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Amarcord: Marcella Remembers
The food publishing event of the season: Beloved teacher and bestselling cookbook author Marcella Hazan tells how a young girl raised in Emilia- Romagna became America’s godmother of Italian cooking.
Widely credited with introducing proper Italian food to the English-speaking world, Marcella Hazan is as authentic as they come. Raised in Cesenatico, a quiet fishing town on the northern Adriatic Sea, she’d eventually have her own cooking schools in New York, Bologna, and Venice. There she would teach students from around the world to appreciate—and produce—the food that native Italians eat. She’d write bestselling and award-winning cookbooks, collect invitations to cook at top restaurants, and have thousands of loyal students and readers—some so devoted they’d name their daughters Marcella. Her fans will be as surprised and delighted by how this all came to be as Marcella herself has been.
Marcella begins with her early childhood in Alexandria, Egypt, where she broke her arm. After nearly losing the arm to poor medical treatment, she was taken back to her father’s native Italy for surgery. There the family would remain. Her teenage years coincided with World War II, and the family relocated temporarily to Lake Garda— not anticipating that it would be one of the war’s greatest targets. After years of privation and bombings, Marcella was fulfilling her ambition to become a doctor and professor of science when she met Victor, the love of her life. They married and moved to New York City. Marcella knew not a word of English or—what’s more surprising—a single recipe. She began to attempt to re-create the flavors of her homeland. She took a Chinese cooking class in the early ’60s with women who asked her to teach them Italian cooking, and she began to give them lessons. Soon after, Craig Claiborne invited himself to lunch, and the rest is history.
Amarcord means “I remember” in Marcella’s native Romagnolo dialect. In these pages Marcella, now eighty-four, looks back on the adventures of a life lived for pleasure and a love of teaching. Throughout, she entertains the reader with stories of the humorous, sometimes bizarre twists and turns that brought her love, fame, and a chance to change the way we eat forever.
Widely credited with introducing proper Italian food to the English-speaking world, Marcella Hazan is as authentic as they come. Raised in Cesenatico, a quiet fishing town on the northern Adriatic Sea, she’d eventually have her own cooking schools in New York, Bologna, and Venice. There she would teach students from around the world to appreciate—and produce—the food that native Italians eat. She’d write bestselling and award-winning cookbooks, collect invitations to cook at top restaurants, and have thousands of loyal students and readers—some so devoted they’d name their daughters Marcella. Her fans will be as surprised and delighted by how this all came to be as Marcella herself has been.
Marcella begins with her early childhood in Alexandria, Egypt, where she broke her arm. After nearly losing the arm to poor medical treatment, she was taken back to her father’s native Italy for surgery. There the family would remain. Her teenage years coincided with World War II, and the family relocated temporarily to Lake Garda— not anticipating that it would be one of the war’s greatest targets. After years of privation and bombings, Marcella was fulfilling her ambition to become a doctor and professor of science when she met Victor, the love of her life. They married and moved to New York City. Marcella knew not a word of English or—what’s more surprising—a single recipe. She began to attempt to re-create the flavors of her homeland. She took a Chinese cooking class in the early ’60s with women who asked her to teach them Italian cooking, and she began to give them lessons. Soon after, Craig Claiborne invited himself to lunch, and the rest is history.
Amarcord means “I remember” in Marcella’s native Romagnolo dialect. In these pages Marcella, now eighty-four, looks back on the adventures of a life lived for pleasure and a love of teaching. Throughout, she entertains the reader with stories of the humorous, sometimes bizarre twists and turns that brought her love, fame, and a chance to change the way we eat forever.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 30, 2008
31 people are currently reading
331 people want to read
About the author
Marcella Hazan
42 books101 followersBorn in 1924 in Italy, she later moved in New York where she founded a cooking school specialized in traditional Italian cooking. She published her first cooking book, The Classic Italian Cook Book, in 1973.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
January 21, 2010
The first section of this book was very interesting. I enjoyed reading about Marcella's journey from Egypt to Milan and reading about her time at Lake Garda during World War II. She has some very interesting stories to share, especially the one about the skeleton.
The last 2/3 of the book involved a lot of self serving name dropping and that was considerably less enjoyable. The book became a slog to read. The low point was when she devoted an entire chapter to a child-like criticism of famed food editor Judith Jones.
The last 2/3 of the book involved a lot of self serving name dropping and that was considerably less enjoyable. The book became a slog to read. The low point was when she devoted an entire chapter to a child-like criticism of famed food editor Judith Jones.
