Sydney-based, Australian author, food and travel writer, Sally Hammond, shares her world ... and her table
Lucio’s Ligurian Kitchen,
Lucio’s Ligurian Kitchen, Lucio Galletto & David Dale, photography by Paul Green, Allen & Unwin, 2008, www.allenandunwin.com Hardcover, richly illustrated, 330 pages.
One of the loveliest books to hit the stores this year, Lucio’s Ligurian Kitchen needs just one extra thing – a clear plastic protector, because although it is striking enough as a beautiful coffee table book, it begs to be used in the kitchen. The colour close-ups are so seductive, the recipes so clear and (let’s say it, apparently easy) that few could resist clearing the benches and cooking up a truly Ligurian storm.
No one is better placed to share the recipes from his home province of Italy. ‘Liguria is another country,” says Chef Lucio Galletto. “They do things differently there, especially when it comes to food.”
He is well qualified to comment – Lucio’s eponymous restaurant has been a Sydney institution for 27 years and is one of Australia’s most awarded restaurants – and the 180 recipes will carry you deliciously to the sunny Riviera di Levante from which Lucio’s culinary journey began.
(If you loved Lucio Galletto’s book, now meet the man and tour the Lunigiana region with this legendary restaurateur. Soffritto – A Delicious Ligurian Memoir, by writer David Dale, explores the regions which are the source of the country’s finest culinary traditions – Parma for its parmesan and prosciutto, Modena’s balsamic vinegar and ravioli and pesto from the Italian Riviera.
Carol Crennan, founder of Kirribilli Books and boutique travel agency Aureol Tours, was so inspired by meeting Lucio when she launched the book, that she decided to create the tour to give others the opportunity to enjoy his convivial company while meeting the rest of his clan in his homeland, accompanied by her and David.
The trip is scheduled from 3rd to 13th May 2009, with prices starting from $9,850 per person double share, and includes all transport by private bus with dedicated driver, accommodation and meals with selected wines. (Price excludes airfares ex-Australia and subject to currency fluctuation).
Lucio’s Ligurian Kitchen, Lucio Galletto & David Dale, photography by Paul Green, Allen & Unwin, 2008, www.allenandunwin.com Hardcover, richly illustrated, 330 pages. 
