Amarcord - by Marcella Hazan (Paperback)

About the Book

Bestselling cookbook author 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, Hazan looks back on the adventures of her life.

Book Synopsis

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's eventually have her own cooking schools in New York, Bologna, and Venice and 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.

When Marcella met the love of her life, Victor, they married and moved to New York City. She knew not a word of English or--what's more surprising--a single recipe. She longed for the flavors of her homeland and attempted to re-create them. One day 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 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 twists and turns that brought her love, fame and a chance to change the way we eat forever.

Review Quotes

?Every home needs at least one Marcella Hazan Italian cookbook. Her new memoir deserves to become as classic as her recipes.?
?"O Magazine"

?What is striking about this memoir is the quiet way that preparing food, something Hazan almost took for granted in her first 30 years, became the thing she had to offer the world.?
?"Los Angeles Times"

?Hazan's memoir is a terrific history of the expansive, postwar period when Americans were still learning the difference between linguine and Lambrusco, and an engaging chronicle of professional perseverance, chance and culinary destiny.?
?"Publishers Weekly"





"Every home needs at least one Marcella Hazan Italian cookbook. Her new memoir deserves to become as classic as her recipes."
-"O Magazine"

"What is striking about this memoir is the quiet way that preparing food, something Hazan almost took for granted in her first 30 years, became the thing she had to offer the world."
-"Los Angeles Times"

"Hazan's memoir is a terrific history of the expansive, postwar period when Americans were still learning the difference between linguine and Lambrusco, and an engaging chronicle of professional perseverance, chance and culinary destiny."
-"Publishers Weekly"



aThis story is a real inspiration to me, how a small town girl became the empress of Italian cooking.a
--Isaac Mizrahi
aMarcella Hazan's memoir is as delicious as her food. Full of affection, friendships and deep connections to her roots, she ladles a grand minestrone into our bowls.a
--Frances Mayes, author of "Under the Tuscan Sun"
aReading this evocative memoir will perceptibly elevate oneas senses and make one appreciate Marcella Hazanas fascinating journeyafrom girlhood in Italy to womanhood in America, from relative obscurity to her certain fame in the food world.a
--Pamela Fiori, "Town & Country"
aMarcella Hazan has done for Italian cooking in the United States what Julia Child did for French cuisine and James Beard for traditional American cooking. I think of her as the Johnny Appleseed of real Italian cooking.a
--Burt Wolf, Television Journalist
aA fantastic book, by a splendid lady whose classic Italian cooking shaped, more than any other person, this British Chef cooking British food.a
--Fergus Henderson, Director & Chef, St. John Bar and Restaurant, London
"This succulent memoir makes you realize just how much the making of Marcella has to do with the making of dinner every night in America."
--Dorothy Kalins, Founding Editor of "Saveur"
aMarcella Hazan is an icon in the American food world, and her one-of-a-kind experience makes her own story not only compelling but truly marvelous.a
--Patricia Wells, author of "The Paris Cookbook" and "The Provence Cookbook"
aMarcella Hazan's memoir is a gripping, elegantly written tale of a life full of surprises, exotic backgrounds, captivating people and generous helpings ofgood things to eat and drink -- plus the touching, authentically 20th century romance of the marriage of a small-town Italian Catholic to a Sephardic Jew.a
--Paul Levy, award-winning journalist and author of "The Official Foodie Handbook"

aMarcella Hazan's memoir is as delicious as her food. Full of affection, friendships and deep connections to her roots, she ladles a grand minestrone into our bowls.a
--Frances Mayes, author of "Under the Tuscan Sun"
aReading this evocative memoir will perceptibly elevate oneas senses and make one appreciate Marcella Hazanas fascinating journeyafrom girlhood in Italy to womanhood in America, from relative obscurity to her certain fame in the food world.a
--Pamela Fiori, "Town & Country"
aMarcella Hazan has done for Italian cooking in the United States what Julia Child did for French cuisine and James Beard for traditional American cooking. I think of her as the Johnny Appleseed of real Italian cooking.a
--Burt Wolf, Television Journalist
aA fantastic book, by a splendid lady whose classic Italian cooking shaped, more than any other person, this British Chef cooking British food.a
--Fergus Henderson, Director & Chef, St. John Bar and Restaurant, London
"This succulent memoir makes you realize just how much the making of Marcella has to do with the making of dinner every night in America."
--Dorothy Kalins, Founding Editor of "Saveur"
aMarcella Hazan is an icon in the American food world, and her one-of-a-kind experience makes her own story not only compelling but truly marvelous.a
--Patricia Wells, author of "The Paris Cookbook" and "The Provence Cookbook"
aMarcella Hazan's memoir is a gripping, elegantly written tale of a life full of surprises, exotic backgrounds, captivating people and generous helpings of good things to eat and drink -- plus the touching, authentically 20th century romance of the marriage of a small-town ItalianCatholic to a Sephardic Jew.a
--Paul Levy, award-winning journalist and author of "The Official Foodie Handbook"

aReading this evocative memoir will perceptibly elevate oneas senses and make one appreciate Marcella Hazanas fascinating journeyafrom girlhood in Italy to womanhood in America, from relative obscurity to her certain fame in the food world.a
aPamela Fiori, "Town & Country"
aMarcella Hazan has done for Italian cooking in the United States what Julia Child did for French cuisine and James Beard for traditional American cooking. I think of her as the Johnny Appleseed of real Italian cooking.a
aBurt Wolf, Television Journalist
aA fantastic book, by a splendid lady whose classic Italian cooking shaped, more than any other person, this British Chef cooking British food.a
aFergus Henderson, Director & Chef, St. John Bar and Restaurant, London
"This succulent memoir makes you realize just how much the making of Marcella has to do with the making of dinner every night in America."
aDorothy Kalins
aMarcella Hazan is an icon in the American food world, and her one-of-a-kind experience makes her own story not only compelling but truly marvelous.a
aPatricia Wells

About the Author

Marcella Hazan is the author of six classic cookbooks published over the past thirty-five years. She is the recipient of two Lifetime Achievement Awards (from the James Beard Foundation in 2000 and IACP in 2004) and a knighthood from her own country. She lives in Longboat Key, Florida, with her husband, Victor, her lifelong collaborator and writing partner, himself an authority on Italian food and wine.