C’era una volta. . . once upon a time. . . Max (Massimo Melani) met Wally (Walter Sanders) in Firenze. Here’s the story in their own words.

The Basilica of Santa Croce holds priceless artistic and historic treasures.

Massimo
First, a few words about the Leather School: Workshop, Laboratory and Show Room of the finest leather goods situated in the old Franciscan monastery of the Santa Croce Basilica in Florence. It was a marvelous place, as were the splendid people working there.

It all started with the Patron Marcello Gori, the owner and director of the Leather School.

Those years in the early 1970s were characterized by a kind of elite tourism. And the Leather School attracted many of these well-traveled, wealthy tourists from around the world. Marcello Gori ensured that his sales and service personnel were first class as well. The staff was multilingual, elegantly dressed, rather good looking and with long experience abroad. I was one of those.

One day in 1972, the owner presented us a colleague, an American boy from Chicago—a certain Wally Sanders, very smiling person, who looked like a survivor from Woodstock or San Francisco–absolutely the first foreigner who was going to work with us.

More about Max, Wally and Lampredotto

Primavera on a plate. The spring green ortica (nettle) colors hand-made noodles.

I arrived at a Theatre District hotel a day early for the recent International Association of Culinary Professionals conference in NYC but the anticipated tour of the Italian stores on Arthur Avenue was cancelled. My Inner Italian was primed for action, however. Since I wasn’t up for navigating public trans to the Bronx, I consulted The Platt 101 in New York magazine, a list of the top eateries in town. more about A Voce

At the recent International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Expo in Manhattan, I journeyed vicariously to some choice Italian destinations.

Sonia Di Centa (left) engaged attendees with information about the culinary program at the Dante Alighieri language school in Siena, Tuscany.

First stop was at Arte & Cucina, la scuola di cucina italiana in Siena, affiliated with the Dante Alighieri language school. Representative Sonia Di Centa welcomed me to sit and chat about the programs.

She shared photos of the spacious modern teaching kitchen, housed in a historic palazzo in the center of the lovely medieval city where the famous Palio horse race is held. The hands-on classes, taught in English, range from a single session to a four-month program. The curriculum in Tuscan and other Italian regional cooking styles emphasizes fresh seasonal ingredients. Several programs such as Siena Magnifica and Internships combine cooking and Italian language lessons.

The gentleman slicing the prosciutto was born in Palermo and has lived in the U.S. for 30 years.

The images of the food preparation and finished plates had me swooning and wondering if I could apply for a scholarship. As interested visitors crowded the table for information, I bid Sonia arrivederci and headed for a snack of prosciutto di Parma. The representatives of the Consorzio—a conference sponsor—offered samples of 18-month-aged ham and 36-month aged ham. The elder prosciutto was so delicate it had to be sliced by hand.

Elizabeth Wholey (left) promotes her culinary tourism business.

Next, I visited Elizabeth Wholey, a transplanted Californian who has lived and worked in Umbria for 18 years. After a career in art and graphics, she visited Italy and never looked back. She renovated the home in which she now lives and manages Altabella, a cluster of casa colonica guest villas on the border of Tuscany and Umbria. Elizabeth also teaches cooking classes and caters for Altabella guests through her Amore Sapore venture.
I continued my passeggiata and arrived at the illy coffee display. Illy was a conference sponsor and their pop-up caffés  seemed to be everywhere throughout the sessions which suited me just fine. At the Expo, the barista worked two sexy red Francis Francis espresso machines.

As I sampled a caffé made from Ethiopian beans, I noticed the sign that summed up my afternoon.

Soil clinging to the leeks' exterior is easy to see. Not visible is the grit between each thin layer.

Leeks—porri in Italian—are coming to market now. Their sweet flavor, tender texture, and lively green color practically sing spring. But, boy, are they dirty!

If you rinse a leek as you would a scallion, you’ll have a finished dish seasoned with grit.

Leeks contain dirt inside their layers, not only on the outside skin, according to Vegetable a Month.com. “Leeks grow layer upon layer, so any dirt surrounding a layer, gets trapped inside as the leek grows outward. It doesn’t help when wind blows or rain splashes more dirt inside the layers.”

Legge piu qui

Pour a red wine from the Veneto Pre-Alps area with Trugole cheese. Try Valpolicella Superiore or Torcolato Breganze Reserve.

Walter returned from a shopping trip to our local Wegman’s supermarket—which has a fine cheese department—with a chunk of Trugole. “I’ve never heard of this cheese,” he commented as he unpacked the bag. Neither had I.

After allowing the Trugole to sit out for about 30 minutes, we sliced and sampled. The complex flavors of fruit and herbs came as a surprise because the mouthfeel was so creamy.

I headed online to get information from Agriform, the producer printed on the label. When I meet a person for the first time, I want to know where my new acquaintance is from–it gives me a start of knowing that person. I do the same geographic research with a new food.

I learned that Trugole is an artisanal raw milk product from the area around Asiago in northeastern Italy. As the crow flies, it lies about 50 miles south of Switzerland. Topographically, this land is an altopiano, an Alpine plain rich with grasses and herbs. The cows feed only on these plants which gives the milk, and later the cheese, its singularity. The tender texture is due to daily washing of the cheese rounds in a brine solution. It keeps the paste (the interior) soft.

I enjoyed the Agriform recommendation to serve as “un formaggio da tavola o da meditazione”—a cheese for the table or for mediation.

A cheese worthy of contemplation! Think about that the next time you’re at a quality cheese vendor. Get acquainted with a new Italian cheese.