In Valtellina, in the Alps almost three hours away from Milan, we meet Stefano Masanti, chef and owner of the IL CANTINONE, restaurant in Madesimo. Cooking in the mountains, at 1,600 meters above sea level, is not easy. He is a chef committed to recovering the gastronomic traditions and products of his Alpine valleys: goat meat, cheeses, medicinal herbs, roots. However, his cuisine is [...]
Born in Valle d'Aosta, Mircko has roots that sink in different parts of Europe: its grandparents came from Veneto, Sicily and East Germany. In 2001 he moved to the city that will have become the capital that never sleeps, Moscow. Here, where he has been living since 2001, he is Executive Chef of several restaurants: Officina, Bro&N, Aist, e La Fabbrica. "My recipes are [...]
Ratafià is a generic term used to name a number of different fruit-based homemade liqueurs. It is not a liqueur with a unique recipe, but rather a method that includes the infusion of fruit in alcohol, especially with the addition of spices. Exclusively for our followers gourmets we have a recipe from Carlo Quaglia, a Master Distiller whose family has been producing liqueurs in [...]
To the visitor the way to take the coffee of the Italians appears a bit hasty, since it is not customary to sit at the table. Coffee is ordered at the counter, prepared in few seconds and drunk while standing, at the bar, just like in the fifties. Each bar has its own history of regulars; the inhabitants of the village, of that township [...]
Bruno Cingolani began working in front of restaurant’s stoves at a very young age. Native of Marche region, he left the Adriatic Sea for Piemonte and for 15 years has been running his Dulcis Vitis. Your cooking is not just with tradition recipes. I feel very creative. As an artist uses oil paints to create a painting, I use nature's ingredients, every day, to [...]
The connoisseurs of high quality Piedmontese wines from the Langhe hills know these two words: bric and sorì. However, the visitor who is not a great specialist in the best wines from Piemonte, the two words bric and sorì followed by a proper name (for example sorì Paitin or bric del Fiasc) always arouse some doubts and perplexity. These are words from the Piedmontese [...]
Toscana is one of the most visited regions by tourists, yet there is always something new to discover! However, it is necessary to be willing to venture on the "white roads", the typical streets covered with pebbles, also called "brecciate". After hundreds of meters of wake, a fine powder like talcum that enters everywhere and the car that seems to come from an African [...]
The Italian cuisine closest to that of Italian mothers is the one offered by many small restaurants, taverns and trattorias…where you can still find the most authentic regional cuisine, without an excessive expense. However, it may happen to a traveler to feel “lost” while hearing a waiter saying the sentence “fuori menù, oggi, abbiamo...”. It literally means: in addition to what appears on the [...]
The hidden corners that I invite you to discover in the quiet Italian provincial towns could sometimes be enormous! In Lucca, the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro (literally “square of amphitheater”) with its elliptical shape is one of the most characteristic views of the city. The houses, in different shades of yellow and ocher, are positioned on the perimeter of a perfect ellipse and face this square [...]
The land of Puglia, in summer, gives the visitor clear days and intense sun. In the evening, the towns on the heights of the Valle d’Itria are characterized by a pleasant breeze: ideal for a walk in these ancient villages. We go up to Locorotondo, 410 meters above sea level. I'll tell you two things that make this country unique: first of all, the [...]