February 6, 2016
Marcella Hazan's journey from Cesenatico on the Adriatic coast of Italy via Alexandria in Egypt to New York is fascinating to read about. Most surprising was her confession that when, newly married, she arrived in America, she "had never cooked anything, save for the mush I made for our pig during the war...." (p. 72) Her husband Victor "pulled out his old copy of Ada Boni," and as Hazan leafed through it, she was "awakened by sensations from another time and other places. I saw, I smelled, I tasted dishes that, until recently, had been commonplace in my life."
Cooking as speaking: it's a good metaphor to describe Hazan's particular talent as a cook, and also the effect of her cookbooks, which enable one to cook Italian food like a native speaker. (My favourite: Marcella Cucina.)
As other reviewers have noted, the early chapters of Amarcord: Marcella Remembers are the most interesting; in some of the later chapters, the sound of setting the record straight is clearly audible. But of course, that's part of what memoirs are about: this is how it was for me. I'm certainly on Hazan's side and was happy enough to read to the end.
The last chapter, about leaving Venice, saying goodbye to her hometown of Cesenatico, and returning to America to live in Florida (Florida?) is a bit sad--but Hazan went on to write one final cookbook, Marcella Says...: Italian Cooking Wisdom from the Legendary Teacher's Master Classes, with 120 of Her Irresistible New Recipes, which is partly about how to cook Italian food very far from home.
I think that anyone who has enjoyed cooking from Hazan's books will also enjoy reading this account of how they came into being and what became of their authors (let's not forget husband and translator Victor Hazan!) thereafter.
My taste memories were being released, and attached to them, mysteriously, was an intuitive understanding of how to produce those tastes. Cooking came to me as though it had been there all along, waiting to be expressed; it came as words come to a child when it is time for her to speak. (p. 73)
Cooking as speaking: it's a good metaphor to describe Hazan's particular talent as a cook, and also the effect of her cookbooks, which enable one to cook Italian food like a native speaker. (My favourite: Marcella Cucina.)
As other reviewers have noted, the early chapters of Amarcord: Marcella Remembers are the most interesting; in some of the later chapters, the sound of setting the record straight is clearly audible. But of course, that's part of what memoirs are about: this is how it was for me. I'm certainly on Hazan's side and was happy enough to read to the end.
The last chapter, about leaving Venice, saying goodbye to her hometown of Cesenatico, and returning to America to live in Florida (Florida?) is a bit sad--but Hazan went on to write one final cookbook, Marcella Says...: Italian Cooking Wisdom from the Legendary Teacher's Master Classes, with 120 of Her Irresistible New Recipes, which is partly about how to cook Italian food very far from home.
I think that anyone who has enjoyed cooking from Hazan's books will also enjoy reading this account of how they came into being and what became of their authors (let's not forget husband and translator Victor Hazan!) thereafter.
October 10, 2013
I adored this memoir by talented, opinionated, entrepreneurial, tenacious Signora Hazan. I was fascinated to read about her family history (and so also some history of Italy), her travels with husband and their various homes in Italy, and her interests, which were not limited to Italian cooking, naturally.
Her enthusiasm for meals as memorable as they are simple and her insistence on teaching others to cook good, unpretentious Italian food are both inspiring. I suspect that her frequent squabbles with publishers and collaborators reveal a personality perhaps more difficult than she would care to admit, but that commitment to quality control and unwavering personal principles is what made her such a superstar and so incredibly influential. I adore her and her approach to cooking!
My enjoyment of the book was only tinged by sadness at having read it after her death. How I would have loved to have shared a meal with her.
Her enthusiasm for meals as memorable as they are simple and her insistence on teaching others to cook good, unpretentious Italian food are both inspiring. I suspect that her frequent squabbles with publishers and collaborators reveal a personality perhaps more difficult than she would care to admit, but that commitment to quality control and unwavering personal principles is what made her such a superstar and so incredibly influential. I adore her and her approach to cooking!
My enjoyment of the book was only tinged by sadness at having read it after her death. How I would have loved to have shared a meal with her.
November 30, 2009
Average. Too bad Ms. Hazen didn't have a talented grandnephew to write this as did Julia Child in her fantastic memoir, My Life in France. The beginning of the book is interesting as it is filled with memories of life in Italy during WWII, moving to New York as a nonEnglish speaker, and suchlike. However, once her career becomes food oriented the pace and interest level slows way down. I was especially put off by the way she justified her final break with Knopf by entering her book that compiled old recipes into an awards program designed to honor new books over the publisher's protests. She seemed to think that the fact that her cookbook won was justification enough when all it proved was that her celebrity made others overlook what the publisher very properly recognized: it was an old cookbook in new format.
