Character Interview – Crystal King
Character Interview – Crystal King
About The Chef’s Secret
When Bartolomeo Scappi dies in 1577, he leaves his vast estate—properties, money, and his position—to his nephew and apprentice Giovanni. He also gives Giovanni the keys to two strongboxes and strict instructions to burn their contents. Despite Scappi’s dire warning that the information concealed in those boxes could put Giovanni’s life and others at risk, Giovanni is compelled to learn his uncle’s secrets. He undertakes the arduous task of decoding Scappi’s journals and uncovers a history of deception, betrayal, and murder—all to protect an illicit love affair.
As Giovanni pieces together the details of Scappi’s past, he must contend with two rivals who have joined forces—his brother Cesare and Scappi’s former protégé, Domenico Romoli, who will do anything to get his hands on the late chef’s recipes.
With luscious prose that captures the full scale of the sumptuous feasts for which Scappi was known, The Chef’s Secret serves up power, intrigue, and passion, bringing Renaissance Italy to life in a delectable fashion.
We asked Crystal if she could interview Giovanni for us, and to our delight she said yes!
Crystal: Thanks for meeting with me today, Signor Scappi.
Giovanni: Please, call me Gio. And thanks for the wine. He lifts a glass and they toast. This is the tavern that one of my friends, Dottor Boccia, frequents.
Crystal: He’s the Pope’s court jester, is he not?
Giovanni: Not since Puis IV came into power. He hated the little man. But Boccia was ready enough to retire. He served Pope Julius III, Marcellus II and Paul IV. He’s living on the other side of Roma but I see him from time to time. He laughs. He’s a good drinking partner.
Crystal: So Gio, when we last spoke, you confided in me that you have been on a quest to find out more about your Uncle, the famous chef, Bartolomeo Scappi. How is that going?
Giovanni: It’s taking longer than I would like. You see, my uncle thought it prudent to encode much of his journal. Of course, it’s the most important parts of the journal, the parts that make my jaw drop open in shock.
Crystal: Like what?
Giovanni: Well, I wouldn’t want to spoil it all for your readers, but I can tell you this. My uncle had a love affair with a noble woman–and hid it for nearly fifty years! He describes how he meets her, and how they have to secretly meet. It was quite the passionate love affair. So much that reading about it sometimes makes me uncomfortable. I mean, Bartolomeo was like a father to me.
Crystal: You worked alongside him in the papal kitchen for several years. And he even dedicated his cookbook to you. What was working with him like?
Giovanni: He was a true Maestro. A boisterous man who had a way with both people and with food. And when you put them together? Some of the most amazing banquets Rome has ever seen came about under his watch. The cookbook has over a thousand recipes, but that was just a fraction of his knowledge. He was meticulous, he was careful and calculated. He could walk into the kitchen and immediately see who was working hard, who was faltering and what needed to be done. I loved working with him. He taught me everything I know.
Crystal: What is your favorite dish to cook?
Giovanni: There are so many! I am quite partial to a good crostata. When I met my lover, Isabetta, I brought her family a cherry pie to win them over. It is one of my best dishes. It worked on her father. Her brothers? Not so much. I have choice words for them–words I would not say aloud here.
Crystal: I have a recipe for that cherry pie in the free CHEF’S SECRET digital companion cookbook. It’s absolutely delicious.
Let’s change the topic. You and Bartolomeo seem to share a common enemy. Can you tell me about him?
Giovanni: He scowls. Ah yes, Domenico Romoli. Now that is a man who I’d like to see on the point of my knife. He stole recipes from Bartolomeo when they worked together many years past, and now he’s trying to blackmail me for the rest of the recipes. He’s a rogue and he lies in his throat. I hope he gets dogworm and dies!
Crystal: I see. Those are some very strong words, Gio. I take it there might not be any way to reconcile with Domenico?
Giovanni: Oh, we will reconcile. When the gravedigger has dropped the last shovel of dirt upon him and I lay a wreath of foxglove and oleander on his grave.
Crystal: I see you know your poisons.
Giovanni: Ha! Well, not like Bartolomeo knew them, I’m coming to find out.
Crystal raises an eyebrow. She is about to say something when Giovanni begins to wave someone over to their table.
Giovanni: Look! It’s my best friend, Valentino. Let’s do away with this chatter and have more wine. Maybe if Dottor Boccia shows up we can play a game of primiera. He pulls a deck of cards out of his pocket and puts them on the table.
Crystal: I don’t have a good poker face, alas. But more wine, and your handsome friend Valentino for company? Count me in.
Giovanni: Fantastico!
They greet Valentino and call upon the waiter for another round of drink.
Bio
Crystal King is the author of The Chef’s Secret and Feast of Sorrow, which was long-listed for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize and was a Must Read for the MassBook Awards. She is an author, culinary enthusiast, and marketing expert. Her writing is fueled by a love of history and a passion for the food, language, and culture of Italy. She has taught classes in writing, creativity, and social media at several universities including Harvard Extension School and Boston University, as well as at GrubStreet, one of the leading creative writing centers in the US. A Pushcart Prize–nominated poet and former co-editor of the online literary arts journal Plum Ruby Review, Crystal received her MA in critical and creative thinking from UMass Boston, where she developed a series of exercises and writing prompts to help fiction writers in medias res. She resides in Boston. You can find her at crystalking.com or on Twitter @crystallyn.
Category: Interviews, On Writing
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