Cucina povera

Food has always played a central role in our lives. In 800 BC Etruscan nobles were hunting wild boars and roasting them with berries. The aristocratic Caterina dei Medici of Florence married the King Henry III of France in the 1500s, and enriched French cooking with the traditions of her homeland. But good food has never been restricted to the nobility. Cucina povera is the clean taste of Tuscany, built on seasonal ingredients at their peak of flavour, aromatics that grow just outside the door and straightforward preparations that let the flavours come through. We have always made the most of what we have whenever we have it. When you work with semplicity, the ingredients become very important. We must pay respect to the farmers’ profound contributions to Tuscan cuisine. Everybody claims to have the best- My basil is sweeter; My rabbits feed on grapes; My olive oil is fruitier… Good ingredients, good basics and deep respect for the food make a better dish. To a Tuscan, food is not just something to eat, it’s the very core of life. It is a sense of time, of place, of family- a sense of belonging. We truly believe that we are what we eat.