Andy Lo Russo, known as the Singing Chef, and the author of the book and tape Sing and Cook Italian, has always had an intrinsic sense of music and food. He signed with Epic Records when he was 22 and sang popular tunes and jazz standards for a number of years while living in his home state of New Jersey. It was here that Andy learned to cook within his Italian/Sicilian family. He combined his true passion for music and cooking when he moved to California in 1991, where he studied with the world renowned vocal coach to the stars, Giovanna d'Onofrio, who coached the great tenor Mario Lanza and the well known soprano of the day, Luisa Tetrazzini. It was with Giovanna that the author studied the arias and love songs of the great Italian composers and combined his and his family's best recipes with classic, beautiful love songs. Thus The Singing Chef®and Sing & Cook Italian were born. The author is also an eight year member in good standing of the International Association of Culinary Professionals(IACP). This is a worldwide membership of nearly 4000 and encompasses over 35 countries and is literally a Who's Who of the world of food. ^[1]