Listen to a sample
Serendipity
- Narrator
- L. J. Ganser
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Publish Date
- 1 November 2022
- Run Time
- 8 hours 34 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
Eataly founder Oscar Farinetti reveals the accidental, serendipitous discoveries that gave birth to some of the world’s most well-known gastronomic delights.
Did you know that your morning coffee could be thanks to a herd of energetic goats? Or that a forgotten ingredient is behind the invention of the beloved brownie? Who got the fright of their life discovering corn could pop? And which popular soft drink first started out as a medicinal syrup?
In Serendipity, Oscar Farinetti, founder of the high-end global food chain Eataly, shares fifty remarkable stories of how some of the greatest successes and examples of excellence in the food world came about by chance, from the invention of foods such as tarte tatin to the sandwich, as well as products like Nutella and corn flakes, plus some of the world’s best wines, Gorgonzola cheese, balsamic vinegar, French fries, rum, and even the ice-cream cone. As Farinetti dives deep into these extraordinary histories, insightful and entertaining interviews with leading artisan food producers, chefs, inventors, and CEOs around the world provide additional color and rare context.
The result is a remarkable listen that explores humankind’s never-ending quest to discover something new and reminds us that our mistakes, our flaws, and our failures can often be the most necessary ingredient in finding success.
Critics Review
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“History and happenstance meet in forty-eight well-researched examples.”
New York Times
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“Mouth-watering fun, told with the relish of a gourmand.”
The Age (Melbourne)
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“Lanser is the perfect narrator for this volume because he makes the detailed chapters engaging by delivering them at an energetic pace.”
AudioFile
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“Mix[es] fact and lore to provide an entertaining collection that food connoisseurs will enjoy…like an oral history, lovingly preserved in book form.”
Library Journal
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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“An elegy to imperfection…That imperfection that stimulates you, motivates you, and opens new horizons.”
Cronache di Gusto (Italy)
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“Who put the bubbles in champagne?…This book will quickly turn you from food bore to knowlegable, giving the reader an easy way to impress over drinks and dinner…Highly recommended.”
SAWeekend (Australia)
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“Its structure of short stories makes it incredibly easy to pick up, put down, and then come back to…It is illuminating and slightly addictive to discover new and interesting facts about the history of food and drinks.”
Saturday Paper (Melbourne)
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“This book explores the happy accidents that happen in the world of food and wine. A terrific and insightful read.”
Chef Andrew McConnell
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Oscar Farinetti, Barbara McGilvray
- Narrator
- L. J. Ganser
- Duration
- 8 hours 34 minutes
- Release Date
- 1 November 2022
- ISBN
- 9798212012584
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Genre
- Cookery / food and drink, Social and cultural history, Cultural studies: food and society, Agriculture, agribusiness and food production industries
Synopsis
Eataly founder Oscar Farinetti reveals the accidental, serendipitous discoveries that gave birth to some of the world’s most well-known gastronomic delights.Did you know that your morning coffee could be thanks to a herd of energetic goats? Or that a forgotten ingredient is behind the invention of the beloved brownie? Who got the fright of their life discovering corn could pop? And which popular soft drink first started out as a medicinal syrup?In Serendipity, Oscar Farinetti, founder of the high-end global food chain Eataly, shares fifty remarkable stories of how some of the greatest successes and examples of excellence in the food world came about by chance, from the invention of foods such as tarte tatin to the sandwich, as well as products like Nutella and corn flakes, plus some of the world’s best wines, Gorgonzola cheese, balsamic vinegar, French fries, rum, and even the ice-cream cone. As Farinetti dives deep into these extraordinary histories, insightful and entertaining interviews with leading artisan food producers, chefs, inventors, and CEOs around the world provide additional color and rare context. The result is a remarkable listen that explores humankind’s never-ending quest to discover something new and reminds us that our mistakes, our flaws, and our failures can often be the most necessary ingredient in finding success.
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