A Greek boy grows up to become a talented cook after political turmoil forces his family to leave Turkey.

After three long decades, Fanis, a grizzled astrophysics professor, returns to his roots and his abandoned home in Constantinople to visit his ailing spice merchant grandfather and mentor. As Fanis takes a trip down memory lane--reminiscing about first loves, the passion for food, and the hard times that shaped him as a person--the spice-scented tale of a close-knit family unfolds: the story of the forced expulsion of the persecuted Greek-Orthodox population of Constantinople in 1964-1965, and how Fanis learned to become a gastronome.—Nick Riganas

"A Touch of Spice" is a story about a young Greek boy (Fanis) growing up in Istanbul, whose grandfather, a culinary philosopher and mentor,teaches him that both food and life require a little salt to give them flavor; they both require... A Touch of Spice. Fanis grows up to become an excellent cook and uses his cooking skills to spice up the lives of those around him. 35 years later he leaves Athens and travels back to his birthplace of Istanbul to reunite with his grandfather and his first love; he travels back only to realize that he forgot to put a little bit of spice in his own life.—Anonymous