A Year in a Tuscan Cooking School: May
In May, the kitchen slowed down, but the flavors, recipes, memories, and stories kept blooming
Welcome to A year in a Tuscan Cooking School, now in its fifth chapter. Each month, I open the doors of my cooking school to share a more intimate look into daily life in Tuscany: its flavors, its people, and the gentle rhythm of the seasons. From market finds to the memorable encounters during our classes, every story is rooted in the beauty of what’s fresh and in season.
This isn’t just a monthly update. It’s a slow journey, like leafing through the pages of a favorite cookbook. Each installment is an invitation to pause, reflect, and delve a little deeper into the heart of Tuscan food and culture. If you're new to the series, you can revisit the past chapters here: January, February, March and April.
MAY
When I first sat down to write this newsletter, I was nestled in my yellow armchair, which is also my favorite reading spot, while Noa was curled up on a pillow beside me. We both had stitches on our bellies. Isn’t that the perfect proof that humans and their dogs really do end up looking alike?
May has been a rainy month—just like the past five years, at least—so the countryside is lush and green, with hedgerows spilling over the white roads, wild fennel growing feathery and tall, elderflowers struggling under the rain, and dog rose exploding into bloom, dotting the dark green brambles with delicate white flowers. I’ve welcomed the rain, as all the flowers I planted in the garden are now thriving: there will be dahlias, and sunflowers, and marigolds, and nasturtiums... My mum’s roses—her greatest love—are reveling in this British-style weather, too.
I took some time to rest after surgery, lovingly pampered by Tommaso, my mum, and Livia, who turned out to be a wonderful little nurse, holding my hand tightly while my mum gave me the required shots. She was just a bit too generous with the disinfectant!
Thank you also for all your lovely book recommendations: they were completely up my alley. I read Bruno, Chief of Police, as some of you suggested, and found it had just the right balance of mystery and food. Next came Emma Gannon’s Table for One, which touched many themes I already appreciate in her newsletter.
This May was certainly a quieter month compared to previous years, when it was usually our busiest time for classes. Still, we welcomed 24 students across one Fresh Pasta Masterclass and two Market Classes. Our guests mainly came from the US, Canada, and Australia.
The Masterclasses are the latest addition to the experiences we offer. They were born out of one of the most common pieces of feedback we receive after our classes—If only we had more time! If only we could come back tomorrow…—so we developed the idea of a three-day experience: stay longer, cook more, and enjoy every moment. We suggest that our guests stay in Colle Val d’Elsa to soak up the charm of real Italian provincial life. In the afternoons, after class, there’s time to explore the area and discover just how much our town has to offer, from a two-Michelin-starred restaurant to cozy, welcoming trattorias.
Here you can read more about the reasons behind our three-day masterclasses.
Here the foodie guide to our home town, Colle Val d’Elsa.
During our Pasta Masterclass, we delved into egg pasta dough, making tortelli stuffed with ricotta and a cherry tomato and mozzarella lasagna. We also explored eggless pasta dough, working on cavatelli and orecchiette, and pici. On the third day, we made potato gnocchi and spinach gnudi. Seasonal vegetables, bought at the local market on Wednesday morning, served as appetisers and pasta sauces, while fruit took the spotlight in desserts, either baked with honey and rosemary, marinated and served over a creamy sabayon, or transformed into a bright, refreshing sorbet.
Some of the dishes we enjoyed the most during the other cooking classes were tagliatelle with wild fennel pesto, tagliatelle with zucchini sauce, pollo al mattone (spatchcocked chicken, but more on this soon!), and a lemon ricotta and apricot cake, inspire by this one.
By the way, this May I celebrate 15 years since I started teaching cooking classes!
To celebrate this milestone, I shared my experience in a newsletter last year. You can read it here.
It was not the path I had envisioned when I decided to pursue a marketing and communication career. I didn’t have a culinary degree, and I was the first in my family to leave a 9 to 5 job to venture into the unknown, scary realm of self-employment. Yet, I had a feeling it could actually work, I firmly believed I was meant to work with food and English, two of my greatest passions.
Aside from our cooking classes, I also worked on a commissioned feature for the Financial Times FT Weekend Magazine, a piece dedicated to one of my all-time favorite topics: fresh pasta, but made with a pasta machine. I shared my go-to recipe for egg dough, along with three simple and rewarding ways to make it shine: maltagliati with burst cherry tomatoes, lemon tagliolini, and laminated pappardelle with asparagus.
You can find the whole pasta issue online here, and my feature here (paywalled), along with a small box where I tried to answer all the most frequently asked questions about making fresh pasta from scratch. Fresh out of a pasta masterclass, I drew on my students’ questions and feedback to guide the piece, addressing the little challenges and common mistakes that come up when you're just beginning to work with egg dough.
[The following part of the newsletter is for paid subscribers only. You’ll find May’s favorite from the market and May’s favorite from the garden, the hedgerows, and the fields, plus nine recipes to cook now.
If you enjoy my writing and want access to the full story and recipes, consider supporting our work with a subscription—you’ll also become part of our community. Thank you!]