Synopsis

It was July 2, 1881, when Guglielmo Testa was born in the small dining room of his family's restaurant. Busy serving eel soup in red wine and ricotta tarts with Majani zest, his father took only a brief moment to kiss him and smell him as he would a spice, before returning to the tables. The child grew up surrounded by culinary enticements and aromas that could astound him, and even before he could walk, he showed a precocious talent for gastronomy, learning to distinguish the different aromas that filled the kitchen. At four, he kneaded his first loaf of bread, and at nine, he prepared his first real dish, to which he applied himself with care because, as he was taught, cooking for someone was like taking care of their happiness. Another ten years must pass before Guglielmo stumbles upon the opportunity of a lifetime: to demonstrate his culinary skills to the world by creating a dinner in honor of King Umberto I. Little does it matter that the proposal comes from a mischievous and mature lady from Fiesole, eager to marry him so he can have her in her trattoria. The pans are still simmering when news of the regicide reaches the hotel kitchens, where Guglielmo is busy preparing a dish of goose liver, eels, onions, apples, and caramelized sugar. With his path to success suddenly blocked by bad luck, he has no choice but to honor his agreement and marry the lady from Fiesole, then lock himself in the kitchen...