It goes with the territory — quite literally — but we love Italian food here at Bookings For You. And we just so happen to know a fair few bloggers who love Italian food just as much as we do. After the success of our 2017 #BFYmasterclass with Palazzo Tronconi, we had so much fun we knew we had to do it again. So, we invited some bloggers back down to our Surrey HQ to enjoy a fantastic Tuscan masterclass hosted by the wonderful Giovanni family (and owners of the incredible Country Relais and Spa Le Capanne estate…).
We joined in — getting hands on with the pasta shaping, garlic wiping and wild boar scoffing — but also managed to learn a fair bit along the way:
Italians are evangelical about food quality
Okay, we didn’t exactly learn this at our masterclasses — but they have both cemented just how much Italian’s love their food. Last year, Marco brought his own eggs with him (and managed to keep them all intact), and this year the Giovanni family brought everything with them except for chicken livers and some emergency tomatoes for the Thursday. Never have two ingredients caused such great stress.
Sometimes, tradition is best
The speed and heat of a food processor can impair the flavour of the ingredients, which means that by hand (well, with a knife) is best for a fresh zingy taste that’s distinctly authentic.
Always flip your bruschetta
Thick or thin, the Giovanni weren’t fussy about your preferences for chunkiness. But the rules are simple: bake until golden for five minutes, flip midway through and wipe with garlic to infuse the flavour. Tasty.
Pasta making is a two-person job
Not necessarily for speed, but the sheer brute force it takes to get the pasta through the machine. Although, it’s probably a bit easier when the clamp fits the table…
Alcohol-free Tiramisu is molto bene
Vera made a fabulous tiramisu, without a bottle of alcohol in sight. It was the one dish where the hand mixer was allowed… and she also explained that it’s critical to separate the eggs perfectly. No yolk contamination on our watch.
And finally…
Jo is surprisingly good at cutting millefolgie. That, or it’s surprisingly easy to cut — we’re not sure. Either way, she did an excellent job.
You can follow the event on Instagram via the #BFYmasterclass hashtag.