Sitting down at the table is the first political act of our lives. What we eat shapes our desires, our memories, our identity. It can reveal everything about us and the world we live in today. What we lack are the lenses to see it, the words to describe it. We eat it and digest it, photograph it and throw it away, and it seems like it’s all there. And yet food holds most of the answers—we just need to know how to ask the right questions.

What we eat, what we experience in the kitchen, where and how we sit at the table, the food education we receive, the recipes we pass down—they all tell the story of who we are, and of the families we grow up in. In a single soup tureen, there is memory and culture, gender and geography, distance and connection. Food is a secret that everyone talks about, yet few truly explore, even though it seems to be everywhere. It is an untold secret made of shapes and aromas.

Sugo is a snapshot of the relationship between food and identity. It is an ode to the food of our lives: hearty, tangible, and—if we were lucky—the kind someone made for us when we were children. It’s a book that is both personal and warmly curious about the tables of others, inviting us to look beyond the plate to uncover the dynamics that have shaped who we are—our values, our cravings, and our many desires. It focuses on how food is much more than just the things we eat—how it is part of our lives, both influencing them and being influenced by them.

About Mariachiara Montera

Food writer and podcast author, she tells stories about the world through food, exploring interdisciplinary themes. She hosts the podcast “Lingua e Guscio” for Storytel and is the author of “Al Nocciolo” for Chora Media. She also curates the newsletter “Conserve”. She created a stationery line called Pensieri di Burro, and on Instagram (@maricler) she shares thoughts on food, books, cats, and more. She collaborates with Scuola Holden and Sugo is her first book.