October 17, 2011
Honestly, I really enjoyed this book, but I love cooking and have been cooking from her cookbooks since the 1980's. That said, I agree with the other reviewers that liked the first half better than the second half, and agree that this could have been so much better. She writes a good cookbook, she would have done well to enlist the aid of a ghost writer to write her memoirs. It was very interesting reading about the advent of destination cooking courses, which are quite common now but when Marcella began teaching it was a fairly new concept. For my taste there was a bit too much name dropping re who attended her classes over the years. And she writes of many instances where relationships don't work out over the long term, both friendships and professional, and it comes through that she may not be the easiest person to work with or get along with.
I am all fired up though to go visit Italy - this happened to me after reading Under the Tuscan Sun too - and all fired up to go marketing and then spend some quality time in the kitchen. So on that front this book succeeds very well. If you're a foodie you'll probably enjoy reading this book.
I am all fired up though to go visit Italy - this happened to me after reading Under the Tuscan Sun too - and all fired up to go marketing and then spend some quality time in the kitchen. So on that front this book succeeds very well. If you're a foodie you'll probably enjoy reading this book.
December 26, 2008
As the author says, this is more a book of memories and remembrance than an autobiography. A thoroughly enjoyable read of her travels from Italy to the US, of the woman many of us look to teach us classic Italian cuisine.
April 12, 2014
Fascinating memoir of the life of Marcella Hazan. I especially enjoyed the stories of pre war Italy. She had a long and eventful life. If you've used her cookbooks you'll love this.
July 23, 2018
I confess to not knowing about Marcella prior to receiving this book, last Christmas.
Reading about a person’s path to success is something I enjoy, particularly the turning points that launch the person to the next level. Marcella’s career perhaps began through her love of Chinese food, and a Chinese cooking class in which she was a student. When their teacher left on sabbatical, the students wanted more. So they asked Marcella for lessons in Italian cooking; that was one of Marcella’s turning points.
Marcella writes about her experiences with humor. Having grown up in an Italian family, and written my own book about my immigrant relatives’ mistakes with English, I can appreciate Marcella’s struggles. In one seafood lesson, she quickly learned to substitute another word for “skewer” after instructing her students to “screw” their shrimp.
Marcella’s son, Giuliano, is the subject of my favorite anecdote. Entering school in New York, with Italian as his first language, Marcella was concerned how he’d adjust. Lunch turned out to be the problem, not language. Sending a kid to school in the 1960s with “normal, homemade food” such as veal stew, tortelloni, and tasty soups, while other kids eat bologna sandwiches, is indeed a way to be seen as the weird kid. (Homemade cannellini-bean soup? Oh, how I envied him!)
The book is very well written, even with the exception, in the last third of the book, of many peoples’ names presented in excess, for my taste (this felt like name dropping). The chosen material is readable, enjoyable, and has a purpose. Never does a chapter linger, or lose momentum. I will purchase Marcella’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.
And so, cheers to the students from that Chinese cooking class, who long ago asked Marcella for lessons!
Reading about a person’s path to success is something I enjoy, particularly the turning points that launch the person to the next level. Marcella’s career perhaps began through her love of Chinese food, and a Chinese cooking class in which she was a student. When their teacher left on sabbatical, the students wanted more. So they asked Marcella for lessons in Italian cooking; that was one of Marcella’s turning points.
Marcella writes about her experiences with humor. Having grown up in an Italian family, and written my own book about my immigrant relatives’ mistakes with English, I can appreciate Marcella’s struggles. In one seafood lesson, she quickly learned to substitute another word for “skewer” after instructing her students to “screw” their shrimp.
Marcella’s son, Giuliano, is the subject of my favorite anecdote. Entering school in New York, with Italian as his first language, Marcella was concerned how he’d adjust. Lunch turned out to be the problem, not language. Sending a kid to school in the 1960s with “normal, homemade food” such as veal stew, tortelloni, and tasty soups, while other kids eat bologna sandwiches, is indeed a way to be seen as the weird kid. (Homemade cannellini-bean soup? Oh, how I envied him!)
