"The Talisman of Happiness", which is a very widely-held cookbook in Italy, has finally received a full English-language translation. And, the story of getting legal copyright to the Italian cookbook was fascinating unto itself.
A very iconic Italian cookbook, first published in Italy back in 1929, which happens to be in just about everyone's kitchen (at least in Italy) was only published in the Italian language until now. Until late 2025, there was never a translation to English for the cookbook in its entirety.
On December 23, 2025, North Carolina Public Radio (WUNC) reported (see https://www.wunc.org/2025-12-23/a-classic-italian-cookbook-finally-gets-a-full-english-translation/ for the story) that the cookbook authored by Ada Boni (the cookbook's Italian title is "Il Talismano della Felicita" and the title translated into English is "The Talisman of Happiness") never had a full English-language translation until now. The audio for that story can be found below.
The book's ("The Talisman of Happiness") author Ada Boni had codified and tested dishes from around Italy that have remained the backbone of Italian cooking and reflect regional differences. For example, the book contains 10 different gnocchi recipes, 12 minestrones and 20 risottos. The interesting thing about "The Talisman of Happiness" is just how approachable all of the recipes actually are for busy home cooks in Italy. The recipes were written for busy housewives to prepare meals for their families, not chefs with gourmet kitchens and staffs to help them. Its simplicity and accessibility got the Italian cookbook compared to "The Joy of Cooking," although as the AP reported, the Italian cookbook predated Irma S. Rombauer's iconic work by several decades.
The Associated Press News (AP) covered the news of its first Italian to English translation at https://apnews.com/article/talisman-happiness-italy-cookbook-7ca5a58b59699f986af6026e58923c11 and it is definitely worth a read and perhaps a place in your own kitchen library!
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