Day 4 - Florence's Sustainable food ... at its finest!
Today was all about an immersion in Florence food and learning about their philosophy regarding food which goes to the root of food sustainability -
* No waste
* Seasonal, local Sourcing
* Creating long-term relationships - between producers and restaurant owners and guests, these relationships often lasting for generations!
We started with a cooking class at The Cooking School Cucina of Lorenzo De' Medici in Florence's Central Market. The menu consisted of Zucchini Flowers filled with Cheese & Zucchini Cream, Pici hand rolled pasta with Finto Ragu' and a soft Florentine cake. Giulio Capotondo, the director of the culinary school at LdM was our culinary instructor. It was an amazing experience!
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This was followed by a tour and "tasting" of food in the Central Market with explanations of the sourcing and preparation of many of the foods. When Italians say "tasting", they actually mean "eating"! Everything was delicious, from the cheeses and Italian meats to the Biscotti dipped in . wine!
After an afternoon break, the food education and "tasting" continued with a tour of 3 restaurants. First a Trattoria (Esercizi Storici Fiorentini) which has been in this family for 4 generations. The grandfather determines what the menu will be each day, they head to the market to get the ingrediencts and cook, only serving lunch. We enjoyed La Ribollita (twice boiled soup), which uses their day-old bread to provide the creaminess in this vegetable soup, ravioli, veal and beef. Let's just say we were already full after this meal but this was only stop #1...
Next, we headed to the streets of Florence for traditional street food of Florences' famous Lampredotto (4th stomach of the cow) and trippa (cow stomach lining). Kudos to the students for their adventurous nature in sampling these food. Most agreed the Lampredotto was good! This is part of their sustainable treatment of food - no part of the animal is wasted!
Last, we headed back to the market and had some of the most amazing Naples-wood fired pizza we have ever had! As with most of the food, it was all based on very simple ingredients and was amazing!
We rolled out of the market and are ready to shift gears a bit tomorrow as we study renewable energy and visit an organic farm.
* No waste
* Seasonal, local Sourcing
* Creating long-term relationships - between producers and restaurant owners and guests, these relationships often lasting for generations!
We started with a cooking class at The Cooking School Cucina of Lorenzo De' Medici in Florence's Central Market. The menu consisted of Zucchini Flowers filled with Cheese & Zucchini Cream, Pici hand rolled pasta with Finto Ragu' and a soft Florentine cake. Giulio Capotondo, the director of the culinary school at LdM was our culinary instructor. It was an amazing experience!
. 
This was followed by a tour and "tasting" of food in the Central Market with explanations of the sourcing and preparation of many of the foods. When Italians say "tasting", they actually mean "eating"! Everything was delicious, from the cheeses and Italian meats to the Biscotti dipped in . wine!
After an afternoon break, the food education and "tasting" continued with a tour of 3 restaurants. First a Trattoria (Esercizi Storici Fiorentini) which has been in this family for 4 generations. The grandfather determines what the menu will be each day, they head to the market to get the ingrediencts and cook, only serving lunch. We enjoyed La Ribollita (twice boiled soup), which uses their day-old bread to provide the creaminess in this vegetable soup, ravioli, veal and beef. Let's just say we were already full after this meal but this was only stop #1...
Next, we headed to the streets of Florence for traditional street food of Florences' famous Lampredotto (4th stomach of the cow) and trippa (cow stomach lining). Kudos to the students for their adventurous nature in sampling these food. Most agreed the Lampredotto was good! This is part of their sustainable treatment of food - no part of the animal is wasted!
Last, we headed back to the market and had some of the most amazing Naples-wood fired pizza we have ever had! As with most of the food, it was all based on very simple ingredients and was amazing!
We rolled out of the market and are ready to shift gears a bit tomorrow as we study renewable energy and visit an organic farm.
Looks like that little blue fork is pretty simple too !!!
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