The Book Cafe: A Year at Hotel Gondola by Nicky Pellegrino

Fictional celebratory host and writer Kat Black has accepted an assignment from her publisher to live in Venice for a year and write a story about the ancient city from the point of view of a local.

"The air was scented with coffee and warm sugar" p22

Kat Black's story unfolds as she happily explores narrow alleyways and vast cobbled piazzas, tiny bacaros and the laden cabinets of pastericcerias.

"There were pastries swollen with cream, plump doughnuts dotted with sweet custard, dainty tarts, biscuits crisuted with nuts, slabs of tiramisu and torrone." p175

She falls in love with a divorced man called Massimo and makes many dear friends. Not only does she discover Venice's many secrets, she also discovers herself.

Our fictional character, Kat Black is a food writer and presenter who indulges her passion in the markets of Venice searching for the freshest seafood and vegetables to cook and share food with her
friends.

A year at Hotel Gondola forces Kat to reflect on her past life and is told some harsh truths by her lover's ex-wife. Having lived her life as a traveller, always eager for the next adventure, Kat is dismayed to find she has turned into a middle-aged woman with limited prospects, limited savings and no deep friendships or a place to come home to.

Her lover employs her in the bar of the family-run Hotel Gondola where she mixes cocktails for tourists and shares her lover with fellow co -worker - his frosty ex-wife.

"Gin, countreau, lemon juice and a spoonful of marmalade- it was the cocktail of the week."

The story is also a sounding board for the frustration of young Venetians grappling with the critical mass of the tourist industry and their battlecry Respect Venice.

Kat shows the impact tourism is having on the ancient city and the rising voice of young Venetians who are agitating for the reclaimation of their precious heritage and a more peacful lifstyle. But even this is a double-edged sword as Venice and its small business rely on the tourist dollar to survive.

The story is alternates between two viewpoints - Kat Black as the main character and Kat Black the person who is struggling with many home truths about herself.

Does she commit to her lover by the end of the year or is she drawn to her next adventure?

Venetian Rice and Peas (100gm pancetta if non-vegetarian)

Ingredients

3/4 cup of Arboro rice

500ml chicken stock

2T olive oil

1 chopped onion

800gms peas

100gms grated parmesan

salt

pepper

Instructions

Fry onions, garlic and pancetta (optional) until soft. Add the Arboro rice and stir to combine oil and flavours. Add stock, one laddle at a time, and keep stiring until the stock is absorbed before adding more. (Takes around 20 minutes). Add peas and cook until barely tender. The finished dish should be moist and creamy. Add pamesan and serve.