Chez Boucher Culinary Tour - Tuscany, Italy
March 31 - April 8, 2006

A Tuscan Culinary Adventure
By Peg Williamson, Freelance Writer

Lush green countryside surrounds the villages; cypress trees grace winding roads. Farmhouses or medieval and Renaissance fortress towns crown each hilltop. Constantly changing light and shadows of woodlands, vineyards, olive groves and wheat fields. This is the beauty of Tuscany, where the harmony of the land and life are rooted in lasting traditions, where history and lifestyle and food are intertwined

The food and wine of Tuscany have lately taken the world by storm. And it's no wonder considering the superb red wines and the distinct flavors of Tuscan cuisine: extra virgin olive oil, truffles, saffron and rosemary; pecorino cheeses, crostini, bruschetta, Tuscan salami and cured ham; the freshest vegetables, excellent soups such as ribollita; duck, hare, wild boar in hearty sauces, Florentine and Chianino beef, Cinta Senese pork and so many types of pasta you cannot count them. Tastes intimately linked to the land and seasons.

This is the Tuscany that has enticed travelers for centuries. And this past April, it lured a dozen local seacoast residents on a culinary adventure with Culinary Institute of America-trained Chef Ron Boucher, CEC, ACC, and owner of Chez Boucher Cooking School in Greenland, NH. "The chefs we meet are thrilled to share their philosophies, techniques and recipes," says Boucher. "I've cooked professionally for more than 30 years and look forward to these culinary excursions to expand my knowledge and cultivate new ideas."

At its heart, Tuscan food is poor, peasant food, says Antonella Falvo, co-owner with her husband Augusto of Fattoria La Palazzina in Radicofana. "It is pure and simple, based on bread, cheese, olive oil and wine. And always, always extra virgin olive oil. It is the Tuscan olive oil and we use only the finest in all of our cooking.

"You will also notice that we do not use salt when we bake our bread," Antonella explains. "That is because we usually eat it with our pecorino cheese and cured meats, which have a salty flavor. And the fact that the Romans put a tax on salt when they ruled us so long ago. We hold on to our traditions."

"Tidbits of information like this are one reason why we take these tours," says Ron Boucher. "Sure, you could just go to Tuscany and enjoy the food and wine, but meeting the local chefs and working with them in their kitchens adds another whole dimension. Even though most of those on this trip have taken my courses, they come away with a new appreciation for the quality and freshness of ingredients, the techniques and flavors.

"Thru the food--how it's prepared and why--we learn about the people, their culture and history, their sensibilities and the traditions passed down thru generations. That's why a culinary tour like this is the way to truly experience a foreign land."

And what an experience! The first stop was a brief one in Pisa to marvel, of course, at the Leaning Tower and luxuriate in the spring sunshine at a sidewalk cafe, enjoying simple, tasty pizza and wine. Then it was on to San Gimignano, probably the most famous and striking of the Tuscan walled hill towns. "I found San Gimignano to be the most beautiful and unspoiled medieval town on the entire trip, certainly a must for anyone who visits Tuscany," says Boucher. Others agreed, even as we were walking up the main street to the hotel for the first time, Lesley Dickson of Exeter, NH, was heard to exclaim, "If we have to go home tomorrow and this is the only place we see, it was all worth it!"

Our first dinner, at Bel Soggiorno and prepared by Chef Vincenzo Condro, was a Tuscan tasting menu: our first taste of Tuscan salami, followed by a classic ribollita-the vegetable and cannelloni and bread soup, homemade pici (a pasta local to Tuscany) with veal ragu, sliced roasted pork with "black cauliflower" (similar to kale or swiss chard), and finishing with a raisin and apple torte with vanilla cream. "Maybe because it was our first Tuscan meal, but this remains among my top four favorites of the trip," says Boucher.

Morning brought us to Ristorante Dorandò, located in part of a 14th century building. Marcello Bisogni, the maitrè for 20 years, describes Dorandò as a small and cozy restaurant for people who consider good food one of the pleasures of life. "In perfect harmony with the place," says Marcello, "our cuisine, which takes inspiration from the flavor of traditional Tuscan cookery, proposes creative light dishes prepared with fresh natural products, which vary according to the different seasons, and are always presented with a touch of inventiveness." This last theme proved to be the primary philosophy for the other chef's menus we encountered as well.

Chef Duccio Ferri, who learned his craft in the army cooking for 1500 soldiers daily and still uses few, if any, written recipes, took us through the preparations for the meal we would enjoy later in the evening. The first dish, Cibrèo, is prepared with chicken liver and giblets flavored with ginger, sprinkled with Vin Santo (the Tuscan dessert wine) and mixed with whisked egg and coriander. It brought an immediate surprise when Chef Duccio mentioned and showed us another main ingredientcockscomb. That's right, the red, ruffled bit that sits atop a rooster's head! (Tuscans, it seems, are famous for not wasting those odd body parts of various animals.)

