There's a real sense of fun to this book, and indeed the Brit authors positively brim with exuberance throughout. After trying out a multitude of careers, the couple left the rat race in 2005, seeking refuge in the Italian countryside. 'The Dolce Vita Diaries' charts Rogers' and Gibb's adventures in the world of olive oil, tracking their progress as they procure an olive grove, harvest the fruits of their labour and eventually build a successful business.
The book's written with humour and vigour, rendering a potentially dry subject as vibrant as the oils they describe. Chapters are concluded with the recipes interwoven into the stories- a lovely touch- cooking them as you read submerges you totally in the authors' experience. Obscure tasting notes are dispensed with in favour of more accessible terminology- here we find, 'What a cacophany of flavours!' from the Moroccan oil, and learn that Californian oil is 'No-one's favourite'!
It's hard to pigeonhole this wonderful book- indeed, why would you want to? Part memoir, part recipe book, even part business plan, 'The Dolce Vita Diaries' is seriously engrossing, with a huge personality. Cathy and Jason neatly coerced me into making the 'Strozaprezzi' pasta, telling me, 'Not only does it have a clever little twist in it that means sauces stick to it in gooey lumps, but best of all, its name means 'priest choker'!' That's the thing with this book- it really does feel like having a chat with your mates... Those ones who exhaust you with their sheer enthusiasm for life.
Strozzapretti
If you're just after a rollicking adventure from a book, 'The Dolce Vita Diaries' will do nicely- but it's so much more. By the final pages, you'll be more knowledgeable about olive oil; longing for Italy; ravenously hungry and sorry to bid goodbye to two such big characters. Perfect summer reading.