12 August: Pellegrino Artusi, accountant by trade, creator of the “Italian” cuisine. Denis and Wilma talk about the genesis of his seminal book L’arte in cucina e la scienza del mangiar bene (The art in the kitchen and the science of eating well), that for the first time collected regional recipes from all over Italy, meant not for restaurants, but for the Italian households. Interestingly, the book contains in a few chapters everything that now fills bookshops’ shelves in terms of health, hygiene and happiness!
26 August: Karen Price and Karen Stade have co-authored the book Pasta, Prayer & Promise – The story of Nelson’s Italian community, 1860-2014. At 450 pages, with an incredible wealth of documents (some de-classified for the occasion), this is the ultimate compilation of the stories of those families, contributing so much to the New Zealand history, and to the alternate fortunes of the relationship between the two Countries. It’s also a visual feast, presenting photos from sepia to full colour. We talk with the authors, on the day of the Christchurch book launch, organized by the Dante Society.
