Eating Italy A Culinary Adventure through Italy’s Best Meals PDF
Preview Eating Italy A Culinary Adventure through Italy’s Best Meals
Copyright © 2013 by Jeffrey Michaud Published by Running Press, A Member of the Perseus Books Group All photos © Kelly Campbell (unless noted) Other photos: Courtesy of Jeff Michaud: pages 6, 10–11, 66 (bottom), 67, 89–91, 112, 134, 154–155, 177–178, 216–217, 254–259, 275 © Joshua McDonnell, pages 174–175 Shutterstock © Gijs van Ouwerkerk, pages 214–215 All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher. Books published by Running Press are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call (800) 810-4145, ext. 5000, or e-mail [email protected]. Library of Congress Control Number: 2013938027 E-book ISBN 978-0-7624-5061-9 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Digit on the right indicates the number of this printing Cover and interior design by Joshua McDonnell Edited by Kristen Green Wiewora Typography: Avenir, Bembo, and Cubano Running Press Book Publishers 2300 Chestnut Street 2300 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19103-4371 Visit us on the web! www.offthemenublog.com GAIA, THIS IS YOUR BOOK. IT TELLS THE STORY OF HOW YOUR MOTHER AND I MET AND FELL IN LOVE. I HOPE YOU GET AS MUCH JOY OUT OF IT AS WE PUT INTO IT. TI VOGLIO TANTO BENE PICCOLA! (MY LITTLE GIRL, I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!) GAIA CONTENTS Foreword by Marc Vetri Introduction Paladina The Butcher’s Apprentice Alme A Maestro in the Kitchen, Amore in the Dining Room Cene and Fiobbio Farm to Table . . . Fifty Feet Cinque Terre Sex on the Italian Riviera Barolo and Barbaresco I Can’t See Through This Fog Villa d’Almè Simple Italian Cooking at Its Best Alba If You Can’t Smell the Truffles, You Must Be Dead Venice Losing Myself in the City Leffe Becoming a Chef Florence The Romance Continues Trescore Balneario Our Big Italian Wedding Desenzano del Garda The Culinary Journey of a Lifetime Basics and Essential Recipes Sources for the Cook and Traveler Acknowledgments Index FOREWORD In the spring of 2005, my business partner, Jeff Benjamin, and I were at Ca’Marcanda, the Gaja-owned vineyard in Tuscany. In between cellar tours and tasting, I was on the phone with Jeff Michaud. At that time, he was the chef at The Bedford Village Inn in New Hampshire. Jeff Michaud and I had been talking about opening a restaurant together in Philadelphia since he returned to the States from his three-year journey in Italy. We had three previous phone calls about it, but they all ended with me saying, “I don’t think it’s going to happen.” We just couldn’t strike a deal with the developer. (Coincidentally, Ca’Marcanda means “the house of endless negotiations.”) This last phone call, however, ended differently. “It’s a done deal!” I exclaimed. “Get yer ass back to Philly!” I could hear Jeff’s eagerness through the phone. Although, when I think about it, I don’t know who was more excited: him or me. Some people just inspire you to do better. Perhaps it’s the work ethic they possess. Or maybe it’s the endless questions they ask until every possible scenario has been exhausted and they finally understand exactly what is going on. People like that make you strive for perfection, never accepting mediocrity. Why do something that’s just good enough when you can make it great with only a little more effort? I always look for that kind of determination in cooks, and it’s what initially drew me to Jeff Michaud. We first met in 1998 at the Food & Wine Classic culinary festival in Aspen, Colorado. This was just a few weeks before I signed the lease for Vetri, my first restaurant. At the time, Jeff was working at Aspen’s Caribou Club under chef Miles Angelo, a good friend with whom I had worked in the early ’90s. “He’s you,” Miles said to me, “only 10 years ago.” At the time, I really didn’t think much of the comment, but it stayed with me. Miles called me a few years later, saying “Remember that kid, Jeff? Well, I can’t teach him anything else, and he needs to get out of here. He needs to learn something new—you have to take him.” I was in the process of looking for a cook, so I had Jeff come out and work at Vetri for a couple days. I didn’t realize it then, but it was as if my own son had come to work at the restaurant. He set the tone in the first month. “Do you know how to make bread?” he asked eagerly.
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