Italy is a land of appetite, where life is embraced with passion, and food prepared with generosity and joy. But the cuisine is hard to define, as each region has its own rich culinary traditions - and so deep is the belief of locals that their food is the best, that often Italy's finest dishes are unknown from one place to the next.

Jacob Kenedy, a self-avowed culinary magpie, travelled the length and breadth of the country over the course of a year, gathering up his favourite recipes - many of them obscure, some bizarre, all utterly delicious. Like the menu at Bocca di Lupo, Jacob's
award-winning London restaurant, this book is a thrilling, exotic journey through the true flavours of Italy: the hearty risotti of the north, the exquisite shellfish of the Veneto, the earthy sausages of Bologna, the fried street food of Rome, the baroque desserts of Naples and the Arab-influenced sweets of Sicily.

The recipes in Bocca are a revelation, a portal to a side of Italy that is gritty, glamorous, seedy and mysterious. Be warned, this is a cookbook with teeth.