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My Italian Kitchen Rules

October 25, 2019 | Michael Turtle | 22 Comments

FOOD AND DRINK

The Italian restaurant food challenge

Move over Masterchef, Iron Chef and My Kitchen Rules. There’s a new cooking competition in town and it’s happening right in front of my eyes.

Two great chefs, pitted against each other, are battling for my stomach. Two appetizers, two entrees, two mains and two desserts.

At the end of the meal a decision will be made on which menu was better. There will only be one winner, one loser, and one very full belly that can’t decide if it’s a winner or a loser.

umbria, italy, italian food, good restaurants, tuoro

Tonight I am a guest at the Antico Casale di Monte Gualandro hotel and restaurant in rural Umbria – near Tuoro sul Trasimeno to be exact.

Our host, Vittorio Viterbi, had spent the day with us, a group of travel bloggers, but now he has changed out of his casual clothes of daylight hours and into a suit.

The event is a surprise and most of us feel rather underdressed for the occasion. Even the tables have on better clothes than me.

umbria, italy, italian food, good restaurants, tuoro

That’s irrelevant inside the kitchen, though, where the two chefs are competing for the prize (of which no physical reward exists) and also sharing a workspace.

The meals for the forty or so guests are prepared, cooked and plated on top of the others as they both use a kitchen designed for one. The pressure isn’t limited to the judgement in the restaurant but extends to the situation in which they make what they’ll be judged on.

The chefs of Ristorante Antica Posta per Cortona 1745 in Umbria and Ristorante Il Cavalluccio in Sardegna, head to head and shoulder to shoulder.

umbria, italy, italian food, good restaurants, tuoro

As the eight courses go by, a few belt buckles are loosened. The food seems never-ending.

Animals, apparently, usually eat everything in front of them because they never know when their next meal will be. We are anything but animalistic and most people start to leave courses unfinished, unsure of when our current meal will end.

As it so happens, the meal – and the competition- comes to a close just as stomachs are about to hit breaking point. Quality is a pleasure but unfortunately quantity sometimes tries to spoil the party.

So, with a heavy heart and an even heavier stomach, the time comes for us to choose a favourite.

umbria, italy, italian food, good restaurants, tuoro

The two chefs emerge from the kitchen to much applause. Declarations are made in fast and rich Italian. There is more applause. I grab Vittorio Viterbi and ask him who won.

“A tie, it seems,” he says with a sly smile. “Both were winners.”

Unfortunately you don’t have the chance to taste the dishes. I say ‘unfortunately’ because most of them were absolutely delicious and some of the finest examples of Italian cuisine you could try.

Below are the menus with my photos of the individual dishes. Which do you think you would’ve chosen?

Ristorante Il Cavalluccio

Seafood salad with artichokes and extra-virgin olive oil

umbria, italy, italian food, good restaurants, tuoro

Fregola pasta with clams and smoked ricotta

umbria, italy, italian food, good restaurants, tuoro

The dentex meet the wine

umbria, italy, italian food, good restaurants, tuoro

Seadas with abbamele

umbria, italy, italian food, good restaurants, tuoro

Ristorante Antica Post per Cortona 1745

Flan of courgettes on a fresh tomato sauce

umbria, italy, italian food, good restaurants, tuoro

Lasagne with parsley stuffed with mushrooms

umbria, italy, italian food, good restaurants, tuoro

Fillet of cinta senese pork with hazelnuts and cream of truffle with fresh season vegetables

umbria, italy, italian food, good restaurants, tuoro

Chocolate log with chestnut and mint

umbria, italy, italian food, good restaurants, tuoro

>> More info here about Antico Casale di Montegualandro <<
Time Travel Turtle was a guest of the Umbria Regional Tourism Board but the opinions, over-written descriptions and bad jokes are his own.

