As we sipped a Borgogno Barolo on the outdoor patio of our room at Agriturismo Il Casolare di Bucciano outside of San Gimignano, we got around to discussing what we wanted to do for dinner.

I pulled up Google maps and saw that one of the most highly rated restaurants was right above us across the Sangiovese vineyards and Olive Orchards at the Casanova di Pescille. We called the Restaurant Zafferano to see if they had room for us that evening. They did.

We had a magnificent meal. My wife reflected that this was the best steak that she had on the entire four week trip. My appetizer (far right) was an onion tart. It was the best appetizer I had on our journey.

As we wandered back to the car, we noticed a sign that said they offered cooking classes during the week. We asked if they had any openings the next week and they did. We signed up and looked forward to our second private cooking class of the trip.

Chef Saverio welcomed us to his kitchen. We couldn’t believe that all of the ingredients were already prepared and organized. We also could not believe how small the kitchen was. Chef said we would start with Cantuccini (what I would call biscotti).

Our four course menu included a cheese pudding, a tagliatelle with a home made sauce, a stuffed chicken breast and Cantucci for desert.

Within minutes we were at work preparing our dinner.

In each of our cooking classes we made pasta from scratch. Each chef emphasized that we had to use 00 four from Italy. The kneading was the hardest and demonstrated how out of shape I was. I didn’t realize how much exercise I needed to prepare for a cooking class. Then came the rolling out of the dough. I don’t think in any of the classes I rolled the pasta thin enough, but it still tasted quite good.

One of the most interesting parts of the class was infusing the chicken with the quickly prepared stuffing and then Vin Santo wine (a key part of every Tuscan meal we enjoyed).

Soon our preparation work was done and it was time to eat the four course meal we mostly prepared.

During the class and while eating the meal, we learned more about the family. Chef Saverio introduced us to his wife and child. They are the fifth and sixth generation of the family living and working at Casanova di Pescille. We met their parents (fourth generation) as they wandered through on their daily duties. In addition to the rooms and apartments for rent and the restaurant, the family runs the farm (vineyards, olive orchards, and saffron spices), and the winery. All of the food we were served was acquired locally and was in season at the local market.

Chef shared that he typically changes the menu every three months. I asked about the incredible onion tart and he laughed. He told us this was his specialty and has been on the menu for ten years.

We eagerly awaited what we had prepared. As we sat down we were served, one of the estate wines – a wonderful Vernaccia.

Two of our best meals on our four week trip came from the hands and heart of Chef Saverio and his amazing family. We may have helped prepare these four courses, but Chef masterfully cooked our preparations.

As we looked out over their olive orchards and vineyards at the town of San Gimignano on our way to our car, we looked forward to coming back and staying at this wonderful agriturismo with such a gifted family.

Ciao.