Becca Reviews: The Food of Love by Antony Capella

After reading Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto I have been asking everyone for recommendations of books that involve food; the characters cook, love, and describe food in great detail, that was my brief. I was recommended and lent The Food of Love by Antony Capella and it did not disappoint. First, this edition was hardback with red-edged pages so we were already on for a win! Now when I said 'in great detail', Capella heard me. We follow American, Laura, on her first trip to Rome who meets charming Tommaso, a waiter, and sweet Bruno, a chef - or is it the other way around? As a retelling of the classic Cyrano story of one man pretending to be another with this idea he can hide his self perceived flaws, things get a little confusing. We find ourselves in a fun, sexy, confusing love triangle of sorts with two characters lusting after one another, one developing feelings, and third looking in from the outside.

The plot becomes repetitive quite quickly, a few of the one liners are a little 'eye-rolly', and some of the characters' big ideas and solutions to things certainly reminded me they were in fact just characters and not real people, as NO ONE would come up with their crazy ideas. Some of the phrases used about people and treatment of people did feel a bit yuck to me and were not warranted to further the plot.

I loved the travels through Italy and around other neighbouring countries' borders, particularly how the food changed so vastly with the change of location, from city to city and even village to village. I felt like I was really exploring Rome, or enjoying my picturesque life in the Italian countryside.

No spoilers, but I will say the romantic match/matches that I wanted to see did not happen. Overall, if you're here for a plot driven traditional Romance with believable characters maybe this isn't for you but if you want to read about beautiful food (including recipes at the end) plus enjoy quite a few steamy scenes then definitely give it a go!

Read: 19/07/2024

Published: 19/05/2005

ISBN: 978-0751535693

Price: £9.19 (GBP)