Jamie’s Italy. Jamie Oliver. 2010.

Italy has inspired Jamie Oliver throughout his career. His ambition has always been to travel across the country on a quest to capture the very essence of Italian cooking - and to produce the best and simplest Italian cookbook for everybody to enjoy.

Jamie’s Italy is a result of that journey - and it’s a land of plenty. With more than 120 brand-new recipes for everything from risotto to roasts and spaghetti to stews, and structured like a traditional trattoria menu, Jamie’s Italy takes you all over Italy to cook with and learn from the real masters of Italian cuisine: the locals. Far from the standard ‘lemons and olives’ version of Italian cooking, it is a cookbook by the people for the people. From Sicily to Tuscany, it’s about the local fishermen, family bakers and, of course, them’Mamas’, sharing their recipes and the tips that have gone into their cooking for generations. But it’s not only mouth-watering food that Jamie brings back home: it’s also the spirit that makes cooking and eating absolutely central to family life whichever part of Italy you’re in.