It is 1498, and the whole of Venice is abuzz. Hidden somewhere in the labyrithine city is an ancient book, rumoured to contain long-buried secrets and the key to immeasurable power.
Street orphan Luciano is amazed tot find himself apprenticed to the greatest chef in Venice. In the doge's palace Chef Ferrero takes the boy under his wing, instructing him in the most mysterious alchemy of all, that of the culinary art.
Each night, as the inquisitive boy conceals himself behind a door to watch the doge and his guests feasting, he wonders at the things he sees, not least the apparent side effects of his maestro's exquisite recipes.
But also watching from the shadows are some of the most dangerous, powerful men in Venice, and as Luciano begins to susept the fabled book is tantalizingly close at hand, he is pitched into the centre of a perilous intrigue.
Street orphan Luciano is amazed tot find himself apprenticed to the greatest chef in Venice. In the doge's palace Chef Ferrero takes the boy under his wing, instructing him in the most mysterious alchemy of all, that of the culinary art.
Each night, as the inquisitive boy conceals himself behind a door to watch the doge and his guests feasting, he wonders at the things he sees, not least the apparent side effects of his maestro's exquisite recipes.
But also watching from the shadows are some of the most dangerous, powerful men in Venice, and as Luciano begins to susept the fabled book is tantalizingly close at hand, he is pitched into the centre of a perilous intrigue.
