THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION TO TUSCANY Carla Capalbo 1 873429 32 0 £12.95 384pp 27 maps extensive indexes 229 x 154 mm portrait In this very knowledgeable book, Carla takes us around places in Tuscany that not so many people know. All the flavours of this beautiful region are revealed and made alive Lorenza de' Medici, author of Tuscany the Beautiful Cookbook Don't go to Tuscany without this book. Richard Ehrlich, The Guardian The descriptions of the very best food Tuscany has to offer, from the smallest producers to the grandest restaurants, are addictive reading James Daunt, Eothen This book - short-listed for the 1999 Food Book Award - is a love letter to Tuscany's food a love letter to those who make it - the bakers and cheesemakers, wine producers and salumeri who are as much a part of Italy's heritage as the Duomo in Florence or Botticelli's Venus. Travelling for over two years to every far-flung corner of Tuscany, Carla Capalbo has written an astonishing lyrical encyclopaedia of Tuscany's artisan food traditions. The essence of The Food Lover's Companion to Tuscany is captured in the way she vividly expresses how an early morning outing to a fish market, of all places, can be as memorable an experience as a trip to a frescoed church. The Food Lover's Companion to Tuscany excites the senses at the turning of every page, 'from a piping hot dish came a startling, intense perfume: white truffle shavings were scattered on to sizzling stewed leeks' Besides this appeal to the senses, the book also gives comprehensive and critical listings of markets, food fairs, kitchen shops, bars and bakeries in comprehensive and critical listings. Full descriptions and appreciations of 123 restaurants, trattorias and osterias, 108 wineries, 59 olive oil producers, and 30 cheesemakers are given, together with dozens of artisan producers of cured meats, chocolate, honey, ice cream and pasta. Directions, opening times, telephone numbers and other essential details are given, as well as maps of each province. Both practical and personal, this is the most complete and informative guide of its kind available, and the ideal companion to any holiday in Tuscany Carla Capalbo was born in New York, grew up in London and Paris, and now lives in Italy. She gives food tours and cooking classes. She has written several books, including The Ultimate Italian Cookbook, and is a regular correspondent for the Daily Telegraph.