The Silver Spoon

by Phaidon

Original publisher: Editoriale Domus

Date of publication: 1950

ISBN: 0714862568

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Recommended by

Ivan Brincat

Food and Wine Gazette

The Silver Spoon is one of the most influential Italian cookbooks of all time. If there is one recipe book I would take with me it would be this. It has formed the basis of my understanding of Italian cuisine. Recipes are easy to follow, you can pretty much go to the market, pick up your ingredients and then look at how to prepare it. It was originally published in Italy in 1950 and the edition I have has a selection of recipes which are more ambitious as they have been created by some of Italy's best chefs. Il Cucchiaio d’Argento was originally published in Italy in 1950 by the famous Italian design and architectural magazine Domus, and became an instant classic. A select group of cooking experts were commissioned to collect hundreds of traditional Italian home cooking recipes and make them available for the first time to a wider modern audience. In the process, they updated ingredients, quantities and methods to suit contemporary tastes and customs, at the same time preserving the memory of ancient recipes for future generations.

Simon Majumdar

Food writer, author and broadcaster

A book that not only provided an important statement about Italian cooking, but one that also (with its format) created a blueprint for the publishing of cookbooks post Millennium.

Anna Francese Gass

Chef, recipe tester and author

As an Italian, this book speaks to me. I love so many of the recipes and if you want to cook Italian, this book will make you a star. Italian home cooking bible!