A Texan in Toscana: coming full circle

A Texan in Toscana, Part 3 (click the links for Part 2 and Part 1).

Above: San Gimignano, one of Tuscany’s most famous “walled” cities, renowned for its “skyline” of medieval towers.

The fine white feathers are literally glued to your hands by the quick drying blood of the pigeon. It was futile to wash after each bird or in between sips of cappuccino. So the task was to keep feathers out of your cappuccino as well as dressing the twelve pigeons before moving on to the five ducks. Thus, my days would begin while working in the kitchen of Il Pino, a family-owned restaurant in the gorgeous medieval town of San Gimignano, Tuscany.

The glitz, glamour, and romance of living in Italy seems to fly right out the window when you find yourself bleary-eyed, half-awake, and exhausted while eviscerating pigeons at 7:30 in the morning.

Six days a week I would submerge myself in the duties of being a spare set of hands and the willing servant of the talented Chef Francesco.

Here, I would see the truth and simplicity of Tuscan cuisine rolled out day after day, and here, I would feel my culinary life come full circle…