Anna Del Conte
Italian cookery writer Anna Del Conte joins Kirsty Young to choose her Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs · BBC Radio 4
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Show Notes
Kirsty Young's castaway is the cookery writer Anna Del Conte.
Born to a wealthy Milanese family, she arrived in Britain in 1949 where her Italian ingenuity with food was sorely needed in a nation still facing rationing and no olive oil. Her books, starting with Portrait of Pasta in 1976, helped to change all that, and established her as a food hero for younger cooks like Nigella Lawson and Delia Smith.
She has still more to teach however: whatever you do, she says, you shouldn't serve bolognese with spaghetti as it's just the wrong shape. Tagliatelle is much better.
Record: Part of the duet from the first act of Otello Book: The Leopard by Giuseppe Di Lampedusa Luxury: Extra virgin olive oil.