“I would say to people, for many years now: I just want to cook. To learn more about cooking — it’s how I want to spend my time, really. But of course, I can’t do that. I have to make a living. And how I make my living is acting. It’s not that I don’t love acting: I love it. What I hate is the waiting. Either waiting for a job to come in, or then, when you’re doing the job, you’re just waiting around on set, a lot.”
My guest on Food with Mark Bittman this week is Stanley Tucci, who is objectively a big movie star, known for hits like The Devil Wears Prada, Big Night, and Julie & Julia. But lately, he’s perhaps even better known for his Emmy-winning food series, Searching for Italy. Building on this popularity—people went absolutely nuts for the show and Tucci is a great champion of good food—the adored actor now has a memoir. Taste: My Life Through Food is not just that, but a love letter to his family, in particular, his mom—who, he told me, he still calls for cooking advice. Tucci is as lovable as you’d expect, and I hope I get a chance to eat with him sometime soon.
The recipes featured in the episode—both Tucci’s, from his book—are here (A Negroni—Up) and here (Spaghetti with Lentils).
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