You never forget your first olive harvest.  Amongst the rolling Tuscan hillside and lavender morning mist, you find yourself tangled in Sisyphean bundles of netting, fighting off errant tree branches, hoisting mechanical rakes for hours on end.  It is a herculean effort to say the least, often carried out at the humble hands of families, friends, migrants, and local communities striving to balance tradition with innovation and quality with razor thin economics, all while riding the wild wave of mother nature.  So how did I find myself clutching the trunk of an olive tree, gasping for breath while a singing farmer three times my age perched himself in the branches, rolling a cigarette with one hand and maneuvering that damn rake with the other?

The small city of Lucca is an ancient walled town in the Tuscan province where my mother’s family originates.  My first visit was at age ten, oblivious to the notion of ‘origin’, yet I felt an immediate affinity for the sights, sounds, and flavors of this piccola città; so much so that I returned a few decades later to make Lucca my home. A career in hospitality had sparked a curiosity for where the food on our plate comes from, so I departed the bustling dining rooms of New York City to study in Italy and Spain, harvesting a few grapes and olives along the way, in search of an understanding of global food systems, local traditions, and the production of olive oil and wine. Often times, the questions that arose were more revealing than the answers.

How is it possible that olives and grapes are not native to Italy?  What was Italian cuisine before the tomato?  What will become of the romantic ideal of Nonna stirring her pasta pot as we barrel through hyper digitalized generations?  The stories behind the foods on our table are more important than ever for understanding the one thing we all have in common - we gotta eat.  And when possible, we can choose to eat well, with a bit of knowledge, and with those we love.

Join me to learn more about the infinitely fascinating world of gastronomy.  Gourmands, professionals, and curious palates are all welcome.