EMIKO DAVIES

 

Music by Federico Ferrandina - Spaghetti Tarantella.

 

EMIKO DAVIES

COOKBOOK WRITER

San Miniato, Italy

I met Emiko many years ago when on a whim, I decided to go visit her in Florence where she then lived. I sent her an email and told her that I would love to come meet her and try to make a little film for her. I hardly knew how to film at the time and watching the footage now breaks my heart. Most of it is too blurry, too slow, and not relevant or good enough to my current documentary director self. But “you gotta start somewhere” as they say! And if what’s left of this first time together is not a masterpiece of visual storytelling (film above), it’s a beautiful friendship. In Florence…Read More

 

A small collection of photos I took in Florence…

In Florence Emiko took Wendell and I sight seeing around the hills and in town. We tried sea water beer (strange but really good), tripe sandwiches, insanely good fresh pasta made by Marco her sommelier husband, and a fabulous grape focaccia, a local delicacy. Eating at Emiko’s table was like entering one of my cookbooks. You might know, if you’re a reader of my Instagram and this journal, that I’m an avid cookbook collector. As I’m writing this, my collection has reached a bit over 900 cookbooks. I rejoice in snuggling in my sofa-on-wheels (so I can move it to a specific part of the cookbook shelf Wendell built me) and delicately flipping the pages. Of course I love cooking from them but also watching the images accompanying the recipes and get immersed in the stories that more and more cookbooks include in their pages. It’s a culinary voyage that I undertake usually with a cool craft beer or an Australiano Bizzaro Aperitivo (yes it’s a thing, the Aussie version of the Aperol Spriz) in hand or placed on the toddler chair that I kept only for that purpose.

Sitting at Emiko’s table was like entering a dream… Of course I own all of her 6 cookbooks: Florentine, Acquacotta, Tortellini at Midnight, Torta della Nonna, Cinnamon and Salt, and Gohan: Everyday Japanese Cooking, her brand new baby she’s currently touring in Australia. Trying the recipes made by the master was a treat. It always tastes better, just because it’s a privilege to be there but also because Italian produce chosen by her while we were visiting Florentine markets are superior to what we can buy in Australia, vastly... Emiko’s recipes are very well tested and impossible to fail, and choosing the right produce will get you very close to what she prepares at her own table.

Last summer it was my turn to take Emiko on a tour and make her taste my family heirloom recipes and my dad’s veggie patch produce. But that’s for another article. Now I'd like to invite you to read Emiko’s interview below. She’s part of my 30 people who make the world more beautiful. You’ve guessed it, it’s by giving the gift of cooking and turning ingredients into pleasure. Have a nice read.


Connect with Emiko

@emikodavies | emikodavies.com


INTERVIEW

 
 

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