Jovial's 100% Einkorn Culinary Getaway

We are still lingering in the joy of Jovial's first 100% Einkorn Culinary Getaway in Lucca. Last month, a group of jovial einkorn enthusiasts travelled to Italy to spend time with our founder, Carla, and learn more about baking and cooking with ancient grain einkorn. Getting a group of food lovers together in a beautiful location for the getaways can be a life-changing experience for some, including our staff, as great minds and spirits spend a week learning and sharing under one big roof.

Guests arrived on Saturday while Carla and Lorenzo, our pasta artisan, were busily preparing the evening's welcome dinner. They immediately rolled up their sleeves and got their hands into the soft einkorn focaccia dough. We were delighted to have a professional piano player among the guests and she performed in the ballroom during appetizers. Dinner was served in the villa dining room and started with freshly made einkorn tortelloni filled with local sheep's milk ricotta cheese and baby chard.

The main dish that followed was Lorenzo's famous emmer beer braised pork shanks, served with stuffed tomatoes and roasted olive oil and rosemary potatoes. Dessert included a sweet einkorn trio of fresh strawberries and whipped cream filled sponge cake, chocolate brownies and a whole grain Bundt cake.

On Sunday morning, guests were free to sleep in, take in the Tuscan sun by the pool or visit Lucca's historic downtown on bike from the villa. In the late afternoon, we gathered in the kitchen for the first cooking class- fresh pasta making. It's not everyday that you get to make einkorn pasta with a professional, so everyone enjoyed spending time with Lorenzo. Cooking classes during the week were very hands on and in this class, guests made their very own egg, whole grain and spinach tagliatelle and capellini, as well as potato gnocchi.

Dinner was filled with laughter and great conversation, as guests and hosts really began to get to know each other. There was einkorn sourdough ciabatta, challah, gnocchi with fresh tomato sauce, spinach tagliatelle with asparagus and egg tagliatelle with meat sauce, a slow-roasted a leg of lamb and seasonal vegetables.

Monday's free day was spent visiting nearby places like Florence, Pietrasanta and Lucca, but coming home to the villa seemed to be the best part of the day for everyone. In the evening, an impromptu cooking class in the kitchen took place as Carla prepared the sourdough leavin and slow-fermented pizza dough for the morning's bread and pizza class.

The next day, we got to kneading the sticky einkorn doughs, getting used to the proper textures for many types of bread doughs, like classic French boule, whole grain batard and ciabatta. The best part of the day was baking our authentic einkorn pizza napoletano in the wood-fired oven. An outdoor cafe was set up on the lawn outside of the dependence and guests lingered after lunch in the shade of century-old trees, surrounded by lemon trees heavy with ripe fruit.

Wednesday morning was full of sunshine and just perfect for the group's early departure for Le Cinque Terre. They arrived at Monterosso and visited each town, making there way around by ferry. From Porto Venere, they travelled back to the villa for dinner. As always with life in Italy, the best times are spontaneous. That evening, after eating out for lunch, everyone just felt like something light so guests prepared a huge pot of minestrone soup, exactly as Carla's Italian mother-in-law taught her.

It seems like the fantastic week together will last forever, until Thursday hits, and then the group begins to feel the sadness about things coming to an end. Guests spent Thursday and Friday mornings taking care of shopping, biking on the path from town to the center of Lucca, visiting local sites like the leaning tower of Pisa or best of all, just relaxing on the beautiful villa grounds. Thursday evening was the final cooking class, which included a cooking demonstration of authentic risotto, Italian chicken with rosemary, sage and white wine, green beans stewed with tomatoes Lucchese-style and tiramisu.

What made this week remarkable was not just the delicious food or wonderful location, but the heartwarming group of people. Our jovial staff was delighted to discover so much talent in this group. Each evening, Jen played the piano and the group sang together. These wonderful families chose the villa as a special place to fly away to for many reasons- to celebrate a recent college graduation, contemplate important career decisions, learn more about traditional cooking and to discover their ancestor's birthplace for the first time. 

To Kathy, Fred, Cheryl, Doneen, Rick, Taryn, Diane, Neil, Tyler, Kelsey, Jen and Paula- we are so happy to welcome you to our jovial family. Thank you for making all of the hard work that goes into organizing these getaways absolutely worthwhile. Our time together was truly unforgettable.

Alla prossima...