Ismail Merchant's Florence: Filming and Feasting in Tuscany

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“Florence is a worthy setting for Ismail Merchant, whether filming or feasting. He is the very model of a Renaissance man. . . . When Catherine de Médicis married the King of France, she brought her Florentine cooks with her and introduced Paris to the essentials of Tuscan cuisine: the simple harmony of the best and most fresh of every ingredient. Like Catherine, Ismail opens new worlds to his friends, his guests, and his audiences.” —Dame Maggie Smith

Ismail Merchant’s lively account of the filming of the hugely successful A Room with a View is really a song in praise of the Tuscan table. Through vivid prose and extraordinary photographs, Merchant enables the reader to fully experience Tuscan cuisine—whether dining at Florence’s famous Il Cavallino restaurant or in the stately Villa Maiano, whether enjoying a picnic spread out on a hillside or sampling the fruit and vegetables fresh from the farms that give Tuscan cooking its incomparable quality. To satisfy readers’ inevitable hunger, Merchant provides 70 recipes, from antipasti to desserts, that can be prepared successfully in any kitchen, anywhere.

ISMAIL MERCHANT is a film producer and director, half of the remarkable film partnership of Merchant Ivory. He is also a renowned chef and the author of several books and cookbooks, including Abrams’ Ismail Merchant’s Paris.