Vittoria Caterina Giachi has just finished "About Sangimignano: my journey into the secrets of Italian cuisine" — the scents of Tuscany in her own cookbook, SCENTS OF TUSCANY IN A COOKBOOK – ABOUT SAN GIMIGNANO.
Who Vittoria is
A curious, generous teenchef
Those who love to cook are generous: cooking most of the time means preparing something for someone else. Vittoria, the daughter of Pierluigi, is a foodwriter and teenchef, generous and curious. She organized all the recipes you've all been cooking every Friday with us. After more than 13 months of recipes made during the virtual "The farmer in the Kitchen" through this lockdown period, testing, manuscript writing and photo shoots were done. We're happy to share this project we strongly believed in: a cookbook tasted, perfected and Giachi family approved.
Nonna Graziella's school
Cooking since age 5, with 10 Torciano cooks
Vittoria is young, but from the age of 5 grandmother Graziella taught her the secrets of Tuscan cooking, and she has always cooked for the family and for the guests who visit us, helped by 10 fantastic Torciano cooks and following the old manuscript found in the Giachi Tower in San Gimignano. Thanks to nonna Graziella's teaching and her training, she became a skillful chef.
Bedtime stories, anecdotes, the recipes from her diary. And still, kneading the bread together, waiting for it to rise, learning how it's kept. Her grandmother was an irreplaceable point of reference for Vittoria, and not just because she raised her: a courageous woman who acted as a bridge between old and new, who with her words of comfort, her melancholy and her strictness taught her bright-eyed granddaughter how important it is to preserve traditions while always continuing to look ahead.
The book
A cookbook for teenagers, and not only
Over the last year Vittoria decided to write her own kitchen book: a cookbook dedicated to teenagers and young people, but also to adults and to anyone who wants to discover the authenticity of Tuscan cuisine. She set out to discover traditional Tuscan recipes, always revisiting them according to her own point of view, paying attention to genuine ingredients, true flavors, peasant traditions — a whole collection of recipes for every taste.
Not long ago, on a boring gray and rainy day, I found myself locked in my family's tower (no one had kidnapped me), absorbed in my thoughts. I still remember the countless questions I asked myself about the meaning of life — the questions everyone eventually asks about themselves. I was looking for a book that could give a solution to my problems, among the creaking of the wood and the dust hidden in every corner. That's how I came across an antiquated but solemn little book, buried on that shelf for who knows how long. It immediately caught my attention, so I decided to take a look. Leafing through the pages, I realized it was a cooking manuscript, tens, perhaps hundreds of years old: a collection of notes and recipes from a girl perhaps as young as I was at the time. The diary opens with an inscription that particularly intrigued me: "property of Vittoria Giachi, 1728". My first thought was to deliver to the world these cooking notes handed down to me in an old manuscript — but reworked according to my own lifestyle and my grandmother's teachings.
Cooking lessons
Learn with our chef, for kids and adults alike
If your kids love good cooking, bring them to learn authentic Italian cuisine together with our chef. Prepare homemade pasta together and other simple, delicious Tuscan recipes, incredible sauces, meat, cakes or even real Italian ice cream, using only fresh ingredients. Here you'll have fun learning to cut, braise, boil, cook and roast a full Tuscan meal, and to whip, blend or use a water bath to create all sorts of desserts and the ice cream flavor you want.
At the table
The Mediterranean diet on the plate
Food is not only a source of nourishment — eating well is also a physical and mental pleasure. You'll find plenty of essential tips for cooking like an Italian with the Mediterranean diet, which blends the basics of healthy eating with the traditional flavors and cooking methods of the Mediterranean. There are recipes from appetizers like lard and honey bruschetta, to our famous first course, Tenuta Torciano's Lasagna with mushrooms, to a second course like Fiorentina Steak — but remember to keep a free space in your stomach for dessert, tiramisù or Pesche di Prato, and even more. Delicious!
FAQ
Who can take part in the cooking lessons at Tenuta Torciano?
The cooking lessons are for kids and adults alike, learning authentic Italian cuisine together with the chef.
What can you learn to cook in the cooking lessons?
You can prepare homemade pasta and other simple, delicious Tuscan recipes, incredible sauces, meat, cakes and even real Italian ice cream, using only fresh ingredients.
What dishes are served as part of the Mediterranean diet menu?
The menu includes appetizers like lard and honey bruschetta, a first course such as Tenuta Torciano's Lasagna with mushrooms, a second course like Fiorentina Steak, and desserts such as tiramisù or Pesche di Prato.
Since what age has Vittoria Giachi been cooking?
She has been cooking since age 5, taught by her grandmother Graziella and helped by 10 Torciano cooks.
Who wrote the cookbook "About Sangimignano"?
The cookbook was written by Vittoria Caterina Giachi, daughter of Pierluigi, a foodwriter and teenchef.
