Kyle Phillips
italianfood.guide@about.com

My father was an Archaeologist, and I grew up dividing my time between the United States and Italy. My senior year in college he bought a house in Florence and suggested I stay for a year or two. That was 15 years ago; I'm still in Florence, where I work as a translator, food & travel writer, and photographer. My translation of Artusi, the classic Italian cookbook, was published by Random House in 1996, and I am WebWeaver of Events in Florence and Tuscany, the magazine published for Tuscany's sizable English-speaking community. I also work with WineAccess, a great Internet wine site, and edit fiction.

Though I have always enjoyed cooking and fine wines, my professional interest in gastronomy came through travel writing: I began stopping at wineries and restaurants wherever I happened to be -- at first, to gather more information for travellers, and later to learn. Now I keep the latest editions of Gambero Rosso and Veronelli (the best Italian wine and travel guides) handy and check them when I plan my trips, working visits to the places mentioned into the schedule. As for our personal wine cellar, it's relatively small: About 150 bottles, primarily Tuscan, evenly divided between Riserve and Vini da Tavola.

In my features I will relate my discoveries, discussing foods, wines, and the paths I follow. You may wonder why this, a site dedicated to Italian cuisine, delves heavily into wines and travel. Italy produces more wine per capita than any other country in the world, and until relatively recently wine was one of the most important foods (in the sense of a source of calories) for the poor, especially out in the country. This is no longer true, but to imagine an Italian table without wine is rather like imagining the night sky without stars or moon. As for travel, though Italy is one country, it might better be seen as a collection of tiny states, each with its own history, culture and cuisine. One cannot hope to understand the cuisines unless one knows something of the culture and the history.

Good Food & Drink!

Kyle Phillips