01 Sep Forage to table – The Hotel Savoy in Autumn

Hotel Savoy, a Rocco Forte hotel in Florence, is delighted to reveal this year’s long-standing partnership with the “Truffle Concierge” will be enriched with a unique vintage car tour that will take guests to Bagno a Ripoli, with stunning views of the Ponte Vecchio, Florence’s Lungarno, Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato along the way, before venturing into the Tuscan hills to search for truffles.

Upon reaching the estate of Giulio, ‘the Truffle Concierge’, guests will embark on an adventure to discover the secrets of truffle hunting, accompanied by his trusty lagotto dogs.  The natural treasure of truffles will be collected as participants make their way through the woods with the help of the dogs, all while ensuring that the biodiversity of the local flora is respected to promote the seasonal regeneration of the various species of truffles.

The hunt is followed by the essential step of using the autumnal delicacies as the main ingredient in the kitchen of Giulio and his partner, Francesca.  Guests will learn the secrets of a selection of traditional dishes, most notably pasta – from tagliatelle to filled pasta – all strictly homemade in the kitchen of the family’s old oil mill.

Autumn in Tuscany is simply splendid featuring the vast expanses of vineyard that take on a golden hue, the shades of the warm sunsets over the gently rolling hills conjure up images of Renaissance paintings, and the earth offers up its most precious gifts: truffles.

IL CONCIERGE DEL TARTUFO DELL’HOTEL SAVOY | Turin-born Giulio Benuzzi is a member of the Tuscan truffle association, Associazione Tartufai delle Colline della Bassa Valdelsa. After obtaining the Italian truffle hunting license in 2003, Giulio has established himself as a renowned pioneer in truffle hunting over the last two decades. His charming bed and breakfast at the foot of Florence’s southern hillside became a place of pilgrimage for American gastronomes.