Audrey at Home
Memories of my Mother’s Kitchen
By Luca Dotti with Luigi Spinola
Harper Design/Harper Collins Publishers
In this beautifully written book, Luca Dotti presents an intimate biography of his beloved mother, the woman we knew as the famed actress Audrey Hepburn. We all remember this elegant lady – but Luca did not admire her for her work, her clothing, or her celebrity, he admired his beloved mother for their close, warm, loving at home relationship. And where better than to focus a book of memories, than in the family kitchen.
Luca offers a “kitchen table biography” sharing intimate recollections, photos, thoughts and tastes of what it meant to grow up with Audrey, the values she imparted to him, their family life, and their global travels. He presents a selection of recipes –which he feels portrays her life and personality: “the pasta she brought along in her suitcase when she traveled, the ice cream she devoured on afternoons spent with best friends, and everything edible she could bring forth from her beloved garden.”
We learn that Audrey suffered loss and starvation as a child during WWII, and she spent her life intent to restore what she had lost…home, family and security. Her family was part of the resistance, and the Nazi occupiers rationed food to punish the people. Audrey recalled eating nettles, boiled grass and tulips and was almost in a complete state of infection and starvation when the liberators arrived and the war ended. At one point she was no longer able to stand. and suffered from edema and anemia.
For us, the most moving part of this story was Audrey’s words about The Diary of Anne Frank. When she herself read the book she said, ”That child had written a complete account of what I had experienced and felt”. The difference was that she remained inside, and I could be outside. When reading the diary, Audrey found a reference to the execution of her uncle Otto, one of the first civilians murdered by the Germans. She recalled, “When I would go to the train station, there were cattle cars packed with Jewish families, old people, children. We did not yet know that they were traveling to their deaths. People said they were going to the “countryside”. It was very difficult to understand, for I was a child. All the nightmares of my life are mixed in with those images”.
So dear readers, this is not just a book of recipes, though it has some outstanding ones; nor simply a book about a glamorous, iconic movie star. It is a book filled with history, humor, sadness, terror, love, laughter, and treasured heirloom family foods. Join Audrey, her family and her close friends at their kitchen table.
The author, Audrey Hepburn’s son Luca Dotti, lives in Rome with his wife and 3 children.
Try these recipes from Audrey at Home:
Spaghetti Al Pomodoro
Chocolate Cake with Whipped Cream
Cookbook Giveaway - 3 readers will be randomly chosen to win
the cookbook Audrey at Home
Giveaway limited to continental U.S. only. If not living in continental U.S, you can still enter and, if selected, "gift" your prize to a continental U.S. friend or relative. The winner will be notified by email. Once notified, the winner must respond within 48 hours or the prize will be awarded to the runner-up.
This giveaway ended at 11:59PM, August 11, 2015. The lucky winners are: Etti Shapiro, Hollywood, FL; Judith King, Pompano, FL; and Didi Schwab, Cleveland Heights, OH.
If you just can't wait to see if you are the winner, you can order online here: Audrey at Home: Memories of My Mother's Kitchen
Enter to Win with Rafflecopter