What a surprise it was for all of us at Locanda Demetra to receive an unexpected visit from Giada De Laurentiis and Bobby Flay on a beautiful sunny day in September 2019!

Giada, Bobby and their film crew spent a week in Montalcino to film an episode of their new series “Bobby and Giada in Italy”. Together with their personal assistants, they stayed at the our neighbours’ beautiful villa: Villa Palazzetta.

Giada and the crew came to lunch with us and, thanks to the beautiful sunny day, they were able to enjoy the wonderful view of the Val d’Orcia from one of our tables under the pergola, right on the edge of the vegetable garden.

Enthusiastic about the dishes we offered her and intrigued by our proposals, Giada also wanted to come back the following morning to take part in one of our cooking classes. I will let you  imagine the enthusiasm and amazement of our students who had no idea.

In the episode, we see Alessandro welcoming Giada in the garden of Locanda Demetra with two kisses on the cheek (how beautiful life was before Covid!) while Manuela appears in the kitchen explaining her passion for cooking. Under the pergola, Alessandro tells Giada about our story and then guides her on a visit to the vineyard, the chicken coop and the vegetable garden.

“It’s a dream life for many of us” Giada says at one point referring to the type of life and work we have chosen.

Back in the kitchen, Alessandro, Emanuela, Giada and a group of enthusiastic guests prepared fresh pasta with eggs from our chicken coop and organic flour made from ancient grains from a mill in the Val d’Orcia. For us Italians, making pasta together is also a way to get to know each other, exchange stories, make suggestions and make friends. Some even suggest that you don’t really know a person until you make pasta together. 🙂

Finally, Giada, who fell in love with our Brunello di Montalcino jelly, wanted to learn how to make it from us in order to make it again at home for her daughter. Later in the episode, Giada also uses this compote to prepare her favorite dessert: “la crostata”.

But the surprises don’t end here! Giada and Bobby have in fact invited Alessandro and Emanuela for dinner at their house that same evening. And what better than a beautiful Florentine steak cooked by Bobby Flay and the Gnudi al Pomodoro cooked by Giada to celebrate this new beautiful friendship together?

In the episode, we see some moments of this beautiful evening under the sky of a carefree Tuscan summer. It was great when Alessandro helped set the table and exchanged a couple of funny jokes in Italian with Giada: “Porta il vino, Alessandro!” … “Eccomi! …con le cose importanti!” … “Bring the wine, Alessandro!” … “Here I am! … with the important things! “

Towards the end of the episode, Bobby Flay says about Alessandro and Emanuela, “It is very nice to see such a young couple with so much passion devote themselves to cooking.” And, believe me, this is a compliment that makes the daily sacrifices worth it for any chef…

The show’s debut was scheduled for spring 2020 but was then postponed so that it could be part of the unveiling of the new Discovery Plus Channel. And it’s streaming now! If you don’t want to sign up, you can simply get a free seven-day trial and enjoy episode 4, the one we’re talking about.

This episode also spawned a couple of posts on Giada De Laurentiis’ personal site. In the Travel Tips on giadzy.com, it says about Locanda Demetra:

“One of the most fascinating aspects of Tuscan culture is the way in which the locals prioritize keeping their agricultural roots alive. This is further exemplified in Giada’s next visit to the Locanda Demetra cooking school and restaurant just outside Montalcino, run by Alessandro and Emanuela. They took an abandoned piece of land and transformed it into an incredible experience from field to table: they use the products of their gardens, the eggs from their hens and the wine of Montalcino. A chef’s dream comes true, honestly! Giada takes part in a cooking class at Locanda Demetra and they make a Brunello wine jam along with some fresh pink colored pasta from their beets. “