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Not all local chefs share the blessing of having prestigious literary figures as branches on their family tree.
But for Michael Mosolino, having Gloria Jones—widow of author James Jones, who wrote “From Here to Eternity” and “The Thin Red Line”—for an aunt meant that he had a built-in support system for sharing his challenging and eventful life in his recently published memoir, “Come, My Darling, Come.”
Mr. Mosolino has done a couple of readings and cooking demonstrations in conjunction with the release of his book, and will appear at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton at noon on Wednesday, July 15, to talk about the memoir, which includes a smattering of recipes.
It was encouragement from his aunt that led Mr. Mosolino to revisit his tumultuous past and set it on paper.
Coming from a family of writers, Mr. Mosolino was hesitant at first, he said, but his drive to tell his story prevailed.
“I’m not a writer, I’m a chef,” he said. “But I had a story to tell.”
Once a featured chef at the South Beach Food & Wine Festival, television host of “A Culinary Experience,” culinary instructor, and now owner of The Deli Counter Fine Foods and Catering in Southampton, Mr. Mosolino has not always had such an easy path and successful life. In his memoir, he talks about his experience growing up with an alcoholic mother, moving in with an abusive stepmother and a caring, but distant father, running away to live as a young boy on the streets of Florida and adapting to a new, glamorous life in the Hamptons.
The book, published by Amereon House, tells of many difficult moments in Mr. Mosolino’s early life, but the author tends to focus on the caring people who helped him along the way, such as his aunt Gloria, who passed away in 2006. “She had such a gift of nurturing love. It doesn’t matter how stupid I acted, she never left my side,” he said.
Mr. Mosolino chose his title, “Come, My Darling, Come” because that is what his aunt told him both times she took him off the streets and welcomed him into her home.
“I had to insist on that title because that’s when my life changed. I thought it was really important,” Mr. Mosolino said.
In the memoir, Mr. Mosolino delves deeply into his emotional past, sharing very honest and often painful memories with readers.
“I had to get very personal because there are important lessons in there,” Mr. Mosolino said as he stressed the importance of family, loyalty and cherishing what we have.
“I keep hearing that our children are our future. They are not. They are our today, now, present. We have to change the way we behave in front of them. You can’t change your world unless you change yourself,” he said.
In that vein, a portion of the proceeds from sales of the book will support homeless children’s charities.
Mixed in with his narrative are some of his favorite recipes, from his mother’s hot cocoa, which came from a Hershey’s cocoa can, to his own shrimp fritters, “one of the items that made me famous.”
“I used the recipes to break the book up a little because it can be hard,” Mr. Mosolino said.
The book also includes a DVD with several episodes of Mr. Mosolino’s cooking show, “A Culinary Experience.”
At the end of his memoir, Mr. Mosolino writes that his aunt Gloria read many of the stories that make up this book and made him promise to keep writing. He plans to keep that promise with two works in progress, one of them going back to his father’s generation, and the other continuing where he left off in “Come, My Darling, Come.”
Michael Mosolino will share recipes and talk about his memoir, “Come, My Darling, Come,” at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton on Wednesday, July 15, at noon. Bring lunch; the library will serve refreshments. Reservations are required; call (631) 283-0774, ext. 523.
on Jul 7, 2009