The book is very well written, even with the exception, in the last third of the book, of many peoples’ names presented in excess, for my taste (this felt like name dropping). The chosen material is readable, enjoyable, and has a purpose. Never does a chapter linger, or lose momentum. I will purchase Marcella’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.
And so, cheers to the students from that Chinese cooking class, who long ago asked Marcella for lessons!
February 3, 2009
I really enjoyed this book! I just came back from a trip to Tuscany and her Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking has become my bible, much to the happiness of my family. I wondered why with so many reprints it had not been updated to a more contemporary look, now I know. I loved reading about how she became a cook for her family in New York. I live in Virginia and even today with the new gourmet grocery stores, like Wegman's, it is hard to find all the right ingredients. I remember a trip to Florida in 1969, my mother was Italian and we went to visit my dad's brother and wife, who after a year without my mom's cooking were craving just simple spaghetti and meatballs. It took us all day to make the trip to all the stores necessary to find the herbs, canned tomatoes (no fresh in December!), pasta, and ground beef, veal and pork. Forget the bread, that still is impossible anywhere!
One reviewer mentioned her struggles with publishers. Yes, she did have problems with her publishers and she spoke about it. But, the books were her creations and she trusted that the publishers would have the same passions for their work as she had. I found it refreshing and interesting to see how things really go, and that failures can be overcome.
Bless you for Balsamic Vinegar!!!
One reviewer mentioned her struggles with publishers. Yes, she did have problems with her publishers and she spoke about it. But, the books were her creations and she trusted that the publishers would have the same passions for their work as she had. I found it refreshing and interesting to see how things really go, and that failures can be overcome.
Bless you for Balsamic Vinegar!!!
August 14, 2012
A housemate of mine was getting her PhD in science. "What do you want to do when you finish school?" we would ask. "Get married, have babies, and bake cakes." "And you need a PhD for that?"
I know we aren't to judge a book by the cover, but I'm failing to see how she left this science career and taught America how to cook Italian food. I see that she got some good degrees and didn't really make it in Science for a variety of reasons. Reading the book it seems that other than a handful of people in the beginning, she taught the wealthy how to cook Italian. Overall she comes across as fairly disagreeable. The chapter on her "graces" - her hired live in help - painted Marcella Hazan in an unfortunate light.
The book would benefit greatly by some editing in general. Overall, it's not a book on food and a passion of the ingredients; it's just another memoir.
I know we aren't to judge a book by the cover, but I'm failing to see how she left this science career and taught America how to cook Italian food. I see that she got some good degrees and didn't really make it in Science for a variety of reasons. Reading the book it seems that other than a handful of people in the beginning, she taught the wealthy how to cook Italian. Overall she comes across as fairly disagreeable. The chapter on her "graces" - her hired live in help - painted Marcella Hazan in an unfortunate light.
The book would benefit greatly by some editing in general. Overall, it's not a book on food and a passion of the ingredients; it's just another memoir.
July 1, 2021
I am new to the world of Italian cooking, new to Marcella. The beginning was lovely. Later there was too much snarkiness.
February 19, 2009
I didn't quite finish this book before returning it to the library, but I doubt I'll go back to finish it, so I'm marking it "read," by which I mean as read as it's going to be.
My dad loves his Marcella Hazan cookbooks; in a family as food obsessed as mine, she's almost the Italian matriarch we Dutch-British Rowleys never actually had. So it is perhaps fitting that this book reads like a conversation with your sort of self-involved grandma -- it's not that she didn't lead an interesting life, it's just that her telling of it is kind of bland.
I really liked her essay in Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant, and maybe I would have liked this better if I didn't have to read it all at once to get it back to the library.
My dad loves his Marcella Hazan cookbooks; in a family as food obsessed as mine, she's almost the Italian matriarch we Dutch-British Rowleys never actually had. So it is perhaps fitting that this book reads like a conversation with your sort of self-involved grandma -- it's not that she didn't lead an interesting life, it's just that her telling of it is kind of bland.
I really liked her essay in Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant, and maybe I would have liked this better if I didn't have to read it all at once to get it back to the library.
February 6, 2009
I wish someone else would read this book. I got bogged down about 2/3 of the way through, because, although I think her life, epsecially the earlier years, was fascinating, I started to be irritated by the detailed memories she holds about people who did her wrong in one way or another. There was too much of a complaining tone for me. I wonder what the gossip is about her in the foodie world. Anyway, won't someone else read this book and tell me if I am being too hard on Marcella? I will try to finish it before it has to go back to the library so I can have an intelligent conversation.
