A Life, Lived: In the Kitchen with Judy

The September edition of Food and Wine magazine is all about Italy. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the section on cooking instructors in Italy. There on page is110 is a section on Tuscan Cooking School Pioneers and the first one listed is Judy Witts Francini. I have gotten to know Judy on the slowtravel message board over the past few years and last fall Paul and I had the supreme pleasure of spending a day with her.

This is the account of our day with Judy that is published in my Italy trip report on slowtravel: Gelato, Ceramics, Art, Pasta, Ruins, Oh My!

I woke up from a sound sleep at 6am. I made a pot of coffee and caught up with my journal. Today is a day I had been looking forward to for months – our cooking class in Florence with Judy Witts (Diva on Slow Travel). Paul and I were taking the class while mom and Rose planned on touring Florence some more.

We had originally planned on driving to Florence but Gabriel (the owner of our villa) suggested taking the bus from Cerbaia which was only about ten minutes from the villa. Great advice! We parked in the lot that Gabriel had suggested and bought our bus ticket (€8 return). The bus left at 8:50. Travelling by bus on the narrow Tuscan roads was a stomach churning experience – there were times when I didn’t think there was any road between us and the edge of a gaping gorge. Paul and I took some amusing photos of mom and Rose gripping the seat in front of them with their white-knuckled hands. We arrived in Florence at 9:40. We were late for our reservations at the Academia Gallery but we assumed that we would have little difficulty getting in at a later time.

Mom and Rose gripping the seat for dear life on the bus ride to Florence

It turned out that we didn’t need to worry – when we got to the gallery there was a huge line up. We discovered that the gallery had decided to hold a staff meeting that day and it was closed until 11 – regardless of anyone having made advance reservations! One must get used to these unexpected wrinkles in Italy; you could yell and be cranky or you could realize that this was just a part of the ebb and flow of live in Italy and go with the current! Alas, we were not to see the original David on this trip – yet another reason why we have to return.

Splitting up from Rose and mom, Paul and I walked to Judy’s studio following her excellent directions. We were an hour early and buzzed up to see if we could drop off our bags. Judy buzzed us in and was so welcoming that we never did leave, we just stayed and sat around the huge table and chatted. Her personality is so warm that you soon felt as if you were talking to a dear old friend.

Judy’s assistant Pearla arrived and she admired the trip book we had created. She fixed my phone so that the prompts were in English and told us a bit about herself. Later, as Pearla and Judy bustled about getting everything ready for the cooking class the remaining participants arrived for the class.

Judy and Pearla in the cooking studio

Our ‘classmates’ consisted of a couple from outside of San Francisco who knew Judy’s mother and two ladies from Napa. It wasn’t long before we caught on that these folk had far more money than we did! They were staying in a lovely hotel in town that had a huge terrace overlooking the city – it was $600 US a night. Oh my. When they heard about our villa they couldn’t get their heads around the notion of not having a cook to prepare the meals. We would definitely be traveling in different circles today then we’re used to.

As we sat around her table, Judy discussed the plan for the day. First we would decide what we would make, and then we would go to the market to tour, sample local delicacies, and purchase the ingredients for our meal. After leaving the market we would make two more stops: wine and bread. Then we would follow Judy back to the studio to cook and eat our meal.

No one really had any strong notions about what to make. The two women from Napa had taken a three-day class so they suggested one day they would like to cook with beef, another day they would like to try cooking with veal, and the final day pork. Judy agreed and decided to see what look good at the market. I said that I would like to make fresh ravioli and Judy suggested pear and pecorino. Paul asked if we could make panna cotta – his new favourite dessert after our GTG in Rome. Judy graciously was enthused even though she probably always ends up with panna cotta or tiramisu! I asked if we could make stuffed zucchini flowers – the others wondered what they were and when Judy explained. They all declared that that was what they wanted too. Judy grabbed her basket and we all trooped off to the market.

Touring Florence with Judy was a treat. It was so wonderful to hear about things from someone who had lived there for more than twenty years. Our first stop was a wine shop. This shop was unique because it was a high-end bulk wine shop. People would show up with their jugs and the owners would fill them for you with your selection of vino. It was quite high tech. We went into the low-ceilinged basement and saw the huge vats of wine with plastic tubing snaking up from them to the taps upstairs. I was contemplating slicing a tube with a knife and stuffing it into my mouth when Judy announced that we should head off.

'Judy's' wine shop

The Mercanto Centrale is a massive two-storey building made of cast iron and glass in 1874. It is located in the heart of the San Lorenzo street market and is the busiest food market in the city. Judy explained to us that the average Florentine didn’t shop here because the food was too expensive – we would be looking at the best ingredients available in the city.

Mercanto Centrale

Judy was clearly a celebrity with the market vendors. They loved her and her easy going humour made us all a part of the fun. Because we were with her we were greeted with warmth and humour as well by all – truly a awesome experience.

The first of our stops was at one of Judy’s favourite vendors: Benita, who was busy making the food sold in her stand appropriately named Porks. Originally from Sicily, Benita is Judy’s ‘adopted mother’ in Italy. She and her sons Luigi and Fillipo took care of us with their wonderful Sicilian home cooking. They serve hot pasta alongside marinated and grilled vegetables, special sandwiches, and roast pork sandwiches. They're open for breakfast, lunch, and snacks until 2pm when the market closes. Friday is fish day (as it is throughout Italy).

We sat at a long table and Judy ordered a number of things for us to sample: stewed beans (the Tuscans are known throughout Italy as bean eaters), roasted vegetables, fried eggplant, and porchetta. It was all wonderful. One of Benita’s sons brought us over some wine that the stand had on ‘tap’ and an Orange Fanta for Judy. It was a unique and very satisfying moment.

