery at times, but all is forgiven because he is charming as he shares touching moments and humourous bits. His name dropping of his celeb friends was thoroughly enjoyable - particularly Meryl and a very famous Canadian (who was a surprising connection - and also one of my crushes). I was delighted to know these two men are such good friends. 

Charming, funny (with a hint of snark), smart and simply marvelous, this memoir with a side of foodie love was a thoroughly enjoyable read/listen. I bought both the hardcover and audiobook (something I rarely do), but a must in this case. I highly recommend the audiobook to listen to Stanley tell his story and the hardcover for the recipes.

My Rating: 5 stars

Author: Stanley Tucci

Genre: Memoir, Food

Type and Source: Personal copies - eAudiobook and Hardcover

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio / Gallery Books

Audiobook Run Time: 6 hours, 50 minutes (unabridged)

Narrator: Stanley Tucci

First Published: October 5, 2021

Opening Line: I grew up in Katonah, New York, a beautiful 

town about sixty miles north of Manhattan. 

Book Description from GoodReads: From award-winning actor and food obsessive Stanley Tucci comes an intimate and charming memoir of life in and out of the kitchen.

Before Stanley Tucci became a household name with The Devil Wears Prada, The Hunger Games, and the perfect Negroni, he grew up in an Italian American family that spent every night around the table. He shared the magic of those meals with us in The Tucci Cookbook and The Tucci Table, and now he takes us beyond the recipes and into the stories behind them.

Taste is a reflection on the intersection of food and life, filled with anecdotes about growing up in Westchester, New York, preparing for and filming the foodie films Big Night and Julie & Julia, falling in love over dinner, and teaming up with his wife to create conversation-starting meals for their children. Each morsel of this gastronomic journey through good times and bad, five-star meals and burnt dishes, is as heartfelt and delicious as the last.

Written with Stanley's signature wry humour and nostalgia, Taste is a heartwarming read that will be irresistible for anyone who knows the power of a home-cooked meal.