I promise, you'll find the world war two years in Italy really interesting. And you may have more compassion than me.
I promise, you'll find the world war two years in Italy really interesting. And you may have more compassion than me.
October 6, 2010
As a worshipper of all things Italian and a frequent user of Hazan's cookbooks, I found this memoir inviting, with its glimpses into Italian food and culture. The ending, however, was disappointingly abrupt. Hazan's move from Venice to Florida was occasioned by necessity (Venice is apparently hard to get around for those who are less mobile) but even so, I would have appreciated a half chapter about the adjustment to life in Florida and whether there are emotional compensations for the loss of all the beloved family heirlooms she describes at the end of the book. I'm sorry if the answer is no, but as a reader I was invested in Hazan's story and I still wanted to know how it all turned out.
January 12, 2015
A light and fun read. Loved learning about Ms Hazan's life story -- where she grow up, food memories, family stories, falling in love. The second half of the book got a little monotonous.
The second half of the book has story after story about her teaching in New York, Venice, Bologna, various entrepreneurial pursuits of the Hazans, and one-off teaching assignments in South Africa and Hong Kong. You learn about every domicile the Hazans lived in. Lots of detail about her business including stories about key relationships, for example, with editor Judith Jones.
I see Lidia Bastianich and Mario Batali walking in Marcella Hazan's footsteps after reading this book.
Now I want to see Vincent Price movies. Yes, he attended her class!
The second half of the book has story after story about her teaching in New York, Venice, Bologna, various entrepreneurial pursuits of the Hazans, and one-off teaching assignments in South Africa and Hong Kong. You learn about every domicile the Hazans lived in. Lots of detail about her business including stories about key relationships, for example, with editor Judith Jones.
I see Lidia Bastianich and Mario Batali walking in Marcella Hazan's footsteps after reading this book.
Now I want to see Vincent Price movies. Yes, he attended her class!
December 30, 2008
This was an interesting quick read, but was not compelling literature.
The most interesting issues were hinted at and not really discussed:
a) How much of the cooking passion and school was from Marcella and how much was her husband, Victor?
b) What really was the relationship between Victor and Marcella?
c) What happened with their relationships with their parents and their son?
d) What really was going on with various friendships and relationships in the cooking and publishing world?
If you want to read this book, I would suggest also reading this NYT article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/10/din...
The most interesting issues were hinted at and not really discussed:
a) How much of the cooking passion and school was from Marcella and how much was her husband, Victor?
b) What really was the relationship between Victor and Marcella?
c) What happened with their relationships with their parents and their son?
d) What really was going on with various friendships and relationships in the cooking and publishing world?
If you want to read this book, I would suggest also reading this NYT article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/10/din...
February 2, 2009
A trip to Italy and Marcella Hazan changed my life. She is to Italian cooking what Julie Child was to French, known as "The Godmother." Amarcord is strangely unsatisfying, perhaps because she's not speaking in her native tongue. I've come away with no sense of how awful it must have been to grow up in war-torn Italy, how wonderful to find a soulmate like Victor Hazan and a son who has followed her footsteps, how fabulous to be a globetrotting celebrity and how heartbreaking to have to move from Venice to Florida (!) or even how the heck she learned to cook. Too much snarkiness about business disappointments and not enough magic.
January 24, 2009
Marcella Hazan is considered the Julia Child of Italian cooking having introduced it in her cookbooks in the late 70s. She is less well known than other celebrity chefs and the book gives great insight into her humble beginnings. Its also a good story about how an immigrant who did not know the language, and lived most of her adult life in Italy, could still make a place for herself in America. She is rather "confident" about her contributions to the American cooking and food scene and I have no way of knowing if anyone disputes her assertions. All in all though an interesting food biography.
July 24, 2015
Charming ... JUST as I expected. Not a lot of insight into this or that; I guess one can read between the lines and if one is a following-fan of Marcella who knows something about her personality, etc (vs her wonderful COOKING philosophy) those references in the book probably meant more.
For me, it was enough to follow her through her travels and to read again and again about the glories of my dear Italy and its food and produce vs our very washed out (STILL in 2015) produce... I had a good time reading it; how could I NOT love someone who ended her days in Italy after 10 years in Venice for goodness sake!!
For me, it was enough to follow her through her travels and to read again and again about the glories of my dear Italy and its food and produce vs our very washed out (STILL in 2015) produce... I had a good time reading it; how could I NOT love someone who ended her days in Italy after 10 years in Venice for goodness sake!!
