To Beef or Not To Beef or a Trip to find Dario Cechhini of Panzano - "The Most Famous Butcher in The World"

Our second journey into the heart of the Chianti region was again accompanied by a continuous drizzle of rain. The road from Florence to Greve (and on to Panzano) is not generally pretty in this weather though the vista, when glimpsed thorough the low-lying clouds, was mistily glorious. And it got better the further we drive away from Florence. Those famous rolling hills dotted with the ancient farmhouses of wealthy Brits. Like a browner, less green Cotswolds. A bit. Sort of.

For Dr B’s birthday I had planned a trip to the world famous butcher Dario Cecchini’s restaurant for a Mac Dario. His riposte to the world of fast food. We arrived early, working on the assumption that any world famous butcher would be overrun with likeminded tourists vying to touch the hem of his butcher’s apron.

His butchers' shop is the Tuscan culinary equivalent of Big Ben. Since hitting the headlines with his funeral for the bistecca he has appeared on Anthony Bourdain’s tv series, Gary Rhodes’ tv series, and had a large section of Bill Buford’s great book Heat given over to him. As well as numerous article in the press and online. In short, he is very well known outside of his native country and there aren’t many butchers you can say that about.

On entering his shop we were immediately made welcome with small tumblers of wine, crostini, finnochiona, and fettunta. The equivalent of those small plates of cut up sausages that you get back home. With, perhaps, just a touch more culinary grace.

In the counter of the beautifully preserved and tiled shop were (vacuum packed) packs of beef*, the famous and delicious burro del Chianti, on a butcher’s block was Dario’s porchetta and through a glass door we could see whole hind legs of the famous Spanish beef he imports. (Whilst we chatted, an Italian and a Canadian man started shouldering these great trunks of beef into a van. Apparently a lot of work happens at a 'laboratorio' elsewhere in the town).

When the friendly staff realised we were here primarily to eat, we were whisked up a staircase to the Officina. Here the open grill fire was being lit and fuelled by old vines (not, unfortunately for our lunch) and the long table was set for lunch. On the table were ‘Il Profumo Del Chianti’ (a flavoured salt), and some squeezy bottles containing a mustard sauce, a tomato sauce, and a sweet chilli sauce. The latter made by Judy.

The menu for lunch is simple. There are two options: the Mac Dario or the Accoglienza (which loosely translates as ‘the reception’ or welcome). We plumped for a Mac Dario but when we saw the Accoglienze we ordered one of those to share too. I mean it would have been an insult to the man and to his meat not to try everything. Wouldn't it?

The burger, like nearly all burgers over here, was served without a bun. (Which is obviously very wrong). But it wasn’t totally Atkins approved as it was coated in breadcrumbs before frying. It came with beautifully flavoured roast potatoes, soft red onions, and some salad. The burger was rare and had a great beefy flavour. Not in the mold of your traditional US style, but wonderfully tender and flavourful.

The Mac Dario

The Accoglienza was, inevitably, a more interesting and varied affair. Along with Dario’s well known and frankly awesome ‘sushi del chianti’ and his ‘tonno del chianti’ was his porchetta, and his cosimino (basically a meat loaf). Along with this came the joyous sight of a bowl of raw vegetables to eat with oil, vinegar, and the ‘Profumo’. Having been in Tuscany for 6 months now, I was enraptured by this bowl of raw, undressed vegetables. I love celery and carrots and being given a mound to chomp my way through was actually a real pleasure in what soon became a table landscaped with meat.

We thought the porchetta was a little dry and the meatloaf pretty ordinary but the sushi was wonderful and the tonno was great too. If you go, order a burger and the Accoglienza to share. It’ll be more than enough.

tonno del chianti

After we had filled every last nook and cranny of our digestive systems with meat we strolled through the drizzle up to the old part of the town. Here was another butcher’s shop and no doubt close by were some sage Tuscans nodding knowingly at the tourists and remarking that Dario’s was no longer the best butcher in Panzano and that actually this lesser known one was in fact a lot better. A trait that appears to be as common to Florence as it does to the UK. 

When lightly soaked by the persistent Chiantishire rain, we walked back down Dario’s to do some shopping and the fun began again when Dr B and our friends T’Una engaged Dario in some light-hearted conversation.

'to beef or not to beef'

Dr B made it pretty clear to Dario that his views on British palates (which went something along the lines of: ‘well you can’t eat horseradish with beef, because you can’t drink wine with horseradish. And anyway you Brits don’t really understand wine’) were somewhat misguided. But he didn't budge.

There then ensued a lively discussion that covered ‘Slow Food’ (‘a religion’ – Dario is not a member), MacDonalds, favoured restaurants in Florence (of the two he mentioned Ruth’s vegetarian raised some eyebrows), Alice Waters, and Michael Pollan.

Interspersed with this chat, Dario occasionally pulled down books from his collection on the shelves of the shop and opened them to pages with photos of himself. Dario with Prince Charles (whom he refused to bow to); Dario in Jamie’s Italy; Dario with Alice Waters. And of course he did utter the immortal 'to beef or not to beef' phrase. A man of poetry as well as of butchery.

He seemed like very good company, from the little I could understand and from the reaction of the Italian speakers amongst us. He is a man who is obviously very passionate about what he does. He is also a man who likes to have fun and knows that his big personality is a financial asset. But without products to back up his profile he would disappear from our books, tv, and magazines quickly.

He is of course a showman, a celebrity, an opinionated man but he produces great food. The burro del Chianti I brought home is wonderful and the peposo notturno was just superb. There is little doubt we'll be heading back soon for more of everything.

[ * One thing that was not evident in his counter was raw, unadulterated, un-packed meat. This meant that choosing what to buy was not as straightforward as in a normal butchers. I dare say if I'd asked for a specific cut he could have provided it for me. Also, vacuum packing beef is is frowned upon back in England as it is thought to squeeze much of the moisture from the meat.]

Further reading here

In the Guardian here.