The Lockes think of themselves as “hostesses” of a world they have lovingly re-created for the screen — tears and all. A handsome, talented chef, Saro won Tembi over with his kindness, attentiveness, and, most importantly, his cooking.

A New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick that was also adapted into a Netflix series in 2022, From Scratch touches on themes of love, loss, grief, food, and community. In September of 2018, Tembi Locke was still immersed in finishing the memoir that would become From Scratch, an emotional book of fairy-tale love and devastating loss following the death of her husband Rosario “Saro” Gullo. Its design was a mélange of graffiti complete with random illustrations including a rocket, a slice of pizza, an amoeba, a guitar, a constellation, and the number 8 floating randomly and all topsy-turvy in hues of blue and yellow. She even revealed that Saro often said "I think we could be something great" when they first started dating. Later, after a walk through Florence, an afternoon of window browsing, and then dinner, she told my dad, “And don’t even think about objecting to their age difference.

When I looked around the terrace, I couldn’t imagine that any of the people would ever be lifelong friends. It is in these heartbreaking moments Lino’s family come to his aide, and all families are united to support Lino, as well as Amy.

Zoela’s own life is reflected in the finale, in which Amy and Idalia visit Lino’s Sicilian hometown. While I was in Florence, my mother was divorcing again after nearly twelve years with my stepfather. My stepfather had been hard to feel attached to despite the fact that I had spent half of my childhood under the same roof.I went up to the pastry case, put my hand on the warm glass, and then pointed like a preverbal child when the barista asked what I wanted. m. It had been four months since he had bought me the bike and we had shared the ride across the Arno. For the next month I left No Entry long before his restaurant closed and thereby avoided reliving the awkwardness I had created between us the night of the bike. Once there, she meets Lino, played by Eugenio Mastrandrea, and the couple embark on a romantic love story consisting of fantastic food and gorgeous Italian scenery. Then I took a step toward the exit, tipped forward, and had to brace myself against Saro’s shoulders.