Picture a centuries-old Florentine cloister and a long dining table adorned with elegant candelabras and sparkling tableware. Imagine sitting down to eat farm-to-table dishes prepared by top Tuscan chef among friends and strangers surrounded by art and culture.
Now you can, thanks to the Orti e Cenacoli dinner series organized by Florence’s Chamber of Commerce as part of the city’s array of Expo Milano 2015 activities. The dinners aim to return to the original simplicity of monastic life in spaces originally used for conviviality while adding a contemporary culinary twist. Most of the ingredients are grown locally by Florence’s farming college, Istituto di Agraria di Firenze, in the Cascine park, thanks to the urban kitchen garden tended to by the college’s lecturers and students.
After being welcomed with an aperitivo, diners are given a short exclusive tour of the church’s artistic and cultural highlights.
Upcoming dinners will be prepared by chef Entiana Osmenzeza, of Sesto on Arno, in the cloister of San Marco on September 10 and chef Luca Landi, of Pisa’s Lunasia restaurant, in the cloister of Ognissanti on September 24.
The dinners cost 80 euro. Reservations required. For information and to reserve, visit eventi.boxofficetoscana.it/ortiecenacoli
