Dear Alfonso : An Italian Feast of Love and Laughter

Following the successful publication of Dear Francesca and Dear Olivia , bestselling author, Mary Contini picks up the thread of her family story from 1934 in Pozzuoli, Naples, following the commercial success of the family business - Edinburgh's acclaimed Valvona & Crolla - and the Dolce Vita of parent's generation. With her inimitable style she shares stories of exuberant family relationships, mouth-watering food and hilarious laughter, painting a vivid picture of life in wartime Italy and Scotland and the decades immediately after. Includes over 100 recipes from Mary's personal collection “A heart-warming celebration of the Italian family and its cuisine” from the bestselling author of Valvona & Crolla: A Year at an Italian Table (Alexander McCall Smith). Following the successful publication of Dear Francesca and Dear Olivia , bestselling author Mary Contini picks up the thread of her family story from 1934 in Pozzuoli, Naples, following the commercial success of the family business—Edinburgh’s acclaimed delicatessen, Valvona & Crolla—and the Dolce Vita of her parent’s generation. With her inimitable style she shares stories of exuberant family relationships, mouthwatering food and hilarious laughter, painting a vivid picture of life in wartime Italy and Scotland and the decades immediately after. “Food is everywhere in the book, and it will be a stoic reader who doesn’t fall upon the recipes at the back from Carlo’s mother’s kitchen.” — The Scotsman “Food is never far from Mary Contini’s heart and storytelling . . . may be the perfect holiday read—upbeat, sunny, and easy reading . . . as an evocation of a time long past it’s deftly written, tender, and true.” — The Wee Review Praise for Dear Francesca and Dear Olivia “Touching and inspiring . . . The book bursts with flavor.” — Financial Times “A remarkable book . . . a pleasure to read as well as to cook from.” — Homes & Gardens “Uplifts and inspires . . . Contini has augmented the family legends with historical research and imagination.” — Sunday Times “An enchanting, delectable read.” — Sainsbury’s Magazine “Don’t miss it: there won’t be a better cookbook published this decade.” —Elisabeth Luard, author of The Old World Kitchen 'This is how I was born. At 7.30 a.m. at the Istituto Annunziata in Napoli on 1 May 1925...' So begins a manuscript, handwritten by Carlo Contini, which lay forgotten and unread for years. The scrawling script unfolds an incredible tale of poverty, adventure and survival which Carlo had not shared with his family during his life time, but left as a moving and extraordinary legacy for them. Inspired by this document, Carlo's daughter-in-law, Mary Contini, relates in her inimitable style the story of Carlo's life from wartime Pozzuoli, near Naples, and Genoa, and eventually to Edinburgh, where he arrived in 1952 on a three-month visa to learn English. Here his life was to change forever when he met Olivia Crolla and married into her family business, the delicatessen Valvona & Crolla. His experiences and background were a key part of the development of that fledgling business. Heart-warming, moving and filled with laughter and love, Dear Alfonso is a wonderful celebration of food, family and friendship. "Following the successful publication of Dear Francesca and Dear Olivia, bestselling author, Mary Contini picks up the thread of her family story from 1934 in Pozzuoli, Naples, following the commercial success of the family business, Edinburgh's acclaimed Valvona, Crolla, and the Dolce Vita of parent's generation. With her inimitable style she shares stories of exuberant family relationships, mouth-watering food and hilarious laughter, painting a vivid picture of life in wartime Italy and Scotland and the decades immediately after."-- Provided by publisher Following the successful publication of __Dear Francesca__ and __Dear Olivia__, bestselling author, Mary Contini picks up the thread of her family story from 1934 in Pozzuoli, Naples, following the commercial success of the family business - Edinburgh's acclaimed Valvona & Crolla - and the Dolce Vita of parent's generation. With her inimitable style she shares stories of exuberant family relationships, mouth-watering food and hilarious laughter, painting a vivid picture of life in wartime Italy and Scotland and the decades immediately after. The third in Mary Contini's acclaimed series of books about her Scottish-Italian family, this is a heart-warming celebration of life and living, illustrated with archive family images and packed with anecdote, humour and history