Overview

Tessa Kiros’ latest offering, Venezia, will no doubt have turned up in many food lovers’ Christmas stockings. From the gilt-edged pages, to the stunning photographs of Venice, to the ornate food styling, it is a truly beautiful book, enhanced by Tessa’s romantic prose.

Marketed as “Tessa’s diary jottings on the life & food of Venezia”, one can’t help but wonder, why Venice? Apart from a brief mention of her “half Venetian sister-in-law”, Kiros doesn’t seem to have a personal connection with the city, nor does it seem that she has spent an extended period of time there – all the pictures seem to be from the same, distinctly wintry period. A strength of her previous books was the impressive authenticity of her international recipes – from Finnish meatballs to South African babka – no doubt testament to Kiros’ famously global upbringing. So whilst I wouldn’t count her recipes as authentically Venetian, her status as a veteran traveller makes her an excellent guide for us outsiders to Venice.

The recipes, unsurprisingly, have a strong seafood focus. Sardines, squid, fish and eel all feature strongly. Venezia contains all the classics you’d expect – bellini, polenta, risotto, tiramisu – as well as some more unusual entries. The monkfish and bavette lasagne and braised beef with amarone wine spring to mind.

At first, the recipes appear discouragingly complicated, only used for grandiose dinner parties, but this is mainly due to the ornate pictures, and the gold font used. Upon closer inspection the recipes are clearly set out and easy to follow, and many of them, particularly the pasta and risotti, would be suitable for simple home meals. Even the more challenging recipes seem achievable for an intermediate home-cook. However, let’s be honest, Venezia is destined to be often-read yet sporadically used, which I think would be a great shame.