if this isn't the best place to get a steak in Italy then it must surely be one of!
Nestled at the top of a hill in the beautiful Tuscan countryside floating between Florence and Siena is the pretty Chianti village of Panzano. It is here that one will find the "Holy Grail" of Italian steak, the "Officina della Bistecca" - a veritable shrine to the carnivore! If the meat-lover has a Mecca then this surely is it!
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| Panzano in Chianti |
The name itself should give a hint to the incumbent diner just exactly what he or she has got themselves into. Translated from Italian it is "The Steak Workshop"! Owner Dario Cecchini ("My name is Cecchini...Dario Cecchini") is not just a butcher but an artist of the meat-world who I'm convinced if born in Renaissance times would have been considered a maestro in his field amongst the great artists of the time. His "butchery" connected to the restaurant , "Antica Macelleria Cecchini" is as much a temple to meat as butcher-shop. The word "artisan" is something that refers to a specialist in a field or trade and Signore Cecchini is certainly that. Given he is an 8th generation butcher (thats' over 250 years of butchers running in the family!) he certainly comes with enough street-cred!A butcher for 35 plus years he gained fame in his native country when he held a mock "funeral" for the "bistecca" in 2001 during the height of the Mad-Cows disease saga. He even held an auction for the last pieces of steak that he could legally sell at that time, selling them to the highest bidder! Greeting the visitor to his "Macelleria" (butcher-shop) on the outside wall is a funeral plaque and single red-rose in remembrance of that event!
"A Museum of Tuscan Cooking", "The most famous and respected butcher in Italy and maybe the world", the glowing tributes to this man, his butcher shop and informal kitchen-restaurant mean a visit is something that cannot be missed.
Upon arrival into the Macelleria it's only seconds before one is handed a simple glass into which, before one can even say, "no grazie, io sono la guida"(no,thanks I'm driving), is poured chianti wine made from grapes from Dario's own farm a few kilometers away. If it's not by the great man himself then it will be one of his many butchers who themselves are like the apprentices of old, working for a great Renaissance master. Laid out before you in the glass display case are cuts of meats that will astound including centuries old recipes for salami's, prosciuttos and even lard!
It is then that the "grazing" begins! A simple visit to a butcher-shop becomes a mini-feast in itself. With bread and sliced local meats AND lard laid out for the visitor and glasses of chianti that never seems to drop below half-full before it is topped to the brim again. One could |
| Here comes dinner! |
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| The "stage |
Once the pre-dinner "grazing" and "wine-tasting" is done and the fires have been burning down to perfect coals and ashes over a couple of hours , the dining guests are then invited upstairs into the "Workshop" for the main event to begin.
A simple kitchen-restaurant where you are seated right in front of the "stage" and it's "performers" for the evening! Informal communal seating around the "altar" where the local and specially reared Spanish steaks lie in wait for their fate.
The steaks having been rested are covered until the seated guests meat...er...sorry...meet.. the main performers!!Between 5-7cm thick and weighing in at between 2.0- 2.5kg each, these T-bones could almost be used as dumb-bells in the local gym!
Dario's "second al comando" - plumber by day and "steak surgeon" by night! (For some reason the tongue was out ALL night!)
When the moment is right the awaiting steaks are positioned upright onto the grill by one of Dario's "squadra"(that could be dialect but I think he was meaning his "team" - ie one of his 5-6 butcher/cooks!) where they are slowly cooked by the burning coals and licked by the flames beneath. These are kept in check by his master cook who used a special mixture to check the flames and impart a certain flavour to the steak. On the menu for the main course for the evening was of course the famed Bistecca Fiorentina (Florentine Steak) and Bistecca Panzanese (Steak from Panzano). |
| Oh you wanted vegies with the meal - sure! That's it!! |
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| The tartare starter or "beef sushi" as they call it! |
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| The skewers prima piatti |
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| ...and flip |
And so after all the rotation of the steaks, tending to the flames, the tartare starter including lard,yes lard (which simply melts in your mouth like a mousse!), the maestro, like a matador arriving to the final act of a bull-fight finally arrives. Here, Signore Cecchini is like a preacher amongst the faithful in front of his altar. An oratory worthy of an Obama "yes we can" address or a William Wallace Braveheart "Sons of Scotland" speech, the jubilant and patient diners are treated to a delivery from "The Butcher" that invokes the spirit of a southern Baptist preacher. We are presented with the glorious slabs of beef like they were the body and blood of Christ from a Christian mass!This signore TRULY loves his meat!
With the skill of a neuro-surgeon Dario carves the steaks upon his altar for the expectant crowd and there is no doubt that he and his team have mastered the art of cooking these slabs of beef! If you've come to eat your steak medium or well-done then you're in the wrong place as to cook a steak so much would be akin to sacrilege in this part of the world!
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| Perfect!! |
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| Hands are a must for those lucky enough to get a bone! |
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| And just in case you have some room left...!!!! |
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| They say "la Gioconda",The Mona Lisa, was never quite finished. Dario perhaps thinks this is what was intended in the by the masterpiece by the great Da Vinci! |
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| Insight Vacations Tour Director and friend Jacqui and I with the man himself! We're both managing a smile as he grasps our sides as if about to rip a chunk out for his next feast! |
My advice to anyone heading to Chianti region:
- Visit Panzano and Antica Macelleria Cecchini
- Do so with an EMPTY STOMACH
- DON'T be a nominated driver
- Be prepared for a UNIQUE meal that is truly an EVENT that you will NEVER forget!
Buon apetito e grazie mille Signore Cecchini!!!
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