Cibreo comes from the Latin and literally means, "made with ginger and worthy of a king." It was the pride of the Florentine cuisine in the 14th century and can be served as an appetizer in small portions or as a main dish accompanied by stewed leeks. (A pate version is typically spread on Tuscan crostini.)

Other dishes we prepared included Carabaccia, a red onion soup with almonds and pecorino cheese; Peposo, beef tenderloin stewed in red wine and peppercorns with cauliflower pudding; and Cotognata, a ginger-flavored apple cake/pie with almond cookies, pine nuts and raisins, served over English cream.

Day three brought us to Castellina in Chianti and an entertaining afternoon class at Ristorante al Gallopapa with owner Tiziano and Chef Fabio, followed by a fabulous dinner experience. Tiziano is an energetic, charismatic champion of the "slow food movement" prevalent throughout Europe, which has been adopted by top Tuscan chefs and restaurants and, more recently, by US chefs as well.

Fresh products are prepared in simple, yet creative ways, served in small portions with several courses served over a 3 to 4 hour period. Chefs will even drive to farms to pick up products from an often-limited number of vendors to get the freshest possible ingredients. "We're not talking about crock-pot cooking here," says Boucher, "but the freshest seasonal products coming directly from the farm to the chef's kitchen to the customer's plate, with every taste meant to be savored and compared and embellished by the appropriate wine."

In Tuscany and at Gallopapa, the "slow food" menu features fresh, local, organic, seasonal products from the field, garden and forest, coupled with the use of ancient traditional Tuscan dishes updated by modern techniques, international ingredients or less exotic local ones.

Our menu? For starter, beef tartar accompanied by chicken bottarga and cream of potatoes scented with fava tonka bean. "The most unusual technique here," says Boucher, "is not incorporating the usual raw egg into the beef (so as to keep it light), but rather marinating an egg yolk for 36 hours in a mixture of coarse salt, sugar and brown sugar. The result is a firm jelly-like yolk that is sliced thinly and served alongside the tartar. You get just a hint of the egg yolk flavor, but without the fatty richness."

Other courses included a "cappuccino" of cream of mushrooms with cannellini beans and cinnamon croissant; "guitar" spaghetti (cut on a box with guitar-like wires making square strands) with pancetta, cream of red onions, and fresh green asparagus topped with a soft poached egg; pigeon breast with cocoa beans, the leg confit and potato cake; and chocolate mousse with cardamom pane cotta, crispy tuille and coffee cream.

Tiziano takes "slow food" one step further by serving every course on a different size, shape and color of plate. "I don't want my guests to be bored with look of the food or with the quantity," says Tiziano. "So I serve little bites that are tasty and tempting and make you yearn for more; not like in the US where you get huge portions of one dish. With so much food on your plate, how can you enjoy more than the first 4 or 5 mouthfuls? How can you have the appetite for another course?

"We offer our guests a service of exceptional food and we expect that they show respect for it, whether it appeals to their tastes or not," explains Tiziano. "We are not here to "serve" them or their whims, but to provide a fine food experience."

Boucher adds, "Tiziano is a very gracious host and extremely passionate and knowledgeable. I loved his comment about service, that 'we are here to provide a service, not just to serve you. We love what we do and we do it because we love it and we hope you will agree'."

After a much-needed walking tour of Siena the next morning, we sat down to lunch at Osteria Le Logge, where owner/chef Gianni Brunelli is renowned for his creative egg dishes, which have been written up by the most important Italian food magazine, Gambero Rosso. (His vineyard also produces a fine Brunello di Montalcino.)

Lunch started with a lightly poached egg sprinkled with a sweet paprika; then a quenelle of a traditional and uniquely Sienese pate of veal spleen (milza) served over two thin strips of white anchovy. Another traditional plate, Malfatii all'Osteria, followed: a spinach, ricotta, parmesan and egg dumpling sitting upon fresh tomato sauce and drizzled with a bechamel sauce and candied orange slices. The meat course was a lamb porchetta (or roulade) with a stuffed Italian finger pepper, and ending with a zuppa di Vin Santo with gelato and cantucci (a Sienese cookie) and spuma di Ricciarelli (foam flavored by another Sienese cookie).

Day five brought us to Castello Banfi, inarguably one of the trip's highlights. The estate encompasses a 9th to 12th century fortress overlooking 7100 acres of countryside, an enoteca wine-tasting salon and shop, antique glass museum with examples from Roman to modern, a balsameria producing their 12-year-old Balsamic vinegar, the formal Ristorante Banfi and Taverna Banfi with fine Tuscan dishes and wine.

Overall, this was one of top three meals, accompanied by matched wines. First course was a copacollo of Cinta Senese pork on thinly sliced raw fennel and orange salad (with a San Angelo 2004), followed by the house zuppa di pane, or bread soup (with a Centine 2004). "So far we've had two 10s, maybe even 12s! What's next?" asked Andy Sutton of Newfields, NH.

The meat course was a "Tatgliata" beefsteak with French green beans in tomato sauce and roasted rosemary potatoes (with a Rosso di Montalcino 2003). The cheese course included four pecorino cheeses: fresh, classic, truffle and aged, with a dab of honey and pine nuts, paired with a Brunello di Montalcino 2001. "Like a party in my mouth!" described Mike Flewelling of Lebanon, ME, who is director of food services at Short Ridge Academy.

