You know you’re going to have a great day when breakfast comprises of fresh coffee, Italian pastries, and Millionaires Shortbread. Melt in the mouth delicious they were too. The pastries were made by the Giovannini family who had travelled from Italy to show us how to make Tuscan food. The Millionaires Shortbread a Miranda Gore Brown (Great British Bake Off Finalist) recipe re-created by Jo Mackay from Bookings For You.
Jo launched Bookings For You in 2011 with 5 properties in the Italian Lakes. Today there are 100 villas and apartments in the area with the Tuscany portfolio a similar size. There are properties in Umbria and Le Marche too with 50 villas in Puglia (due to double in the next couple of years). Bookings For You has also expanded into France with properties in the likes of Normandy, Provence and Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
As you’d expect the Giovannini family have always been passionate about Italian food. Giancarlo opened his first pastry shop, with wife Fabiola, in 1984. Dolceria del Corso is recognised as the oldest in Volterra, and renowned for its award-winning pastries. Their catering business launched 3 years later and today Giovannini Enterprises is widely known across Italy, Germany and France. Bookings For You began working with the Giovannini family a few years back while promoting their magnificent country home – Country Relais and Spa Le Capanne. You can find out this wonderful property later in this post but for now, let’s focus on the food!
So Giovannini Enterprises is a family business which spans two generations – Giancarlo and his wife Fabiola along with their son Dario and his wife Vera. All share the same drive and ambition. The family were over from Tuscany to demonstrate how easy it is to create a four-course Tuscan meal which can be replicated at home. All the ingredients used were fresh and sourced locally in Volterra.
The antipasti course consisted of Bruschetta al Pomodoro which is Tuscan bread (grilled for 5 minutes each side) seasoned and topped with tomatoes, minced basil, onions, garlic and a dash of virgin olive oil. Bruschetta Toscana was created using grilled Tuscan bread which was rubbed with garlic and topped with pepper, garlic and olive oil. The final starter was Crostini con Fegatini which comprised of chicken liver cooked in stock with garlic, sage, salt and pepper, mixed with butter and served on grilled Tuscan bread.
The first course was pasta based and gave the group the chance to try their hand at pasta making. The Giovannini family made it look so easy! I’m on a mission now to buy a pasta maker and give it a go myself! We had Ravioli Ricotta e Spinici con Pomodorini Pachini e Basilico which is ravioli with spinach and ricotta cheese, served with a tomato sauce made from cherry tomatoes, garlic and herbs. We also had Pici all Etrusca which consisted of pici pasta (pasta made with no egg), parsley, mint, basil pesto and boiled eggs.
Much as I loved every single dish that was served, the second course of Coscio di Cinghiale Agli Aromi con Olive (wild boar with olives) was just out of this world. The garlic, rosemary, sage, salt, pepper were chopped finely and placed in slits on the boar. Lard was also added to the top of the boar to keep the meat moist while cooking for 3 hours. It was tied before going in so it retained is flavour with white wine and olives added midway through cooking. The smell even before it was ready really was quite something. This masterclass certainly taught me to be more liberal with fresh ingredients – garlic, oil and wine especially.
If that wasn’t enough, we were truly spoiled with not one but two delicious desserts. Millefoglie Bellavista which is a speciality of the Giovannini family, and what they’re known for, along with tiramisu. The Millefoglie Bellavista is typically created as a dessert but it can also be a wedding cake – made in front of guests. Layers of pastry are stuck together with custard, the cream is then spread and piped around the sides and top with various berries used as the finishing touches. An incredibly light dessert just was just mouthwatering from start to finish. Next came the Tiramisu which is a combination of eggs and sugar with mascarpone cheese and cocoa. The ‘ladyfingers’ were dipped in coffee before being placed over the mixture. Again just lovely.
I absolutely have to tell you about Country Relais & Spa Le Capanne, the luxury villa I’m heading to next month with a few of my fellow family travel bloggers. Owned by the Giovannini family and managed by Bookings For You, this 100-year-old farmhouse was completely renovated in 2015. Tucked away in the Ulignano hills, it has 9 bedrooms and can accommodate up to 22 guests. The property is split over two floors and there’s even a private spa which includes a jacuzzi, salt room and massage area. Outside there’s a large dining table and a swimming pool in the gardens.
The villa is about ten minutes away from Volterra and also close to San Gimignano. The likes of Florence, Pisa, Siena and Livorno are just an hour away so we’re aiming to do some exploring while we’re there. If this masterclass is anything to go by, I’m going to need elasticated clothing to accommodate all of the Tuscan food! I cannot wait to visit and tell you all about the trip.
Thank you to Bookings For You and the Giovannini Enterprises for a wonderful day.
