FOOD + WINE

Food and wine in Florence and Tuscany, including food stories, restaurant reviews and wineries.

FOOD + WINE

Mid-winter pleasure: puntarelle

The holidays are over and we're midway into January. The month may be long and cold, but it is also the start of puntarelle season. I have only just discovered this vegetable, but, like someone in love, I don't remember what life was like before I tasted a

FOOD + WINE

Top ten wines for the festive season

At this time of year, as people plan to host family, friends and colleagues, they often worry about making the right choices of wine. When asked, I suggest deciding on the menu first and developing the wine list to follow, or vice versa. My general advice, however, is bubbles first.

FOOD + WINE

Olio nuovo

Finally! A real Italian invitation to go olive picking-to experience picking olives in the countryside followed by a long Italian lunch. I called my host, Giacomo, only three times on my way to ask for more precise directions (and turned the car around twice without telling).   After arriving

FOOD + WINE

Peposo perfection

  My first-floor apartment in Florence has a private garden outside the back door-and a wine bar outside my front door. Fuori Porta is right below me, and the kitchen’s ...

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Omlette vs. frittata

The French omelette and the Italian frittata are just about as different from each other as the French are from the Italians. One is all fluff and show, a bit like a peacock showing its tail. Don't get me wrong: I love a good French omelette-the lightness of

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Flex your mussels

Please forgive the dreadful pun and console yourselves with the knowledge that it could have been worse if I'd have chosen a different seafood to write about this issue. (‘Prawn stars', ‘Whelk hello', or ‘A clam for all seasons', for example. Lucky escape, huh?) As it

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Not Just Desserts

Eating big, hearty meals at this time of the year can seem like the last thing anyone wants to do: unless, of course, those big hearty meals are cooked outside and served in a bread roll. But, at the same time, all those salads can get a little bit boring

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Chilling out in the Renaissance

Some like it cold So, you think that ice-cold drinks are a modern American invention? Well, here's news for you: frosty beverages were the rage in Italy centuries before America was discovered. They became especially popular in Renaissance Florence. French essayist Michel de Montaigne, who traveled through Italy

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Leftover lovers

Eagle-eyed readers might have noticed that, of late, this column has revolved around two distinct themes: summer and the onset of good weather, and thrift. It's not through a lack of inspiration-I'd hate to give the impression that writing this column is as easy as gazing

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The Florentine says… grillax

Ah, you know the feeling. Sun on your neck. The smell of marinated meat turned and sizzling on a shiny lattice. The breeze drying the patina of honest sweat on your cheeks. The sound of your friends being chased by drowsy carpenter bees the size of hummingbirds and shining like

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Sweet international summers

There’s little doubt that readers in Tuscany with sweet tooths are spoiled from the moment they wake up in the morning until the time comes to brush their teeth at night. Dolci for breakfast, a morning snack, more paste at lunch, something sweet to taste in the evening

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It’s Wine Month

What better way to count down the days to summer’s arrival than by enjoying a perfect glass of vino while gazing at the sun-soaked hills of Tuscany during Wine Month in the Chianti region? Be sure not to miss the activities centered on the best wines that

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Break out the botanicals

Fresh herbs are an ideal way to add colour, flavour and texture to your spring and summer dishes: they're inexpensive, and you only need a small amount to add a lot of extra taste to dishes.  And in Tuscany, you're never short of opportunities to buy or

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Short, sweet suppers

Predicting food trends is a strange world to get into, and one that most food journalists steer clear of, partly because of the risk of making yourself look a bit silly (‘So, you're trying to tell us that this is the year the electric toothbrush is finally going

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Alici in wonderland

It's very infrequently that this column will focus on one ingredient only, and rarer still that the named ingredient will be quite as humble and tiny as the one we're going to focus on now, but something has been missing in my life recently, and I hope to

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Kit and caboodle

So, you've spent the whole of January taking it easy, saving money and cranking your health back up to pre-Christmas levels. And you've spent February huddled up against (what we hope is) the last of the wintry weather, eking a few tasty meals out of the last,

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Spring into action

Spring is often a bit of an odd time for eating. Yes, there are things that come into season right now, but most of the recipes that you’ll find yourself ...

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Eat well, save money

If you switch on the TV, open a paper, walk into a shop, stroll down the street, go into a bar, or just eavesdrop on someone else's conversation, you're reminded that things are actually quite gloomy, money-wise, right now. Nobody really knows whether or not they're

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Finger on the pulses

I'd be lying if I said that the topic of this fortnight's article wasn't inspired by the ready crop of puns that suit anything bean-related. Bean a long time? The importance of beans in earnest? Lentil we meet again? Pun-tastic. However, at this time of

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Get in touch with your roots

Times are hard. Many people are feeling the pinch right now. One of our favourite money-saving tips comes to us second-hand from a friend who met a very well-travelled gentleman while having a coffee in London; despite working for only two days a week, the man nonetheless

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Ring in the new

If you're having people over for a party on New Year's Eve, you might want to give them some food. Of course, there are some traditional Italian specialties that you may feel expected to serve, and if you're having a dinner party, then we think that cotechino

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The great Florentine ragu-off

Seems unusual, but the act of preparing a simple pot of ragu can mean stepping onto a culinary minefield, where any number of potential wrong moves await the terrified, hapless ...

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Tuscany’s autumn bounty

Autumn is my favourite time of year. The climate is just right, everything looks really lovely-the leaves on the trees, the morning mist, even the quality of the light is ...

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Autumn salumi toscani

Fall is upon us. The sweltering heat is long gone, the mosquitoes have calmed down and leather jackets are everywhere. More importantly though, this change in season brings its particular delights of Tuscan cuisine.   With the dawn of colder weather, we often crave food that is rich, comforting and

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