This is the story of Ida, a tiny resilient restaurant perched between a barren thoroughfare in north London and a notorious crack estate, that survived (only just) the 2008 economic crash and the pandemic lockdown to become an internationally renowned haven of Italian home cooking. But it's about much more than the rise, fall and phoenix-like resurrection of the unlikely restaurant. Avi and Simonetta’s vision was formed by generations before them, spanning countries from Israel to Austria and Greece, with the Bird's Eye custard Britain providing a home for Ida’s southern Italian menu. Those cultures have informed their own family and identity as much as that of the restaurant.

This is a book for anyone who has ever fantasized about painting a name over a door and creating a refuge of delight for their neighbourhood. And it’s for anyone who sees the beauty in serving the food you have prepared with love for the people you love – as well as the beauty in eating it.