Lunch concluded with a warm ricotta cheese cake topped with fresh strawberries and served with a Florus 2003. And naturally, all topped off with espresso and grappa!

Denise Dwyer of Newburyport exclaimed, "I don't what the right Italian word is for spectacular, but all I can say about today and the meal is that it was MON-TE-PUL-CI-ANO!!! That's the best-sounding Italian word I know!"

Later that afternoon, we waddled off our bus at La Palazzina, an agritourism farmhouse/villa where we probably did not do justice to the evening meal of chick-pea puree with croutons, handmade pappardelle with wild boar sauce, roast pork with rosemary potatoes, a green salad (the first!!) and Zuppa Inglese with cream and chocolate.

Peasant cuisine is definitely alive and well at La Palazzina where the next afternoon, under the watchful eye of Chef Luisella, a "brava massaia Toscana" (a good Tuscan housewife!), we all made the local Tuscan pici pasta by hand for our dinner. It's a long, round spaghetti, but much fatter than we know. Then it was up to the kitchen to help/watch Luisella make a spicy tomato sauce for the pici, a braised lamb stew with polenta and a rustic apple bread pudding for dessert. "Given our lack of Italian and Luisella's lack of English," says Boucher, "it was quite an experience, with everyone taking a hand at the cooking, and laughing the whole time."

Our last day began with an early departure for Firenze (Florence) and a walking tour of the city for some and much shopping for others. Our farewell dinner at Taverna del Bronzino was another wonderful meal, presided over by owner Umberto, sommelier Mario and waiter Taigoro; again it was a mixture of traditional dishes, but updated with "slow food" touches.

Starters included a special antipasto that included a 24 months-aged ham, a magnificent truffle risotto with wild mushrooms and pici with a seafood sauce. We had too many choices of entrees: Mediterranean sea bass, osso bucco, Florentine steak, veal chop with mixed mushroom sauce, shaved artichokes, pan-roasted filet mignon with white truffles and asparagus and farm-raised Tuscan lamb. Much sharing and tasting pursued and all agreed the dishes were equally wonderful. And more enticing desserts followed. The most popular was an inch-thick round of fresh pineapple with the center filled with a scoop of pear sorbet, topped with a dollop of warm chocolate and a drizzle of Grand Marnier.

"Think about what we we've been doing here with just one course, tasting each component of the plate, savoring it, comparing it to the other tastes, then sipping wine and realizing how much better the wine was when sipped with the food. That's what a dining experience should be. And," Boucher adds, "That's the experience we seek on our Chez Boucher/Olde Ipswich Tours culinary excursions.

"I thought that all the classes were well worth it and I learned something new from all of them," says Susanne Falzone of Hampton, NH. "They incorporated the food, history and culture of Tuscany, and the chefs could not have been more gracious. This culinary experience challenged my palate and introduced me to foods that I may not have normally tried. I am looking forward to seeing how Chef Boucher interprets these dishes and puts his own creative twist on them."

Others can, too, when Chez Boucher Cooking School offers a six-week course, "Tour of Italy," later this year. Featuring the traditional foods of Tuscany, it will highlight the cuisine enjoyed during this recent culinary excursion. "And I'm already working with Jean Moss at Olde Ipswich Tours, who has organized these trips for us, to plan our 2007 culinary tour to Spain," says Boucher. "Ever since I read an article in The Wine Spectator a while back that proclaimed Spain is 'the new source of Europe's most exciting wine and food', I knew it had to be our next Chez Boucher culinary adventure."

Peg Williamson is a freelance writer and tour director living in Northborough, MA. She accompanied both Chez Boucher culinary tours.

SIDEBAR

Ron Boucher is an entrepreneurial sort of guy, not to mention a fabulous chef. After running the successful Hampton oceanfront restaurant, Ron's Landing, for 10 years, he forged out into a new direction and began Chez Boucher, a gourmet cooking school specializing in cuisine from France and Italy. Students participate in a true hands-on cooking experience through classes designed for both the novice and gourmet enthusiast. The wide range of classes includes three six-week French cuisine classes, pastry classes, one-day cooking workshops, and many specialty classes, including the latest in international cuisine.

With great inspiration coming from his Greenland, NH kitchen, many of Boucher's students clamored after him to take them on a culinary tour to France or Italy. So two years ago, Boucher approached Jean Moss, owner of Olde Ipswich Tours, who has been running small-group gourmet tours to France, Italy, and other European countries since 1995. Together, Boucher and Moss developed the first Chez Boucher culinary tour to Lyon, France, in April 2005. Last year's tremendously successful tour convinced Boucher to offer a culinary adventure to his students every year to a different European region known for outstanding gastronomy.

For 2007, it will be the cuisine of Spain. While plans are still underway, anyone interested can find more information at www.ipswichtours.com. (Trips are not limited to Chez Boucher students, by the way.)