Stanley Tucci’s WHAT I ATE IN ONE YEAR is easily the fastest 350 pages of nonfiction I’ve ever read through. It’s important to get that assertion out of the way, because being a page-turner par excellence in no way diminishes the substance that went into it and the reciprocal substance an engaged reader will get out of it.

Tucci, whose foodivore life parallels an illustrious television and movie career --- notably the Emmy Award-winning “Searching for Italy” series and the much-anticipated papal intrigue film, Conclave --- has two full-fledged cookbooks to his credit, as well as a more traditional memoir, TASTE: My Life Through Food.

WHAT I ATE IN ONE YEAR flows pleasantly back and forth between cookbook and memoir, much like the texture of Tucci’s television host style on “Searching for Italy.” Food experiences evoke recipes, and recipes often evoke nostalgic and engaging stories.

"When I opened WHAT I ATE IN ONE YEAR, I had no idea what to expect. And that left me completely open to absorbing Stanley Tucci’s natural charm, spontaneity, talent and profound love for what he does in life and who he does it with."

Considering his on-the-move lifestyle as an actor, Tucci reveals remarkable discipline as a food diarist, missing very few days in 2023 when most of the book was written. While some entries are brief, even terse (especially when summing up restaurants and eateries he didn’t enjoy), others cover several pages in which he delves into his philosophy undergirding good food and human relationships.

Tucci also applies his writing discipline to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, despite the hectic schedule and almost daily dislocation that comes with the acting profession. After a frightening bout of oral cancer, he redoubled his commitment to self-care, not only for personal well-being, but also for his second wife, Felicity Blunt, and a two-generation family of children --- three adults and two preteens.

The younger daughter and son, and their evolving gastronomic tastes, figure importantly in WHAT I ATE IN ONE YEAR as Tucci, ever aware of his responsibilities and legacy as an older father, gently weans them away from bland kiddie food into the alluring world of adult tastes and textures. And from his observations throughout the year, it seems he’s been doing a very decent job of culinary parenting.

When it comes to recipes, there are frankly quite a few more fully detailed ones than I’d expect to find in a diary that focuses more on the experiential facets of food. And for these I’m grateful, as they capture both method and measurements in a lively, personal style that makes me feel as if he just happened by and stopped to describe them to me. That kind of narrative makes for good reading, whether or not you ever plan to cook up any of his dishes.

There also is inevitably the flavor of travel writing in WHAT I ATE IN ONE YEAR, in which major and minor cities of the world are primarily flagged by their best (or worst) places to eat and/or cook.

And, of course, another inevitable component is Tucci’s vast network of theatrical friends who pop up here and there in the normal course of his work and recreation. The name-dropping remains casual and unfussy --- these are working friends who share many of the same challenges, risks and fulfillment from fame as he does. No big deal, he seems to suggest. Whenever they encounter one another, food is the key to their inclusion.

When I opened WHAT I ATE IN ONE YEAR, I had no idea what to expect. And that left me completely open to absorbing Stanley Tucci’s natural charm, spontaneity, talent and profound love for what he does in life and who he does it with. It is highly recommended for anyone interested in food and people, even if you can’t so much as boil water without burning it.