On a trip to Tuscany, we learn from three farmer brothers, a butcher and a winemaker, that the greatest pleasure can only come about in harmony with nature.
With two fingers, Stefania Cilembrini presses a hollow in the mountain of flour lying on a wooden board in front of her. A pinch of salt, a little water. The flour combines with the water to form lumps. Cilembrini kneads the ingredients into pici, thick spaghetti, with his hands.
“I cook every day, but I’m not a trained cook,” says Cilembrini. “My cuisine is that of the poor: cucina povera.” At her place of work, at the Fattoria La Vialla in the middle of Tuscany, she is in the right place. The region’s cuisine has been celebrated there for more than 40 years.