A Tuscan Evening of Food, Gardens and Terracotta

Join us to learn, work, and participate in a pleasurably designed evening, learning competent Tuscan cooking and some of the eloquent and subtle techniques of plating, table etiquette, flower arrangements, and appropriate music compilations. The evening is planned as a cultural event centered on the Tuscan lifestyle, focusing on selected regional food courses intermixed with discussions of significant historical gardens, and how terracotta is used as critical objects in the landscape as well as the kitchen.

The evening culminates in a traditional candlelit Tuscan long table sit down dinner with all enjoying the fruits of preparation, cooking, and learning. Guest will participate in preparing one or more of the evening's food courses:

• Insalata di Prosciutto e Aceto Balsamico (greens, prosciutto & warm balsamic dressing)
• Peposo dell’ Impruneta with Gremolata (Tuscan beef stew with lemon zest, garlic, parsley)
• Polenta Pasticciata con Gorgonzola (Baked polenta with gorgonzola)
• Budino di Riso Toscano (Florentine rice pudding).

Instructor Bio: Robert Ross is a landscape architect, garden designer and committed home cook who has traveled to and worked in many places, absorbing local cultures, history, and terroir. A Loeb Fellow at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, he spent a few years in North Africa working on a project that afforded opportunities to travel and explore Europe, eventually leading to a passionate connection with central Italy, it’s people, food and gardens. He shares a unique perspective that blends simple Tuscan cooking, renaissance gardens, and ornamental terracotta.