Stanley Tucci knows a thing or two about Italian food — and about Italy and Italians, too, for that matter. Tucci was born and raised in Westchester County, New York by parents who had emigrated from the southern Italian region of Calabria. Tucci grew up eating his mother's incredible cooking and acquired, quite naturally, a great appreciation for taste, and deep and abiding (even obsessive) love for good food.

He has famously remarked that food "is the first and the last thing I think about each day." Tucci's food show "Searching for Italy," which debuted on CNN in 2021, has given him numerous occasions to eat Italian food and reflect on both how it's made and how it's eaten.