Prevue September-October 2016 - 74
Renaissance
Tuscany
Flavors of the past spark ideas of the future
[ON LOCATION] JOHNALEE JOHNSTON
W
e're running in between raindrops, or that is the
plan, as we dart in and out of laneways, across
multi-colored cobblestone and beneath many a
merchant's tent to get our hands on Castelnuovo
di Garfagnana's freshest produce. The Italian town, situated in
Tuscany's Lucca province, is bustling as it did in the 13th century,
when traders sold and bartered before boarding their ships and
easing on down the Serchio and Turrite Secca rivers. At this
moment in time, sous chef Stefano Vincenti and I are embarking
on our own journey, which bears the responsibility of loading up on
tomatoes, eggplant, mushrooms (the occasional glass of wine) and
other seasonal favs to boot for a future indigenous culinary cooking
class at the Renaissance Tuscany Il Ciocco Resort & Spa. We won't
be heading down the river, but if our class goes south, we may be
heading back to this nook of the world for a little cioccolato therapy.
IN ITALY, WE EAT
It figures that I would start churning out some halfway decent
gnocchi once I've reached the end of the dough. Vincenti made
the entire process (formally called the "Indigenous Cooking
Experience") look easy. Assume the toque blanche, knead together
spelt flour, potato, egg and salt, roll it out into a log, slice into 1-inch
bites and then gently rock a fork over each piece to poke a few
holes for our cheesy sauce to escape into. It's this last step that
has me all perplexed. I'm laying tracks across our gnocchi instead
of digging holes and it's not pretty. But Vincenti repeats the demo
as many times as I need and by the end of the log, I'm confident
my dumplings will ooze respectability. They'd better. I'll be dining on
them this evening at La Salette, one of two restaurants at the hotel.
We've customized tonight's menu to accommodate all of the
random ingredients we bought in the market. The jar of truffle butter
from L'Aia di Piero is going to rock our spinach and cheese ravioli;
the limes will give just the right pop to our asparagus. Vincenti runs
off into the hot summer's day while I'm rolling out a new batch
of dough and returns a few minutes later with a hot teapot and
selection of teas. It's hard work being a hotel chef and we take a
moment to indulge. He points to a rack of freshly made cookies
and beckons me to pick what I want, while handing me my own
binder of authentic Tuscan recipes that I can take home. Groups
also partake in this customized culinary experience-Vincenti
says some have even begun with a variation of this grand finale:
cupcakes and cappuccinos.
HOME IS WHERE YOU ARE
Home for the next week is the Renaissance Tuscany, which is
brilliantly positioned about an hour away from Florence and Pisa
"Attendees can experience a way of life of the past as if time has stopped
and just enjoy the food, wine, locale and culture."
74 | prevuemeetings.com
http://www.prevuemeetings.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Prevue September-October 2016
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Prevue September-October 2016 - T1
Prevue September-October 2016 - T2
Prevue September-October 2016 - No label
Prevue September-October 2016 - 2
Prevue September-October 2016 - 3
Prevue September-October 2016 - 4
Prevue September-October 2016 - 5
Prevue September-October 2016 - 6
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Prevue September-October 2016 - 18
Prevue September-October 2016 - S1
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Prevue September-October 2016 - 19
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