Quote Of The Day By Stanley Tucci: 'Food, Above Politics, Art, Or Personal Matters, Is The Subject To Which We...'

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Born in 1960 in Peekskill, New York, Stanley Tucci got his start as an actor in 1982 with his first walk-on role in a Broadway play. Three years later, he made the jump to the big screen with a small role in the Jack Nicholson movie "Prizzi's Honor." More roles in film and television followed, and he had breakout roles in "The Devil Wears Prada" and "The Hunger Games." His work has garnered him two Primetime Emmy Awards and an Academy Award nomination.

Tucci's family has ties to Calabria, Italy. For a time, he even lived in Florence as a child. His love of Italian food has deep family roots, and has influenced much of his career outside acting. For him, it was natural to bring that passion to the screen. The result was a show he said was 20 years in the making, "Tucci in Italy," a successor to "Searching for Italy." The show followed Tucci as he explored some of Italy's regional culinary traditions, and became one of the best food shows of 2025.

As he said in the trailer for "Tucci in Italy," "The best way to understand what makes a country and its people unique is through its food." The journey he takes through Italy is not just about eating the food. It's about understanding it and how it relates to the people who create it. His holistic view of people, food, history, and culture is why Stanley Tucci provides today's quote of the day.

"Food, above politics, art, or personal matters, is the subject to which we return over and over again." 

This quote comes from the preface of "The Tucci Cookbook," which was published in 2012 and became a New York Times bestseller. The book, which combines Italian recipes with anecdotes from his personal life, was praised by chefs Jonathan Waxman, Lidia Bastianich, and Anthony Bourdain. 

At the time his book was released, Tucci was just beginning to establish his culinary career outside of acting. He had written, directed, and starred in "Big Night" in 1996, an award-winning film about brothers opening an Italian restaurant. When "The Tucci Cookbook" was released in 2012, he had just come off starring roles in two major blockbusters, "The Hunger Games" and "Captain America: The First Avenger."

Tucci's quote cuts to the heart of his view of food and how it connects us to our world, our history, and our art. In fact, Tucci described food as a kind of art later on when he said, "the creation of a great meal is perhaps the ultimate artistic endeavor."

Many of the recipes shared in the book were surprisingly simple, but clearly held deep value and importance to Tucci and his family. These were family recipes, passed down through generations, that may not have changed in a century. Preserving and sharing these recipes is at the heart of why Tucci wrote the book. "It is vital to me that these recipes are passed on to future generations. That was the impetus for the book," Tucci told Gourmet Live shortly after the book was published.

Tucci is well aware of the things that separate people in the world. He's specifically pointed out politics, money, and differing ideals. These things tear us apart. It's his belief that food does the opposite. In some ways it is the remedy for the things that divide us.

In an interview with National Geographic, Tucci said he went to Calabria with his parents and ate food with his mother's family. "They were similar recipes to what my mother cooked — but they didn't taste the same," he said. He then pondered how recipes changed and evolved.

Tucci mentioned a family in another region whose very different recipes still reminded him of home. "I felt like I was back talking to my grandfather or my grandparents who only spoke Italian," he said. That really seems to be at the core of his quote. Everything comes back to the food. It is the thing that crosses boundaries and unites us.

"Food was the connective tissue that held the family together," he told the Los Angeles Times. "I have experienced my life, in a lot of ways, through my mouth." For Tucci, being with family, experiencing the world, and just living life are all anchored in the act of creating and eating food. As he discovered in his journey through Italy, there were differences, but they helped draw attention to the similarities.

"Everybody's the same, but different — and that's the biggest lesson," he said. That lesson is valuable in today's world, where it feels like so much can divide us. Rather than focus on what sets us apart or creates an us-versus-them mentality, we should focus on the things that unite us through shared history and tradition.

"We ate dinner together every night, which is the greatest thing you could do for your kids. It gives real consistency and structure to family life. It is vital that you have a meal together; nothing is more bonding or more healing." — from a 2017 interview with The Guardian

"The camaraderie and conviviality of sitting at the table together is ultimately what one wants. Food is a really crucial part of our lives. And sharing it with people." — from a 2022 GMA interview

"What makes a great cooking show is truth. Like anything. What makes anything great is truth." — from a 2021 New Yorker interview

"I'm not a religious person, but if there is one thing that's holy, it would be food." — from a 2021 NPR interview

"The history informs the food and the food informs the history." — from a 2025 People interview

"The table is a destination as opposed to someplace just to sit while you stuff something in your mouth." — from an interview with us at Tasting Table in 2024