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A Culinary Saunter through Tuscany with Kate Bolton-Porciatti

A Culinary Saunter through Tuscany with Kate Bolton-Porciatti


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Can't make this time? A video recording will be sent to all participants after the seminar.

This evocative conversation will transport you to Tuscany in a sensory journey exploring the region’s culinary traditions and fireside legends.

Filmed partly on location in local Tuscan food markets, in olive groves during the harvesting season, and in mountain woodlands where we forage for chestnuts and fuel for the fire, this seminar will explore seasonal Tuscan dishes, cooking techniques, and traditions. All of these are deeply rooted in the region’s varied terrain, which ranges from seascapes to verdant plains, forests, hills, and mountains. We will visit some of Tuscany’s less well-known areas where traditional ‘sagre’ celebrating local and seasonal foods such as truffles, olives, porcini, and chestnuts, and festivals of light in the mid-Winter form a vital part of community life. Our Tuscan feast is interlarded with fireside stories, adages, and local words of wisdom that reveal the deeply rooted connections between Tuscan cooking, the countryside, and the changing seasons.

Led by an expert on Italian culture and history, Kate Bolton-Porciatti, this interactive seminar will bring the taste of Tuscany into your home. Designed to inform curiosity and future travels, participants will come away with an increased appreciation of the rich traditions of Tuscan food and culture.

Kate Bolton-Porciatti is a professor of Italian cultural history and music at the Istituto Lorenzo de'Medici in Florence, where she teaches BA and MA courses in the humanities. She also lectures at the British Institute, Florence, and at the Chigiana Music Academy in Siena. Kate has published extensively as an academic and a journalist; she is a music critic for BBC Music and a travel writer for The Daily Telegraph, UK. Before moving to Italy permanently in 2005, she was a senior producer and broadcaster for BBC Arts & Classical Music in London and has won prestigious Jerusalem and Sony Awards for her programs. She did her M.Phil. thesis in Italy, exploring the musical culture of early Renaissance Florence.

This conversation is suitable for all ages.

90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.

Customer Reviews

Based on 33 reviews
97%
(32)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
3%
(1)
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(0)
B
Barbara Kyse (San Antonio, US)
Wonderful experience

As always Kate's programs are wonderful

G
G.L. (Jersey City, US)
So fun

Another great seminar by the wonderful Kate. It was relaxed, fun, and full of Tuscany culinary delights......information and recipes!

C
Christine March (Creemore, CA)
Armchair Travel for Foodies

Travelling throughout Tuscany and learning about the regional food traditions was a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon. From the grazing fields to markets to her own kitchen, Dr Bolton-Porciatti explored food, geography & history and whetted our appetites for future travels in Italy. Highly recommended.

M
M.S. (Berkeley, US)

Guest did not leave comment

L
Larry L. (Boardman, US)
Another Gold Medal Presentation!

Another gold medal presentation by Kate Bolton-Porciatti! The program included a diverse mix of maps, current photos, older works of art, and on-site videos made by Kate in various parts of Tuscany, including many areas little-known to visitors. Along with a focus on markets, many food items, livestock and traditional dishes, there was plentiful gorgeous Tuscany scenery. A highlight was a visit to Kate’s own lovely kitchen in Florence, where she prepared 2 traditional Tuscan meals for us. If only Zoom had a way to transmit tastes and aromas to us via computer!

Customer Reviews

Based on 33 reviews
97%
(32)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
3%
(1)
0%
(0)
B
Barbara Kyse (San Antonio, US)
Wonderful experience

As always Kate's programs are wonderful

G
G.L. (Jersey City, US)
So fun

Another great seminar by the wonderful Kate. It was relaxed, fun, and full of Tuscany culinary delights......information and recipes!

C
Christine March (Creemore, CA)
Armchair Travel for Foodies

Travelling throughout Tuscany and learning about the regional food traditions was a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon. From the grazing fields to markets to her own kitchen, Dr Bolton-Porciatti explored food, geography & history and whetted our appetites for future travels in Italy. Highly recommended.

M
M.S. (Berkeley, US)

Guest did not leave comment

L
Larry L. (Boardman, US)
Another Gold Medal Presentation!

Another gold medal presentation by Kate Bolton-Porciatti! The program included a diverse mix of maps, current photos, older works of art, and on-site videos made by Kate in various parts of Tuscany, including many areas little-known to visitors. Along with a focus on markets, many food items, livestock and traditional dishes, there was plentiful gorgeous Tuscany scenery. A highlight was a visit to Kate’s own lovely kitchen in Florence, where she prepared 2 traditional Tuscan meals for us. If only Zoom had a way to transmit tastes and aromas to us via computer!