From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home

Product Information

One of Tembi and Saro's first adorable moments together was when Saro helped Tembi retrieve her stolen bike. This man, this chef, was showing me who he was deep down, the persistence of his character, his unflinching willingness. I was quite nervous, afraid that Saro would be so intimidated by my father that he wouldn’t say a word or, worse yet, would try too hard. After graduating, she landed a job at Star magazine, where she worked her way up to features editor. I began to see that Saro was speaking directly to me, each dish an edible love letter: succulent, bold.

From Scratch is based on Tembi Locke’s 2019 book of the same name which became Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club Pick, as well as a New York Times bestseller. She told the Today show that Saro had "a vision of an us and greatness so effortlessly that it suddenly seemed as right as butter on bread.Tembi is still grieving, but she is learning to navigate her pain and starting to think about what the future may hold for her. It sometimes seemed a little bit of a letdown when I said I was just a suburban black girl from Texas. Tembi reveals that the most heartbreaking scene of the series is also true-to-life, as is the Sicilian Feast of Sant’Anna procession that Amy and her daughter Idalia (Isla Colbert) share in the finale. Caroline had finally arrived, and Lindsey was getting her up to speed moments later while we settled into our corner table downstairs in the cantina. In her quest to find belonging within Saro’s family and in Aliminusa, Tembi must navigate barriers of language, race, and class.

Because as has been said, love 'pulls with the force and rhythm of a sea tide, emerging from and receding into mysteries larger than any individual life.This Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick andNew York Timesbestseller is “a captivating story of love lost and found” (Kirkus Reviews) set in the lush Sicilian countryside, where one woman discovers the healing powers of food, family, and unexpected grace in her darkest hours.

Now From Scratch was on the radar of Lauren Neustadter, an executive at Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine production company (which also made Little Fires).It was the kind of place where upcoming Italian movie stars, indie musicians, leftist politicians, and veterans of the stage dined alongside tourists. They were willing to say their piece and then let their children either sink or fly when it came to love. A week later, she finds comfort in recreating the first dish Saro made for her: risotto con sugo verde. As I left the Ponte Vecchio toward home, I rode past the corner of Borgo San Frediano and Piazza del Carmine, and I looked up at the church across from my apartment. They were already redoing adulthood in their formative years, already parents, already having experienced lost dreams.