Pellegrino Artusi is the original icon of Italian cookery, whose legendary 1891 book Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well defined its national cuisine and is still a bestseller today. He was also a passionate gastronome, renowned host and brilliant raconteur, who filled his books with tasty recipes and rumbustious anecdotes. From an unfortunate incident regarding Minestrone in Livorno and a proud defence of the humble meat loaf, to digressions on the unusual history of ice-cream, the side-effects of cabbage and the Florentines' weak constitutions, these writings brim with gossip, good cheer and an inexhaustible zest for life.