Martino

Crooking has come to be regarded so much as a French art that its Italian origins are often overlooked. But they are there, firmly rooted in the rich traditions of Italy that Renaissance cooks developed to such splendid effect. It was the Italians who found in antiquity new inspirations for their feasts; it was they who happily blended the sturdy cooking of the different regions with ideas brought by the Arabs and crusaders, and founded the sophisticated cuisine that was an inspiration to the rest of Europe, much like the other Renaissance arts. An Italian cook was also the first to get his recipes in print in a book called De honesta voluptate et valetudine (“Of Honest Indulgence and Good Health”). The name of the cook was Martino.