i ricciarelli There is a pumpkin crostata to make ‘urgently’, for a gentleman who arrives much later (just as the bakery is closing), and a steady stream of groups that come for a ‘degustation’ - there is the bread, still warm to ‘controllare’, and the many orders from the contrade to think of - there are the pane cereali that we seem to make ‘just because’, and an enormous quantity of pasta frolla to mix - and ‘nel frattempo’ the phone rings in the shop as soon as the previous call is complete. We don’t need to hear the caller to know the question ‘when will there be ricciarelli?’ - the answer, is always the same - ‘tra / fra poco’ (soon). They are the reason I came, almost four years ago - and I too had to be patient… ‘come back in an hour’, said Tina when I finally managed to annunciate what my teacher had told me I must try. That was the day I met Lorenzo who began playing in the bakery as a small child and made it his life’s work at 16. From the moment we met he has welcomed me to stay there with him, following him like a shadow - shaping the occasional loaf of bread or cavalluccio, but mostly just leaving a trail of crumbs because there is always something just out of the oven to try. ‘Are they biscuits or cookies?’ asks one group - ‘they are ricciarelli’ answers Lorenzo, seriously, ‘and modestly, I would add that they are the best ricciarelli, not only in Siena, but in the world’, he says with a confident smile as he hands around samples on a wooden board. There is someone in the bakery’s enormous cavern-like kitchen more or less 24 hours a day, six days a week, and there are almost always ricciarelli in some state of preparedness - and within a few short hours of the heaving trays being pulled from the depths of the (43m2) oven, they are gone. ‘Tomorrow we will make ricciarelli’, says Lorenzo; I can smell them just thinking about it. #100chilialsettimana #ricciarelli #ilmagnifico #ilpanificio #siena #nexttimemyitalianwillbebettersoicanunderstandmore

Il Magnifico C’è una famiglia che non si sceglie e quella che si può scegliere. Lorenzo, Tina, Sabrina, Nicoletta, Saida, Helidon, Ismet, Duccio; questi giorni e notti con voi al panificio rimarranno nel mio cuore per sempre. #ilmagnifico #ilpanificio #siena #italia #chookinitalia #ricciarelli #cantucci #cavallucci #mantovana #tortadimele #cremadipasticceria #paneaicereali #panetoscano #panealcioccolato #nuvole #tartarughe #midnightpizza

Market to Table, Rome, spring edition A joyful whirlwind of a day. Beginning at the vibrant market San Giovanni di Dio and continuing at @alice.adamscarosi’s #latteriastudio2 (every bit as lovely as the ‘original’); there were Rome’s best maritozzi (cream noses as proof), focaccia, carciofini alla giudia, spinach and ricotta ravioli, and fresh anchovies (expertly filleted under the supervision of @rachelaliceroddy), cooked under a blanket of well-seasoned breadcrumbs and served with vignarola, zucchini, and agretti, and Alice’s apricot and rosemary crostata (recipe on her page). And natural wines and endless pots of coffee to round everything all out. #latteriastudio2 #markettotablerome #cooktheseason #shopatthemarket #andnoneedfordinnerafter #rome

L’Infiorata - part two Breakfast over, the main street ringing with the happy voices of neighbours; lines were drawn mapping our ‘plot’ for the day (generally in front of each participating resident’s house). As though destined, the rain clouds parted, and we spent a couple of hours filling in our chalked design, before walking about a kilometre - from one end of town to the other - admiring the other designs. Just after 11:00 am, a procession floated over the carpet of flowers, passing Lubriano’s two churches; through the Pizza di San Giovanni Battista to the seventeenth-century Chiesa della Madonna del Poggio. And then, mere moments after the procession concluded, the same people who had so meticulously laid out the petals, swept them up so efficiently that half an hour after the event I wondered for a moment whether it was all a dream. We finished with one of Alice’s (famous) pergola lunches; the perfect ending to a magical, flower-filled weekend with friends old and new. #infioratalubriano #infiorata2023 #infiorata #chookinitalia #andasweloadedupthecartherainstartedagain