August 26, 2009
A very personal memoir of interest to anyone who lived through the 80s and 90s when good food was serious for the first time and we were all learning to cook well and explore new cuisine at home. She should have titled her books..."more than tomato sauce" because we were all so naive and she introduced a new vision of Italian food you could not get in a restaurant. Marcella's cookbooks saved marriages. The behind the scenes view answers some questions I had - most mostly the "entertainment tonight" variety of questions. If you love her cookbooks, read and remember.
April 2, 2011
I am a foodie so I thought I would love this book. Even though a big fan, I felt it would have benefited from more editing. Marcella Hazan's early life is very interesting as are the war years and her first years in America. The first cooking class reminded me of my own experience with 5 other women traveling to someone's house for instruction and lunch very on target, very genuine. Once she gets successful, it was harder to keep going. I did finish it and realize I never want to be a chef.
January 2, 2014
I adored this book. The interesting part is, I'd never heard of Marcella Hazan's name before discovering her memoirs. The first half was written fantastically and while the second-half did include some pretty heavy name-dropping, the narrative still flowed interestingly enough to hold my attention until the end. Her portraits of Italian life and cooking are something I'd frame on my wall and her descriptions are amazing. I would highly recommend this book for anyone seeking a combination of historical appreciation and/or good cooking.
March 29, 2017
I love Marcella's cookbooks because of the warm but opinionated tone of her writing. The beginning of her memoir was compelling but then it became a slog through the ups and downs of every day life and not much detail about the culinary knowledge that made her such a genius and so successful.
Also, who else hated the chapter about Judith Jones? Seemed like petty disagreements blown out of proportion. Maybe I feel protective of Jones, but why not just say you parted ways and keep it at that? Your fans truly do not care about your publishing drama.
Also, who else hated the chapter about Judith Jones? Seemed like petty disagreements blown out of proportion. Maybe I feel protective of Jones, but why not just say you parted ways and keep it at that? Your fans truly do not care about your publishing drama.
November 30, 2008
I wasn't sure Marcella's life was going to be interesting enough to read about but Amarcord quite well written and engaging. There were a few stories that I'd love to hear the other side of - maybe just knowing Marcella's reputation leads me to think that some of these stores are a little slanted.
How i would have LOVED to take a class with her. The queen of Italian cooking. I wonder if she would have scolded me too.
How i would have LOVED to take a class with her. The queen of Italian cooking. I wonder if she would have scolded me too.
November 3, 2009
Nice read - no recipes, but lots on food. Fun that she "pays back" some slights in her life, and even takes time to complain of her grumpy servant of 12 years! Boy, the moves she made to keep her husband happy. the first 60-70 pp on her earlier Italian life are the best part, as is the part on her later life in Venice. A nice read, but she is not all "sweetness and light" - which makes it even better. And not afraid to "toot her own horn" either!
August 19, 2008
I had a chance to review this not-yet-published autobiography, which will be of interest to anyone that enjoys reading about personal takes on artichokes and fennel. I liked her reading of her memories of Roma and Milano back in the day, which affirm that not much has changed or ever changes in Rome (a comfort to me).
September 30, 2008
I don't particularly want to own this book but I am interested in Marcella's bio. She and her husband live in the same condo complex on Longboat Key, FL as my in-laws. They trade restaurant recommendations. She tells them where to dine in NYC (she favors Chinese restaurants) and they tell her which local restaurants they have enjoyed.
December 28, 2008
I am glad I read this book, but it wasn't the best written. I enjoyed Julia Child's book much more. That book was co-written with her nephew, who is a writer. Hazan's book had a lot of going back and forth and could've done with some help from a knowledgeable writer. The story of how she got her start and her time in Italy during WWII was interesting.
February 25, 2009
Well, I'm a bit of a foodie, so I enjoyed reading about Ms. Hazan's life. It isn't terribly well written, so it wouldn't be the first book I recommend to a friend. Marcella does have exceptionally detailed memories, and provides great descriptions of parts of the world I've never seen. She's also met all the influential people in the culinary world...neat to hear about. A fun, quick read.
April 14, 2009
You can't get into this book expecting great literature. It is more in the style of listening while your grandmother recalls her past experiences....sometimes out of chronological order but interesting none the less. I think Hazan's description of Italian food and cooking style is very appealing to any who enjoy cooking and are adventurous in their culinary pursuits.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews