RUFINA Rufina is a little town on the hills of vineyards and olive groves. It’s on the East of Florence. We took a local train in the morning and we arrived there in about half an hour. I’s only a few stops away from heaven. Elizabeth who is the representative of Villa di Vetrice waited for us at the train station already. Villa di Vetrice is a warm and cozy place built in the 13th century. The size of the vineyard is 562 acres and they have more than 1200 Olive trees! The uniqueness of Chianti Rufina wine is the its strength and a robust elegance. The tannin is well-balanced. […]
La Cucina Vegetariana Chili preserve to accompany the cheese selection This freshly made Spaghetti dish has its unique taste and I would say I have never seen it in any restaurants. It’s an interesting one as the sauce is made of blended Cavoro Nero or the Tuscan black cabbage which is very healthy. And the hand-made Spaghetti is freshly made out of the Chitarra machine. The texture of this fresh Spaghetti is softer as it has less Semola flour and more water was added in the recipe. SOMBRERI DI PATATE E LIMONE CON CARBONARA DI VERDURA We cooked this dish by using the same pasta dough we made the Spaghetti […]
La cucina Toscana 2 Tuscany is well-known for its breathtaking scenery, wine and food. When talking about Tuscan food, there are plenty of mouthwatering dishes. However we need to know the most famous ones. Today Professor Francesco taught us to cook Crostini de fegatini,Crostini lard e rosmarino, Crostini al pomodoro, Zuppa di faro della Garfagnana, Pappa al pomodoro, Stinco di vitello arrosto e gremolada and Cantuccini di Prato. It must have been my lucky day. Today we got to taste the Ovoli mushrooms as Professor Francesco found them in the market. These mushroom is rare to find as their season lasts only 3 days. So once you find them, you […]
La Cucina Toscana 1 Today is the first day of our cooking class with Professor Francesco. My classmates looked excited and eager to learn. It’s my pleasure to meet Professor Francesco again since our last course. All my Japanese classmates are now doing the internship all over Italy. And I am now making my dream comes true as a food and travel writer. Today I am here as a student reporter for this Culinary course for Professional chef. Tuscany is well known for its delicious food and wine. The Tuscan food is unique from the cooking style which is quick and easy. The local ingredients which are fresh and high […]
MERCATO CENTRALE Love at the first sight would be the best saying for the Mercato Centrale for me. If cooking and eating are your passions, you would fall in love with Mercato Centrale easily. As a student chef, this is the best place to get to know the Tuscan ingredients. As a market lover, it’s a paradise. As an art admirer,it’s a living beauty of the 19th century. On the ground floor, you can find fresh vegetables, meats, a great selection of wine , food souvenirs like great Tuscan olive oil,dry pasta or Cantucci. Anything Tuscan,you name it,they have it. If you feel like trying some local food, perhaps walking […]
The 1st week of my Toscana Home cuisine couse has started. After the 2 months of real hard work in the intense professional chef course, cooking in a Granny’s kitchen is a total relaxation to me. We cooked 4 dishes a day and had that home made meal together. Changing from Cooking in a big professional kitchen to a homey kitchen is a different experience. But I do love both. One lazy afternoon, I baked an apple tart and let it sit on the window frame to cool down. Outside the window was a blooming rose garden. I could see the green hill with Cypress trees in the back ground. […]
This week has been really special to me. We started off the week with a visit to a wine cellar. It was a perfect day under the Tuscan sky. The day was fresh and sunny. The garden was full of roses and herbs.I could smell rosemary and lavenders while we were walking in the garden. Such a relaxing atmosphere to study wine and olive oil making. Now I know the differences of extra vergin olive oil and normal olive oil. It takes up to 300 kg of olives to get 40 liters of olive oil! Then we did some wine and olive oil tasting. Yet after the class we all […]
It’s been another productive week for us. This week we went to Parma to study how parmigiana cheese and prosciutto are made in the factory. It was really interesting! Studying in a moutain of parmigiana was for sure an experience of a life time. In our cooking lessons, we had a sausage making day, a pizza day and the last one of this week was dessert making. Such a sweet and happy ending! I have never thought I would be able to make homemade sausages by myself. Oh… What a hard work though… I had to mix the meat together with spices and beated all ingredients with my 2 hands […]
