FLORENCE – Good cooking and a passion for food have the power to unite very distant people and different cultures: and if the meeting takes place in a magical location like the Florentine “Dispensa del Buttero” in Bagno a Ripoli, the experience turns into something exciting and unforgettable. 

The meeting in question is the one between Lorenzo Ferraro, Florentine, owner of the “Dispensa”, and David Oxley, Canadian, true master of professional grills, belonging to the renowned Toronto “Bbq Reaper” team who was crowned World Champion of American Bbq in 2019.

Lorenzo himself tells us about it. “On Wednesday 9 August – he told us – I had the privilege and honor of welcoming two exceptional guests to our ‘Bistecca Fiorentina Experience’: David Oxley and his wife Jenn. The premises for this exciting experience were well laid nine months earlier, when David booked his place in our AirBnb for the culinary experience: a booking motivated by his deep curiosity and passion for the world of Florentine steak. David essentially wanted to delve into the roots and authenticity of this delicacy Tuscany during his visit to our region”.

The meeting with David and his wife Jenn was a unique moment for Lorenzo. “I guided them through a culinary journey that involved every aspect of the Florentine steak, starting from the selection of the meat itself. The choice – Lorenzo says – fell on an exquisite Maremma female, whose meat was skilfully subjected to a maturation process forty days. This crucial phase, which gives the meat tenderness and flavor, was handled with skill by Oliviero Manetti, a fifth-generation butcher with whom I have the privilege of sharing a precious collaboration. A fundamental aspect that I had the pleasure of to illustrate to David and Jenn concerns the importance of the wood used for the embers. I explained with enthusiasm that the beech and oak, coming from the suggestive woods of the Casentino, are used to give the meat that characteristic flavor which is intrinsic to the Florentine steak authentic”.

The culinary experience aroused authentic ecstasy in them, so much so that they formulated an invitation that deeply affected Lorenzo: the invitation to Toronto to personally experience David’s cuisine. Furthermore, the couple have expressed the desire to organize a sumptuous barbecue in pure Tuscan style for their own team.

“This demonstration of appreciation and the enthusiasm with which David and Jenn welcomed what we shared together – Lorenzo says – represents for me further confirmation of the unifying power of good cooking and the shared passion for food”, that is, that particular philosophy of hospitality that distinguishes “La Dispensa del Buttero” (which you can see online at this link: https://abnb.me/a7KiO7hyrCb). Therefore, hospitality as an extra ingredient: an exquisitely Italian added value.