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Stanley Tucci returns to Italy's tables in Season 2
On 12 May, Disney+ releases the second season of Tucci in Italy, a journey through regional kitchens, family rituals and the deep ties between food and identity.
The universal language of second helpings
Viewers will recognise a familiar scene: Stanley Tucci politely declines another serving, only to have a nonna, chef or entire family pile more food onto his plate. The ritual mirrors visits to any Italian grandmother's home, where the dining table becomes a stage for affection, hospitality and belonging.
"Food is love, welcome and who we are, all in one," Tucci reflects. The series captures this philosophy as he travels from Sicily to Sardinia and up to the Alpine north, uncovering local traditions and the stories behind them.
Beyond pizza and pasta: Italy's regional mosaic
Tucci challenges the global stereotype of Italian cuisine as "just pizza and pasta." Instead, he reveals a country where culinary identity is fiercely local. In Tuscany, Siena's historic contradas-districts with distinct traditions-compete over whose food reigns supreme. In the north, climate and geography shape dishes like goulash, polenta and buckwheat, ingredients rarely found in southern kitchens.
"When you say, 'You're from Italy,' they'll say, 'No, I'm from Tuscany' or 'I'm from Florence.' They're very territorial, especially about food."
Stanley Tucci
Favourite bites and culinary crimes
Pressed to name the best dish from Season 2, Tucci laughs: "Everything." He eventually singles out a pasta layered with different mozzarellas. Yet his enthusiasm is tempered by concern over modern attitudes toward eating. He laments the rise of weight-loss drugs and a culture that reduces food to mere sustenance, erasing its emotional and communal significance.
"We overthink food, and the idea of what we're supposed to look like has messed up our relationship with it," he says. He also criticises the push toward uniformity, arguing that imperfection-like an oddly shaped tomato-should be celebrated.
On culinary heresies, Tucci is unequivocal: pineapple on pizza, cream in carbonara, ketchup on pasta and cappuccino after dinner all earn his disapproval. "Absolutely not," he declares, though he concedes broken spaghetti has its place in regional soups.
Release and reception
The six-episode season premieres on Disney+ on 12 May, offering a feast of glistening seafood, market-fresh produce and intimate portraits of family-run kitchens. For Tucci, the series is more than a travelogue-it's a testament to the diversity and resilience of Italian food culture.
