About this item
When former food writer Jarrett Wrisley and chef Paolo Vitaletti decided to open an Italian restaurant, they didn't just take a trip to Rome. They spent years crisscrossing the surrounding countryside, eating, drinking, and traveling down whatever road they felt like taking. Only after they opened Appia, an authentic Roman trattoria in Bangkok of all places, did they realize that their epic journey had all the makings of a book. So they went back. And this time, they took a photographer. Roman cuisine doesn't come from Rome, exactly, but from the roads to Rome - the trade routes that brought foods from all over Italy to the capital. In The Roads to Rome, Jarrett and Paolo weave their way between Roman kitchens and through the countryside of Lazio, Umbria, and Emilia-Romagna, meeting farmers and artisans and learning about the origins of the ingredients that gave rise to such iconic dishes as pasta Cacio e Pepe and Spaghetti all'Amatriciana.
About the Author
Jarrett Wrisley is a writer, cook and restaurant owner. Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Wrisley has lived in China and Thailand for the past 18 years. He began his career as a food journalist, writing about the eating cultures of China and Southeast Asia. His work has appeared in The Atlantic, National Geographic Magazine, The Art of Eating, Lucky Peach, and other publications worldwide. After a decade on the road, writing about food in Asia, he decided to leave the journalism business and open a restaurant in Bangkok.In 2010, Wrisley opened his first restaurant, Soul Food Mahanakorn. The restaurant was received with much acclaim, and has been featured by the BBC, New York Magazine, The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. In 2012 Wrisley and his friend Paolo Vitaletti opened Appia, which takes its name from the ancient highway built from the center of Ancient Rome, down to Apulia. Appia was an instant success, with a focus on straightforward, Roman food using the best products, carefully sourced from across Italy. After only a few months it was voted Bangkok's best Italian restaurant, by Restaurant Magazine. A year after, Monocle named it one of the world's 50 best restaurants. Vitaletti went on to open Peppina, in which Jarrett is also a partner. Wrisley later opened a second branch of Soul Food, Soul Food Thai, with Black Sheep Restaurant group in Hong Kong. His first cookbook, co-authored by Vitaletti, is called The Roads to Rome, and is scheduled for release with Penguin Random House in the fall of 2020.
