Italy, the Romagnoli Way: A Culinary Journey

by G. Franco Romagnoli, Gwen Romagnoli

Rome native G. Franco Romagnoli first introduced American television viewers to Italian cooking back in the 1960s, when he starred with his late wife Margaret on two television series for PBS-TV, including “The Romagnolis’ Table.” The first cooking show of its kind led the couple to national fame, during which they wrote nine cookbooks, toured the world giving cooking demonstrations, and opened several restaurants in the Boston area. Romagnoli continued to teach cooking and to write articles for The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Gourmet magazine, Food & Wine, and The Atlantic Monthly. He remarried in 1998 and now he and his wife Gwen present an unforgettable tour of Italy’s lesser known, secret trout from the mountain streams of Val d’Aosta; the cannelloni and wild venison of Tuscany; risotto with frogs’ legs from Lake Orta; couscous with capers from Pantelleria; truffles from Alba, as well as cultural history such as the tuna hunting ritual mattanza on the Egadi islands and olive oil pressing in Puglia. Sharing the geography, history, and art of each region as well as the character of its people, the Romagnolis bring little-known Italy to life—and to our tables—with full-color photographs to please travelers, food lovers and armchair dreamers.

349 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2008

About the author

G. Franco Romagnoli, an accomplished chef and restaurateur, was born, raised, and educated in Rome, and moved to the United States in 1955. From 1974 to 1976, he and his late wife, Margaret, wrote and starred in The Romagnolis' Table, a television series on Italian cooking. Their cookbook of the same name and its sequel, The New Romagnolis' Table, have sold nearly 400,000 copies, and for ten years they owned three four-star restaurants in the Boston area. Romagnoli is the author of numerous cookbooks, a frequent contributor of articles on food and travel to newspapers and magazines, and a culinary arts professor at Boston University. Widowed in 1995, he remarried in 1998 to Gwen, a lawyer and writer.

Reviews

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book from both a food (a regional food guide) and travel (off the beaten track) perspective. They were very detailed and gave wonderful descriptions of places I'd never heard of. Feeling like I'd like my own copy of this one!