Gabriele Corcos Is Under the Tuscan Gun Discover Anghiari We Visit This Fairytale Town in the Tiber Valley Plus Where to Eat Where to Shop Expert Advice
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THE FREE Ski Tuscany We check out Abetone: the ski capital of Tuscany Gabriele Corcos is under the Tuscan Gun Discover Anghiari We visit this Fairytale town in the Tiber valley plus Where to eat Where to shop Expert advice Proud Media partners with Fondazione Festival Pucciniano FOOD & DRINK | FAMILY MATTERS | HOMES & GARDENS | FASHION & SHOPPING | BODY & SOUL SOCIETY | ADRENALINE | TRAVEL | BUSINESS & FINANCE | PROPERTY | PLUS LOTS MORE CONTENTS Note from the editor: elcome to the winter edition of The Tuscan Magazine. THE Yes – we changed our name and hope you agree that FREE W Ski Tuscany We check out Abetone: the new one is a little more snappy. Absolutely nothing else has the ski capital of Tuscany Gabriele Corcos changed though, except we have added a handy new ‘Directory’ is under the Tuscan Gun Discover Anghiari section where you can find all the services you need in Tuscany. plus Where to eat Where to shop Expert advice As the days darken and we all begin to appreciate the wonders of a warm Proud Media partners with Fondazione Festival Pucciniano FOOD & DRINK | FAMILY MATTERS | HOMES & GARDENS | FASHION & SHOPPING | BODY & SOUL fire, this edition brings you news of the best local skiing, gorgeous recipes to SOCIETY | ADRENALINE | TRAVEL | BUSINESS & FINANCE | PROPERTY | PLUS LOTS MORE cook up in your own kitchen & plenty of invaluable wine tips to make your Editor: Sarah Fraser Christmas party all the merrier. If you plan on having a drink with your friends [email protected] this party season and then driving home it is worth you flicking straight to page Advertising & Publisher: Richard Turnbull 47 where we give you the lowdown on Italian drink driving laws. And of course, [email protected] there is all the usual priceless and entertaining information about Italy. Design: www.kohd.co.uk Romilly Bean, John Ferguson Seasons Greetings & a Happy New Year’ from all of us at Photographers: The Tuscan Magazine Ian Nolan – Nolan Photography Anneliese Rabl – www.annelieserabl.com Subscriptions: [email protected] Sarah Fraser Website: editor www.thetuscanmagazine.com Contributors: We are truly an international lot at TTM… Marta Chiavacci: Award winning Contents Regulars Sommelier - Canadian Zara Nelson: Columnist – British UPFRONT 04 Prof. Anne Hodges: Artist and 04 Focus on Gabriele Corcos Lecturer – British 06 The Befana Anneliese Rabl: Writer – German SOCIETY 08 Fiona StelFox: Legal Expert – Irish 08 And the winner is... FOOD & DRINK 09 Marlene Wallace: Interior Design 10 Chocolate heaven Expert – American Sarah Fraser: Journalist – British 12 Italian New Year Resolutions FAMILY 28 Emanuele Cutsodontis: – Italian 13 Festive Italy Richard Turnbull: Promotions - British FASHION & SHOPPING 30 Paul Darragh: Sales - British 15 Tuscan recipes Trisha Conover: wine and health expert 20 Restaurant reviews HOMES & GARDENS 34 – American Kieran Mullen: Architect Expert – Irish 23 Wine tasting Giovanni Del Carlo: Divorce Expert – BODY & SOUL 39 Italian 28 Tongue tied Jonathan Smith: Travel writer - British 30 TTM Christmas shopping guide ADRENALINE 46 32 Mystery shopper Direttore Responsabile: PROPERTY 50 Emanuele Cutsodontis 34 Dressing up your windows TRAVEL 58 Printed by: 37 Focus on Italian herbs Gelli Grafiche Srl, Via G. Leopardi, 11 50041 Calenzano - Firenze. 39 Tuscan troubles NEWS & GATHERINGS 61 Tel. +39 055 8824630 Fax +39 055 40 Have a healthy wine 8827446 www.grafichegelli.it COMPETITIONS 65 41 Survive the party season Autorizzazione del Tribunale di Pistoia No. 1/2010 42 Nature’s cosmetics - Bay Registro periodici del 21/04/2010 44 A fresh relationship When you have finished with this magazine please recycle it or pass it on. 45 Divorce facts 46 Skiing in Abetone Terms and conditions: All material is strictly copy righted and all rights are reserved. 49 Falconry No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission of TTM. Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the 49 Ask the expert information contained in this publication, the publisher can not be held responsible for any errors it may contain. 