The Sicilian Kitchen

Everything is good. The sun is out, the lemon in my palm is intoxicating, my stomach is full of spaghetti and eggplant and everyone I love is living happily within calling distance of each other. If only it would just stay this way.

Born and raised in Brisbane, Michele Di'Bartolo longs for the Sicily she has come to know through her grandmother's evocative stories and the enduring rituals of her kitchen. When Michele takes her first trip to Sicily, she finds herself immersed in the chaotic brilliance of life on the island of her forebears.

She discovers Sicily's stark beauty, unfathomable bureaucracies, mad drivers and an intricate maze of family relationships. She revels in the company of her cousin Gracie, from whom she learns the courting rituals of the Sicilian male, and wonders at the ability of the island's citizens to enjoy life so fully, despite their material privations and the frustrations of trying to make a living in a place that closes down, every day, for three hours after lunch. And she experiences an intoxicating, unsettling attraction to a man with striking brown eyes and a devilmay-care attitude to the business of being a grown-up. But when it's time to go home, Michele is caught between a life of precarious pleasure on one hand and order, opportunity and material comfort on the other.

Beautifully told, The Sicilian Kitchen is a heartfelt memoir that explores the eternal theme of belonging. Interwoven with recipes passed from mother to daughter, it is a special celebration of culture, family values, romantic love and, importantly, the role of food in structuring our days and strengthening the ties that bind.