Food evokes memories, and sparks culinary pleasures to varying degrees for all of us. Some people go the extra mile to link their food to their roots. In his memoir Taste: My Life Through Food, released late last year, actor Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada, Margin Call, Captain America: The First Avenger...) wrote: “I mean, if you can’t eat and enjoy food, how are you going to enjoy everything else?”

An Italian American, Tucci describes his family’s prandial conversations and shares several family recipes, including one for Italian staple ragu sauce, in the book. He also describes how in his battle with cancer, and during the harrowing treatment, it wasn’t death he feared as much as the loss of appetite and taste.