A new year tends to make you reflect. I am incredibly lucky. I have so much to be grateful for. Two amazing children. A wonderful husband who supports me in all I do. The opportunity to do what I love for a living. Truly the best friends anyone could ask for. 2011 was a pretty [...]
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Italians tend to make pretty bold statements about food. Where the BEST chocolate gelato is. Where NOT to buy prosciutto. The ONLY olive oil to serve with fish. I have been spending a little time in Verona recently, and have a bold statement of my own to make. The WORST cup of coffee in Italy [...]
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Day 2 in Verona, and the culinary delights do not disappoint. I had a wonderful adventure yesterday, but will have to wait until I return home before I can tell you about that one…if things turn out….those of you who may have any idea – don’t bust me – you never know if any customs [...]
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My week of deliciousness is drawing to a close. Last cappuccino. Last adorable micro packet of Nutella slipped into the purse from the breakfast bar. Last touches on the product development project that brought me here. The last meal is critical. The restaurant has to be perfect. I have to have something I cannot find [...]
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“You are the only non-Italian we have ever hosted that actually likes Baccalau alla Vicenza!” Vicenza, half way between Verona and Venice is a bustling industrial centre with a long tradition in the gold, leather and marble industry. From the Autostrada it looks like nothing, but the city centre is incredibly beautiful and well worth [...]
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Working in Vicenza, I am asked to join some folks for lunch at the Trattoria across the street from the fresh pasta factory. The place is jammed with regular Italians on their lunch break. I can smell the potential of having a lunch that is the “real deal” in the air. “Lucky” me! The waitress [...]
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An entire restaurant, up in the hills overlooking Vicenza, completely devoted to the preparation of wild and rare mushrooms, only in Italy. Finding Al Casin Gamba, in Altissimo Chiampo, is kind of like foraging for mushrooms – it’s a real adventure, and you really have to want to find them – but once you do, [...]
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Chocolate. Panna. Cotta. Seriously folks. Does this one need explanation? Panna cotta (meaning cooked cream) is a classic Italian dessert, likely coming from Northern Italy where they love….say it with me now….butter….and….cream. The cream is simmered with sugar and then set with enough gelatin so the cream holds a mould shape, yet still has the [...]
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“Mantova is a very important food town” we were told by several Italians, when I enquired as to whether or not it was worth a visit. Feeling that “an important” food town could not be missed – southbound we set. We did get stuck in some traffic on the autostrada, and chuckled when the police [...]
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First night and we are feasting on Lardo. Yup. LARD. Pig fat. Not even like the French lardons – those have at least an inkling of meat. Just the fat please! On a pizza, with nothing else. Just perfect crisp wood oven/stone baked crust, Lardo, extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt. [...]
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