Tuscan Chefs Celebrate Florentine Cooking

The Tuscan Sun Festival commemorates its 10th year in Florence June 11 – 18 with musical performances, film screenings, literature readings, and culinary events to showcase Tuscany's cultural and artistic splendor.

"It is named the 'Tuscan' Sun Festival as we had always intended to represent the finest calibre of arts Tuscany has to offer," says Barrett Wissman, the founder and director of the Tuscan Sun Festival.

The Tuscan Sun Festival's 'Nuove Tradizioni' will host gourmet sessions with five of Italy's most acclaimed chefs: Paolo Lopriore from Il Canto in Siena, Carlo Cracco from Ristorante Cracco in Milan, Davide Scabin from Combal Zero in Rivoli, Vito Mollica from the Four Seasons in Florence, and Massimo Bottura from the Osteria Francescana in Modena.

Menus offer an mouth-watering selection of gastronomic innovations such as Lopriore's zimino of squids, Scabin's saffron rice tube with bur rata and black truffle caviar, Cracco's crunchy egg yolk with sea scallop and marinated turnip with shiso leaves, and Bottura's veal roast in truffle crust with red beet emulsion.

Diners can feast on a five-course gourmet lunch with wine pairings accompanied by a chef's demonstration for €250. Only 30 reservations are available at each lunch service, so diners are certain to have an intimate and exclusive setting for their culinary adventure.