How can one ever repay such kindnesses?
I guess I’ll find out.
Oddly, some of them have been coming by lately around dinnertime.
For them, it’s only about the food.
Gluttons.
Acknowledgments
First, my parents, Joan and Stan, for their love, encouragement, and inspiration at the stove, at the table, and beyond.
My publishers, Jen Bergstrom and Helen Garnons-Williams… for believing I could actually write a book.
My editors Juliet Annan and Alison Callahan, for their unwavering care and patient guidance through my first literary effort.
Deborah Schneider, for her friendship and support.
Those chefs and friends who have inspired me, taught me, and allowed me to write about them and include their recipes here: Gianni Scappin, Pino and Celestino Posteraro, Adam Perry Lang, Massimo Bottura, and whoever that Italian bartender was who taught me how to make the perfect Martini all those years ago.
My assistant, Lottie Birmingham, for being the best friend and assistant ever in the world ever.
I especially would like to thank my wife and book agent （I never thought I would write that sentence）， Felicity Joanna Francis Blunt, for her wisdom, patience, kindness, love, and support, and her effortless ability to impart them to the likes of me.