@daenzoal29 always, and forever. Francesco, Roberto e tutti, grazie mille per la vostra gentilezza e il pranzo veramente squisito. #stillthebest #daenzo #trastevere #roma #chookinitalia

L’Infiorata - part one ‘the day before’ For as long I’ve known @alice.adamscarosi, I’ve longed to be in Lubriano (Lazio) for ‘L’Infiorata’, and this year the stars aligned. A spring ‘festa’, held annually 40 days after Easter to celebrate the ascension, ‘L’Infiorata’ brings together the local community, as countless flowers and their foliage are carefully laid, often petal-by-petal, to create spectacular images along the main street. In many households (including Alice’s), much of the foraging occurs the day before - mostly from the lush gardens of Lubriano, but also the many wildflowers flourishing in the surrounding valleys and countryside. In the evening there was petal picking around the kitchen table, accompanied by a glass of Alice’s very apt elderflower cordial; and we drifted to sleep in a house filled with the heady fragrance of roses, elderflowers, robinia, oregano, salvia and more. #infioratalubriano #infiorata2023 #infiorata #chookinitalia

Rome for a hot minute; managed to squeeze in lunch @piatto_romano, flowers for the apartment @mercatoditestaccio, and dinner @perilliatestaccio. Now on the train to Orvieto / Lubriano. #chookinitalia #romaitalia #momentsofmine

Years ago, I think possibly before we even met, @tessakiros generously sent me a list of ‘places to eat’ in Athens. Cafe Avissinia was at the very top, and I have been (and recommended it) more times than I can count since. What a joy then to spend a day together, meandering through the little streets, eventually finding ourselves @cafeavissinia for a long lunch; and continuing even into the next evening @lsandsia with lovely @lazyas. #athens #slowtravel #tessakiros #momentslikethese #chookingreece

Last week on Andros, where I left another little piece of my heart. Athens this week, then Rome. @melisses.andros #andros #androsgreece #springingreece #chookingreece

If a day or two before you arrive on Andros @allipomilio writes to ask whether you’re interested in a private dinner highlighting the island’s produce - a collaboration with freelance chef @alex_hustle199, you say ‘yes’. If then you’re invited to spend an afternoon at the organic farm supplying @melisses.andros with the produce (and olive oil) they can’t harvest from their own seaside garden, you say ‘yes’. And if there is another dinner a few days later with a completely different menu and a lovely group to fill the table, surely it goes without saying, the answer is a resounding ‘yes’! @livada_farm #mèlissesandros #slowfood #andros #cyclades #greece #chookingreece

Last night on Paros. And what a magical week it was. I’ve received a number of DMs asking where to eat here. We dined @mario_bythesea and @yemeni.paros twice each, and those meals were surely highlights - they’re two very different restaurants, both special in their way. The fried zucchini with tzatziki @mouragio_fish_tavern was also unmissable, and the tour and tasting @moraitis_winery (especially the Malvasia). And @pariliohotel is every bit as perfect as it looks - from the thoughtful rooms and a la carte breakfast to the aperitivo we looked forward to every evening. Next, Andros #notsponsored #naoussa #paros #greece #instatravel #wanderlust #chookingreece

48 HOURS IN ATHENS Chickpeas, fassolakia and retsina at Diporto; lamb with avgolemono and wild greens, sardines wrapped in vine leaves, baklava with Mastiha ice cream, and milk pudding with rose petals @cafeavissinia; pistachio lattes @doperoasting; loukoumades; sourdough from @korabakery; @queenbee.athens croissants; Spiros’ Olive wood mortar and pestles; gelato @kokkionicecream; too many Greek salads to count; and always, always salted pistachios from the Central market. Steps count: 31,803 Music: @lazarusyellowtrees Next, Paros / Antiparos #athens #greece #chookingreece