Chef Massimiliano

I owe Chef Massimiliano an entire blog devoted to his fabulous cooking. Not only is he a chef specializing in seafood dishes, but he is also an excellent baker.  I had to pass through the kitchen to get to my room and I always stopped to chat with him.  I noticed that others started hanging around the kitchen around mealtimes just to watch him do his magic!  I asked him, “Do you mind having us all here watching you?” He replied, “Oh, al contrario (to the contrary), I LOVE it!  The more people in the kitchen, the better!”

Unfortunately, I am not so well versed in photographing food. I am much better at eating than photographing scrumptious food put before me!  Night after night, we were enchanted with Massimiliano’s artistic creations: eggplant layered with tomatoes and basil, roasted potatoes, fresh salads, fillet of sea bass with zucchini and green beans, ravioli stuffed with pumpkin served with a sauce made of gorgonzola and walnuts, a salmon dish, gnocchi served with mushrooms and truffles from Norcia, tiramisu and fruit pies!  All ingredients were fresh, organic, and all food was made from scratch (from the gnocchi to the bread used in our panini sandwiches for lunch).

Massimiliano had a staff of two with him.  His girlfriend, Chiara and his friend, Benjamin, were sous-chef, servers, interpreters, beautiful people who contributed to making every meal incredibly special.  We were indeed blessed to have Massimiliano and his staff with us during the retreat!

A picture collage by Smilebox