Reader Interactions

    Comments Cancel reply

  1. Angela |

    May 4, 2012 at 4:04 am

    Reply

    Seafood salad with artichokes, fregola, dentex and seadas is by far my favorite meal πŸ˜‰

    • Michael Turtle |

      May 5, 2012 at 5:57 am

      Reply

      I think that might have been my favourite too… although it’s so hard to choose.

  2. Esther |

    May 4, 2012 at 4:39 am

    Reply

    The one I didn’t eat you mean, well only one third: Seadas with abbamele, I didn’t remember the name, since I recall being on an Italian food overdose.

    • Michael Turtle |

      May 5, 2012 at 5:57 am

      Reply

      Ha ha… yes, there was definitely far too much blood rushing to the stomach to cope with all the food and not enough going to the brain to remember everything πŸ™‚

  3. Clayton |

    May 4, 2012 at 12:24 pm

    Reply

    I would go for Cavalluccio. I love seafood and i’m not entirely sure what the other dishes are, but they look like comfort food to me, and I do like my comfort.

    • Michael Turtle |

      May 5, 2012 at 5:58 am

      Reply

      Excellent call. You can’t really go wrong with either menu, though.

  4. Kurt |

    May 4, 2012 at 12:42 pm

    Reply

    Ahh the eight courses. Such a feast. I don’t know if I can do that.

    • Michael Turtle |

      May 5, 2012 at 5:58 am

      Reply

      It was a bit of a struggle.. I won’t lie to you. But definitely worth it.

  5. Natalie |

    May 4, 2012 at 2:49 pm

    Reply

    I would not go for one, I would have to try all of them. They are all new dishes for me and I love taking my taste buds for an exploration

    • Michael Turtle |

      May 5, 2012 at 5:59 am

      Reply

      Yes, you would want to try them all… but would you want to finish them all? πŸ™‚
      (Spoiler alert: probably)

  6. Sophie |

    May 4, 2012 at 6:34 pm

    Reply

    Looks delicious, though slightly overwhelming!

    • Michael Turtle |

      May 5, 2012 at 5:59 am

      Reply

      They were so delicious. I’m also really impressed that the chefs were able to make so much food in such a short amount of time. That must’ve been a real challenge for them!

  7. Stephanie - The Travel Chica |

    May 7, 2012 at 4:05 am

    Reply

    Lucky you! Food looks delicious. I have had some great “tasting menu” experiences in BA, and it is my never favorite dining experience.

    • Michael Turtle |

      May 7, 2012 at 4:41 am

      Reply

      The problem with tasting menus is you never get enough of your favourite ones!! πŸ™‚

  8. Wanderplex |

    May 10, 2012 at 1:51 am

    Reply

    That food looks divine!!! Mouth is watering just looking at the pics….

    • Michael Turtle |

      May 10, 2012 at 6:11 pm

      Reply

      It was delicious. So many different things to taste! Yum, yum…

  9. Cam |

    May 10, 2012 at 11:55 am

    Reply

    Yum!

    • Michael Turtle |

      May 10, 2012 at 6:12 pm

      Reply

      My word(s) exactly! πŸ™‚

  10. ipad Restaurant Menu |

    May 12, 2012 at 7:32 pm

    Reply

    Wow! It’s Yummy and so delicious! I love Italian sea food. Now I must come to eat Chocolate log with chestnut and mint at your restaurant.

    • Michael Turtle |

      May 13, 2012 at 4:29 am

      Reply

      The details of the restaurant are in the story above, if you ever get a chance to go there!

  11. D.J. - The World of Deej |

    May 24, 2012 at 5:56 am

    Reply

    This foodie is supremely jealous:) Got a kick out of the “event he tables were better dressed than us.”

    • Michael Turtle |

      May 24, 2012 at 7:06 am

      Reply

      You would be jealous about most of the food in Italy then! πŸ™‚

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This is the website of travel writer, Michael Turtle. After working in broadcast journalism for a decade in Australia, Michael left Sydney to travel the world indefinitely and write about the places, people and experiences he discovers. This isn't a diary - these are real stories from the world.

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