Why Join?

  • Add New Books

  • Write a Review

  • Backpack Reading Lists

  • Newsletter Updates

Join Now

The filming of “Cookucina” in Sarnano, Italy

3rd November 2017

Cookucina: A Recipe For Disaster by Stephen Phelps, set in Sarnano, Le Marche, Italy.

“Not-So-Famous 5 conquer the (cookery) world…..”

Cookucina

Stephen Phelps has done his stint in the TV industry and it is time to try something new. Like living in Le Marche, Italy, for example. He and his partner, Tam, head out to this beautiful but lesser known area of the country. But it is an area of earthquakes and he shares how the reverberations from the 2016 devastating event in Amatrice could very much be felt in Sarnano – a beautiful small town constructed largely of pink, cotto tiles (and dating right back to the 13th century) –  where he was living. A place where allotments have delightfully been created in an orto (footprint) of former houses. L’Aquila, destroyed in an earthquake several years ago, is only 55 miles away.

Sarnano is one of those hilltop villages, of which there are many dotted around Italy, beautiful, quaint and each so very unique. This particular town can boast a Museum of Hammers and no less than seven churches in the centro storico alone! He settles on a project to film and then chart in this book a cooking series, but it is so much more than a cooking series! As the project progresses, the author becomes clear that “Sarnano was definitely going to be a “character” in our films“. And indeed it seemed to.

Sarnano, Le Marche © the author

The memoir of the filming process opens, each chapter labelled as a course of a lengthy and typical Italian meal. It is over a meal with Lia and Sergio, owners of the Piatto Ricco, that plans to make a TV series starring Lia and Stephen’s partner Tam come to fruition. However, located in the middle of nowhere, it is certainly going to be a challenge to source all the people and talent needed to make a series of programmes, both in the kitchen and choosing local ingredients. Notwithstanding that Lia can hardly speak English (but cooks like a demon) and Tam fails to make anything other than red or green gloop and can speak little Italian. The odds, surely, are stacked against this project? Indeed, a veritable recipe for disaster.

Tam and Lia Photo © the author

Six half hour episodes were agreed, and as their plans evolved, the series began to encompass regional Italian cooking, with a quick blast of Italian language primer, history lesson, oh, and whilst they are at it, a travelogue.  Overall, quite a pot pourri of elements.

You will discover how the project panned out and hear about wonderful little details of the locality, for example, how lentils are a specialty in Castelluccio and Norcia; a bit of history about cobbles (sanpietrini); and that you should add the porchetta from Monterotti to your list of things to try. Even a side trip to Picciolo di Rame to sample some of the delicious food is a recommendation. A visit to the ancient Urbs Salvia? Not a problem, it’s just a 20 minute drive along the SS 77 of this fabulous area of Italy..

The narrative is punctuated with recipes, none overly convoluted because in this area of Italy it is the simplicity and mix of flavours that is valued. There is something for everyone, from Soft Chocolate Cake and Ice cream, to Grandma Giudi’s Cream Pudding, and from Sibillini Pasta (named after the Sibilllini Mountains) to Crostini with Ciabuscolo and to Stracchino (but the secret ingredient that “makes” the dish is just that, secret!); and finally the most complex dish in the book, Vincisgrassi….

Sibillini Pasta © the author

This memoir is as much about life settling in to a foreign country and culture, as it is about making a series of episodes for TV. As the author says: I have come to realise that one of the joys of living in another country is the constant reminders of what you DON’T know about the language. Wise thoughts indeed!

It is a light, chatty – often self deprecating – and informative take on this part of Italy that will have the readers lusting after their next Italian trip. The filming process structures the narrative and is the raison d’être for the book, but in fact is perhaps less interesting than the observations of life and food. Extracts from the shooting scripts and images of personal notes and pictures of schedules are included, maybe overly so. The writing is like a stream of consciousness, giving the prose the feel of a series blogposts brought together, and a tightening of the narrative would give the book a more cohesive focus. The author butterflies over the filming, adds in a bit of history, shares the glorious scenery and comes back to the vagaries of making programmes to be televised; and it is his enthusiasm that comes through the words and keeps the reader engaged.

Tina for the TripFiction Team 

And finally do access this extremely interesting article via The New York Times titled “Who will save these dying Italian towns?’ Near empty villages try to hold on to an endangered way of life and some of the country’s most important artisanal traditions…..

You can follow Stephen on Twitter and of course buy his book via the TripFiction website

Do come and join team TripFiction on Social Media:

Twitter (@TripFiction), Facebook (@TripFiction.Literarywanderlust), YouTube (TripFiction #Literarywanderlust), Instagram (@TripFiction) and Pinterest (@TripFiction)

Subscribe to future blog posts

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments

  1. User: Stephen Phelps

    Posted on: 04/11/2017 at 2:39 pm

    Hi Tina/Tripfiction, thank you so much for your review. I’m glad you found it enjoyable. Some useful and constructive comments in there too. Following on from the NY Times article, you might be interested in this, which i wrote for Aljazeera. http://bit.ly/AJitalyblog Stephen

    Comment

    1 Comment

    • User: tripfiction

      Posted on: 04/11/2017 at 3:42 pm

      Really enjoyed exploring Le Marche with you, thank you! And that is one interesting article, thank you so much for sharing it with us!

      Comment