20 Mar 2013

Cooking in Toscana...




   This year started pretty intense - with lots of trips, new people and new experience - just exactly as I was wishing at New Year's night.... 
I just came back from a wonderful place and want to share with some emotions... 

   Most of you know, that I love to cook using Belonika's recipes. She is a popular blogger in Russia and also the author of some cooking books. Couple of years ago she opened a cooking school in Provence and I was so eager to get there... but for some reason it didn't work that time, but this year my wish came true. Spring, Toscana, near small magic city Cortona, in Chateau and Relais il Falconiere... "Belonika & les Chefs"...   


   It was just a week...but what a week! 7 days full of happiness, delight, great people, michelin chefs, fantastic food, best wine, handsome men, dancing, girls talking and laughings till early in the morning. Ups, I forgot Cooking! On the second day it felt like we were there already for a month, on the last day it felt like the whole course was just one wonderful evening. Happy and sad we went home hoping to come back again!

   I could talk about this course and people endlessly! So I decided just to share with you some pictures. Unfortunately there are not a lot good ones among them, but still something... ;)


Breakfast... After a month in Cape Town I finally could enjoy good coffee! And of course a great view.


On the first day it was a falconry...





Javier Bardem was showing us around... ;)






This "Little Red Riding Hood" baked something very delicious for us. And her husband was offering homemade wine...




Amazing Marina our Italian sommelier showing us around and making sure everybody are drunk and happy ;) Not the best picture of her, but just believe me - she is incredibly charming!



Here is our "french" sommelier Alena aka la Marmotte. Fascinating femininity and elegance! It's absolutely impossible not to fall in love with her with the first glass of rose at first sight... ;)  


Home lunch with Iness till we couldn't breath...


The best butcher of the universe! It's impossible to describe - you just must experience this! Best meat I ever had... And Dario himself....AAAAA....just Wow!


















Let's get back to our hotel and our already "home" kitchen...



Hard chucks for Nika's Minestrone Soup...


Just a small trick - how to put spaghetti nicely on a plate...


Some good girls were even taking notes...others were "taking some more wine"... As you might guess - it's not my handwriting $$







Zhanna was always having plenty of glasses around...










Le Chef Gaetano Trovato from Arnolfo Ristorante came with tree helpers, each of them plan to open a Restaurant soon... and also they brought a "dinner" for themselves ;)




Not the best and perfect background, but amazing Alena... just magnificient!




Cortona... what a heaven! And it's habitants, who are friendly, flirty, never in a hurry, smiling and chatting. Loving and Living - just like a movie... dream to come back!



And this guy was the last who said Ciao to me...











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