Book Reviews
Anyone who has spent a Sunday afternoon roaring through Manhattan with a handsome Italian in a gorgeous Maserati, searching for the perfect bresaola—or anyone who would like to—will look indulgently on Capella's well-fashioned fable about the lovesick Bruno's culinary seduction of his friend Tommaso's girl, Laura.
Laura Schillinger - New York Times
In this first novel, Anthony Capella has created an enjoyable though predictable narrative. But predictability is not always bad—reading the book is like going to your favorite Roman trattoria while on vacation. You know ahead of time how the spaghetti carbonara will taste, but you will nevertheless revel in the sensation as each ingredient warms your palate and leaves you satisfied.
Mark Rotella - Washington Post
Evoking the sights, smells and flavors of Italy in sensuous prose, this lively book also features recipes for readers to create (or just dream about) Bruno's food of amore.
People
She had never eaten food like this before. No: she had never eaten before." And that's just the first of 22-year-old Laura Patterson's gustatory epiphanies in Rome, where she has come to study art history. Handsome Tomasso seduces her with succulent baby artichokes and frothy zabagliones, but what the reader knows and Laura doesn't is that Tomasso is a waiter. The creator of the rapturous meals is his best friend, Bruno, who has a big nose, a poet's soul and a mad passion for Laura. Capella's spin on Cyrano is his debut novel, but his sentences are as expert as Bruno's sauces, and he serves up a brilliant meal of soothing predictabilities punctuated by surprises. Secondary characters are fully realized, especially earthy Benedetta, Bruno's truffle country consolation until she urges him to follow his heart back to Laura. The cooking lesson e-mails at the end of the book are like a second glass of grappa, too much of a good thing, but Capella is deservedly the subject of buzz in the food world. This is a foodie treat. Sophisticated gourmets will realize right away that Capella's no poseur (he quotes Marcella Hazan, for starters).
Publishers Weekly
If "chick lit" is a recognized genre, then "foodie lit" should be a delicious offshoot of this predictably enjoyable group. Travel to the eternal city, Rome, with college student Laura Patterson as she embarks on an art history course peppered with the lives and loves of Italian Romeos and chefs. Tommaso's ways with women are legendary, Bruno's talents with food are exquisite, and the inevitable sexual encounters and the proper remorse regarding romantic deceit move this delightful narrative as swiftly as one's passion for Roman cooking. Like an extended family, there is a huge cast of characters and considerable travel between colorful towns and beautiful piazzas. The story is decidedly more mature than Tucker Shaw's Flavor of the Week or Susan Heyboer O'Keefe's Death by Eggplant; this reader was reminded of the films Chocolat and Big Night as the aromas of Rome wafted off the pages. This is an ideal selection for older students going abroad to Italy, or readers who are fond of shopping, cooking and hearing Italian phrases translated for sentimental reasons.
Nancy Zachary - KLIATT
An American studying art in Rome, Laura thinks she is through with Italian men, until her friend persuades her to give bella romance another chance by dating a chef since chefs are good with their hands. At first, Tomasso thinks that Laura is just another beautiful American who will quickly succumb to his sexy wiles, but he discovers that she is holding out for a man who can cook. After telling Laura he is a chef at one of Rome's most famous restaurants, Tomasso-who is actually only a waiter-begs his friend Bruno to use his culinary gifts to help him woo Laura. Bruno, who is shy everywhere but the kitchen, agrees, only to discover that he is helping his friend seduce the woman he loves. With its vividly detailed setting, wonderfully amusing characters, and beautifully described native dishes, Capella's earthy and seductive debut novel is as irresistible as good Italian cooking. Seasoned with the right blend of romance and humor, it invites readers to savor each delicious word. Highly recommended for all public libraries. —John Charles, Scottsdale P.L., AZ
Library Journal
A Cyrano de Bergerac first novel about a shy Roman chef who helps one of his waiters seduce an American coed with the perfect meal. At 22, Laura Patterson is a bit more sophisticated and serious than the typical junior-year-abroader, and at the Anglo-American University in Rome (whose students tend to hang out in Irish bars and complain about Italian pizza), she stands out. For one thing, Laura actually has Italian friends, who have dutifully taught her not to order cappuccino in the afternoon and never to wear sneakers in public. So for Tomasso Masi, who has made a career of seducing tourists, Laura is a rare prize: a blond American who walks into his neighborhood bar and can speak (and swear) in Roman slang. Tomasso is a waiter at Templi, a restaurant so rarefied that you need to make reservations three months in advance, but he tells Laura that he's a chef in order to lure her to his apartment for dinner and whatever else might follow. Fortunately for Tomasso, his roommate Bruno is a chef-at Templi-and the meal he concocts (and Tomasso passes off as his own) removes any qualms Laura may have had about spending the night. Tomasso is very happy, but the problem is that Laura has fallen in love as much with Bruno's cooking as with Tomasso himself. So for several months Bruno goes along with the charade, secretly preparing meals and slipping out just before Laura arrives. Why such magnanimity? Mainly because Bruno (who has never had a girlfriend in his life) has secretly fallen in love with Laura himself. Will he ever let on? Cyrano, you remember, very nearly took the secret to his grave—but he wasn't an Italian. A nice romp through the back alleys of the Eternal City, all in a lighthearted tone more farce than tragedy.
Kirkus Reviews