54 Guilt free heating The publisher cannot be held responsible for any material, solicited or unsolicited. The views expressed in this 59 Anghiari publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or those of the advertisers. No cash alternative will be offered THE TUSCAN MAGAZINE | 3 for competitions and the editors decision is final. UPFRONT UPFRONT The new TV series ‘Extra Virgin’ follows the life of the family through their cooking exploits in Italy and the USA Focus on: to be a household name by this time next year. And the marketing machine is in motion. Gabriele is already talking of restoring and Gabriele Corcos expanding his Farm in Florence. He wants to convert the farm to a B&B with a cookery school attached. Gabriele Corcos is hot property. A good looking Italian bloke who There are already plans to increase on the ten thousand olive trees can cook... and speak Italian (even better; speaks English with an already on the estate and replant Italian accent). No wonder Gabriele Corcos is going places. the vines to produce branded food based merchandise for the US orn in Tuscany, Gabriele is a “About 8 The first time they met they talked market. Bprofessional musician. He met his years ago food about having babies. Within three Gabriele is certainly seizing the wife, Debi Mazar whilst she was visiting wasn’t a hot months they were married and pregnant. moment. subject and Italy. Debi is famous. She’s been on no one would And watching the pair of them together “The really great part is that my TV constantly for the last 15 years or print it. But I you can see that this isn’t a ‘repent at abandoned music career has been more, appeared in a host of Madonna’s love food and leisure’ scenario. They are obviously best kick started because I was asked to music videos and has had some great thought that buddies and the chemistry between write and produce the music for the there was film roles too, including Goodfellas, The a need for them is awesome. show and now that it is done it has Doors and Batman Forever. Gabriele this kind of Once in the US Gabriele decided to attracted a lot of attention.” wasn’t famous (yet). He was just a young simple cookery develop his musical career, So it looks like the sky is the limit musician trying to earn a living when he with easy “ I tried really hard to make a go of the for the lad from Fiesole. Does he miss explanations.” dropped everything to follow Debi back music thing in America but the business But this boy had tenacity as well as Italy? “Yes and no. I love Italy but when to LaLa Land. The romance of it is almost had bombed out at that point and it was ambition and, being Italian, Gabriele has I’m there it drives me crazy that nothing unbearable. almost impossible to find work “ been brought up properly. seems to change. Thirty years pass By which I mean he can cook. He’s and still the same conversations about been instructed by his Tuscan nonnas politics. The lack of opportunities, and mamma in the fine art of Italian the backwards communications… I cooking and he realized that this was couldn’t work in Italy at the moment.” perhaps where his real direction lay. blossomed into a hit web show. Gabriele Finally, after much persistence, the But the family are planning to move to It all started off with a book he wrote, and Debi film themselves making show was picked up by mainstream TV New York to be nearer Italy – it’s as near inspired by Debi’s pregnancy called ‘The traditional Tuscan recipes in their own - The Cooking Channel. The format is as you can get without getting wet and Tuscan Cookbook for the Pregnant Male’. home and post this plus the method similar to their web shows. Each episode from NY it’s only a nine hour flight to Italy. Despite finding an agent the book didn’t and ingredients on the website. It has a of ‘Extra Virgin’ follows the life of the “I’d love to bring my girls up in Italy get published. huge following, which is understandable family through their cooking and there is but at the moment it’s just not practical. ‘About 8 years ago food wasn’t a hot because this way of learning new recipes always a theme, such as a birthday party Maybe in a few years we will be able to subject and no one would print it. But I is fun to watch (the couple are a hoot in or ‘hunting’ (which sees Debi teetering spend more time in Italy.” love food and thought that there was a the kitchen) and you can actually see the down to the firing range in LA to learn We certainly hope so. Tuscany needs need for this kind of simple cookery with methods, which makes it really easy for how to shoot in preparation for their visit young Italians like Gabrielle to stir things easy explanations.’ the less experienced cook to follow. to Fiesole and roast pheasant). up a little. Thus was born ‘Under Gabriele explains that even with a high Debi and Gabriele spent the best The Tuscan Gun’ which profile wife like Debi, the TV chef world is part of last summer filming in LA and started off as a hard to break into. “I’m not a trained chef. Florence, where Gabriele was born and website blog with I just know how to cook. I know it’s maybe raised.