Lto recipe of Speranza resembles a tiramisu or a lasagna, must be built in layers. The ingredients are: a liter of Commitment, a box of Tenacity in sheets, two tablespoons of Confidence in oneself and two of Confidence in others, a glass of true Joy, two cubes of Patience, a vial of Spirito Vitale, a cube of «what I’m worth», a pinch of Transcendence. «In a bowl, whip the two types of Confidence with Joy and Patience with a whisk. Add the mixture to Commitment and, lastly, add Spirito Vitale and mix everything, it must be fluid. In a pan, start making the layers, alternating the Tenacia sheets with the prepared mixture until you have used up the ingredients.”
This and other very special “word recipes” are the heart of the novel Flowers are always rightGarzanti, narrative debut by Roberta Schira, food critic with around fifteen “gourmet” books under her beltcollaborator of Corriere della Sera and teacher at the Italian Food Academy.
How did this idea, this new look come about?
I’ve always been interested in behavior around food, rituals, body language at the table and etiquette as a starting point to talk about taste, what we like, what comforts us. Food and its relationship with the human soul. It is no coincidence that I have a degree in Literature with a psychology address. It took the lockdown to find the necessary concentration and write a novel that I had in mind for twenty years. And thus exit from the “Miscellaneous” shelf.
Roberta Schira, food critic and writer, was born in Crema and lives between Milan and Liguria. You are making your debut in fiction.
Women’s novel. Who is the protagonist?
Eleonora, a thirty-year-old chef born with the gift of an exceptional palate, capable of reading the world through taste and smell, which she has now lost. Her story is a real fall, a collapse and then getting back up: The flowers are always right is a story of rebirth. And then there’s grandmother Ernesta, an incredible woman, so brilliant, charismatic and full of life force that she undertakes a thousand projects, which she often doesn’t complete…
But it’s an inspiration to her niece.
Yes, it teaches her that cooking is more than cooking, it is an act of healing for others and for oneself. Ernesta’s recipes, which Eleonora will be able to treasure, help to live, and within her there is also a pinch of irony. The one about Waiting, for example, also teaches me something, as I am chronically impatient. I would like younger girls (my readers, I hope) to find them useful.
Flowers are always right by Roberta Schira, Garzanti400 pages, €17.60
The lost love Marc, Arnaldo the deputy father, the surprising Étienne… The men are there, in the background. Is it true, as you write, that they (also) get to know each other by taking them to dinner?
Eleonora will be able to get up on her own, not thanks to the support of a man, even if love – and, in her case, even the affection of a kitchen brigade – gives the right flavor to life. Men don’t just know each other like this, of course, but it’s a scientific truth: at the table, after a quarter of an hour, the defenses loosen. You let go. And there you can understand if you are voracious, overbearing, generous. What restaurants do you frequent, what culture do you have… The table is revealing. For example, etiquette requires that whoever invites you pay the bill, whether it’s him or her, so you certainly can’t dismiss a man who lets you pay, but if for the entire dinner he doesn’t even make the gesture of pouring you wine, maybe do you think: will someone like that be attentive to my needs?
Is food different for women and men?
For women the relationship is more ambiguous: in the traditional view it is they who cook to look after, today it is no longer necessary, not mandatory at all. Yet if they don’t, they often feel guilty, incomplete. Plus, there are so many parts of the world where they can’t choose.”
And she?
I split myself in two. When I’m in Milan, I practically don’t cook: as a food critic I’m always around, I discover new restaurants, I go to the theatre… I live frenetically. In Liguria, however, I have a house where I grow a vegetable garden and get cooking, I experiment, I practice, I’m happy to prepare. But also to taste what is prepared with love for me. Reciprocity applies, as in the Cucinatherapy recipe.
Reference points in writing?
Ruth Reichl of the New York Times, food critic, the greatest, and at the same time a writer. The training book, Life ahead of you by Romain Gary, who taught me how diversity is an opportunity. On the bedside table, Albert Camus The fall and Thomas Bernard, Disturbance.
Not just “word recipes”, in the novel there are also almost Zen maxims.
At the beginning I had only written a few, my editor read them: “How beautiful, we need thirty-five, one for each chapter”. Not easy! (laughs).
Cand you remember some of them.
“If you don’t understand why a person is being too hard on you, do the same as the chocolate cake. Look for the soft heart that is in her.” «To remind you that you can always be reborn, put the remains of a stalk of celery in a glass. Soon you will see roots sprouting.” “To learn Waiting, make the bread and watch it rise.” We will do it.
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