Valentino: At the Emperor's Table

Photographed by renowned Italian photographer Oberto Gili, and organized by residence, this book invites the reader to enjoy various table settings and recipes specific to each home. A flan au chevre may be served on Portuguese porcelain at his ski chalet in Gstaad, while a visit to his home in London reveals a “decorating masterpiece”--says Talley in his text--with an orientalist dining room of blue and white china. The New York City pied-a-terre showcases “table decorations…limitless in their exquisiteness” including Russian dinner-service sets and ruby red Irish glass plates. On T.M. Blue One, guests are served Mediterranean-inspired cuisine atop custom, seafaring-themed dinner service sets. “I love sharing the things in my life with my friends,” Valentino says.