The New Cucina Italiana: What to Eat, What to Cook, and Who to Know in Italian Cuisine Today

Recipes from the kitchens and restaurants of Italy's new culinary masters, who combine an innate sixth sense for quintessentially Italian flavor with a contemporary approach, defining an exciting new gastronomy.

Everybody loves Italian food. It is among the most talked about, written about, and globally popular. But as travelers have sought out culinary experiences in off-the-beaten-path destinations elsewhere in the world, in Italy even consummate foodies eat the same postcard versions of traditional dishes, occasionally making forays into a handful of fine-dining favorites. Yet by far the country's most interesting cuisine is to be found outside of well-trodden establishments, and it's as varied and full of personality as it is delicious.

This generation of chefs has come a long way from their nonna's kitchen: they approach tradition with a respectful yet emancipated perspective; they rethink the formats of the Italian restaurant; they are rediscovering foraging and farming; they introduce serious cocktail programs. This book covers thirty-two chefs and restaurateurs who are reinterpreting the "greatest hits" of Italian dining: from trattorias to fine dining, from aperitivo to pizzerias. Laura Lazzaroni takes her readers on a visual north-to-south tour of this new cucina italiana, stopping at restaurants, inns, farms, and pop-ups all across the country, showing in stories and recipes the multitude of approaches, influences, and ingredients that compose this movement, which is paving the way for the country's gastronomic rebirth.

Laura Lazzaroni is an award-winning journalist and the author of several previous culinary books in Italian. She was the first editor in chief of Food & Wine Italia, and has also worked as the features editor of L'Uomo Vogue and in New York for the weekly magazine of La Repubblica. Lazzaroni is also the co-author with 3-Michelin-starred chef Niko Romito of 10 Lezioni di Cucina (Giunti, 2015) and author of Altri Grani Altri Pani (Guido Tommasi Editore, 2017), and happily maintains a second line of work as bread consultant.