Benita came over and got quite friendly with Paul, he turned beet red which only served to further encourage her attentions. She cackled with laughter and advised him, through Judy as translator, that she was too old for him, but if he were ten years older he would need to look out! If you’re ever in the market in Florence be sure to go to Porks, meet Benita for yourself – she is a treasure!

Judy with Benita

We followed Judy throughout the market like trained animals. When she saw something that interested her she would stop and explain to us what it was. Thank goodness we weren’t hungry after our stop at Porks or I would have bought it all! Every now and then we would stop and buy something for our cooking or Pearla would dart off only to return later with an interesting looking package.

A typical market stand

When we came to a stand run by the Conti family we stopped for a bit. This stand featured a huge variety of items – everything from fresh fruit, vegetables, and herbs, to pasta, jellies, and vinegar. We met the owner Germana Conti and her son Stefano (a nice looking muscular man who Judy clearly adored) and his wife Grazia.

Grazia was gracious and kindly led us through a tasting of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and a variety of prepared jellies. I thought that I had tasted balsamic vinegar before . . . the truth is I have never tasted vinegar like the 35 year old vinegar that was so thick it came out of the bottle in slow drops of heaven. They had some 100 year old stuff but they weren’t setting out samples of that – go figure? We bought a bottle of 10 year old vinegar and some Tuscan spice mix. I was like a kid in a candy store – almost on overload.

Grazia at the Conti stand

We crossed the aisle to Judy’s favourite cheese stand. Here you could find many different cheeses predominantly from Italy and France. One of the staff had prepared an olivewood tray with generous wedges of soft cheese – some with pear jelly and others with a zesty pepper jelly made with Judy’s recipe. To this they had added shards of four year old Parmigiano Reggiano over which they had drizzled thick aged balsamic vinegar. The final offering was a very soft cheese spread on soft bagel shaped pieces of bread. This was a great marketing strategy because we now made purchases here as well.

Sampling cheeses

We went upstairs to where the majority of the vendors were set up selling fresh fruit and vegetables. We bought the final ingredients for our meal and Pearla went back to the studio to do the necessary prep work.

The rest of us followed Judy as she plunged in to the hustle of the San Lorenzo Market. She pointed out the best places to purchase leather and introduced us to the owners who provided us with their cards so we could get a discount if we returned later to buy. We stopped at a bakery to buy bread and then went to Judy’s favourite wine shop. She stood staring at it for a minute and than turned to tell us that it had closed down for renovations with no notice. Again, this is that wonderful thing about Italy – go with it or be cranky.

We went elsewhere and purchased four bottles of wine for dinner. By now it was close to 2. I wondered how we would cook everything and eat before 4. Judy looked at her watch and must have had the same thought . . . we raced back to the studio and washed up.

Our menu consisted of:

Fried Sage and Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms
Ravioli with a Pear and Pecorino filling
Tuscan roast beef
Roasted Potatoes
Panna Cotta

We worked together to prepare the food, all the while Judy taught us the necessary techniques. The recipes weren’t important, the techniques were. She showed us how to soften the sheets of fish based gelatin to make the panna cotta, how to make fresh pasta, how to prepare our favourite roasted potatoes, and to make our own Tuscan spice mixture. Again, it wasn’t the recipe but the technique.

Cooking with Judy

After a frenzy of cooking we sat down to a wonderful meal. The wine and water flowed, as did the conversation. This truly was an amazing experience. Judy presented us with her cookbook and a Divina Cucina apron (which Paul wears all the time when he is cooking now) and a package of the special fish gelatin so we can make panna cotta at home the ‘Italian way.’

I looked down at my watch and panicked – it was almost 5 and we were supposed to meet mom and Rose on the steps of San Lorenzo at 4:20. Opps! We grudging said good bye to our new friend and raced out into the streets. They were waiting at the appointed spot tired out after a day of walking, shopping, and viewing. We babbled on about our experiences as we walked back around the market.

I managed to find the leather stand again and the owners remembered Paul and I from when we were there with Judy earlier. They took us upstairs and they showed us their ‘good’ leather. Paul and I bought four belts and Rose a wonderful purse. The shop gave us 50% off – a great deal. I get many compliments about the belts whenever I wear them, making me wish I had bought more.

Rose wanted to make one final stop prior to taking the bus home. She really wanted to go to the Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy. It is located near the bus depot so we thought that we could go on our way. The pharmacy is located in a rather unsavoury area but once you walk in your forget it immediately.

Inside all is very calm, with the beautifully displayed products and the most wonderful scent hanging in the air like a thick mist. Prices are reasonable and the sales assistants were excellent and very helpful. I don’t think they were helpful enough for Rose though – none of the products were labeled in English so she didn’t know what anything was and she didn’t want to ask anyone. She left in a cranky mood and waited outside. Paul and I made a number of purchases (some of which I would later send to Rose for a Christmas gift).

At the bus station we managed to find the correct bus and we were soon back in Cerbaia. We bought a few treats in the bakery, dropped into the car and headed back to the villa.

Later, after a rest, we made a light supper and sat around talking about the day and what an amazing time we were having.

Comments

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I just picked up my copy of Food and Wine today! Can't wait to read it next week when I'm on vaca.

Posted by: Kim | August 18, 2007 at 06:16 PM

It is a great edition. We're already making two of the recipes next week. I think that Alice would be horrified at some of the suggested 'modifications'! *smile*

It will be great reading in Vermont!

Posted by: Jerry | August 18, 2007 at 06:34 PM