Before we left for Italy, a trusted friend told us when in Chianti, to try the local steaks. Travelling with a man who takes barbecuing very seriously, locating said meat was a priority, and Paolo wasted no time in tracking down the very famous butcher in Greve in Chianti, Antica Malleceria Falorni. http://www.falorni.it/

With the ladies on salad and potato duty, the menfolk set about creating a charcoal barbecue, including gathering sticks and twigs, their primal duty assisted by glorious early evening sunshine and Italian beer.

The steaks which weighed a kilo each and were the size of a baseball glove, were cooked to perfection and then laid to rest on a chopping board prepared with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, basil, rosemary, mint, garlic, salt and pepper.

We served up with a green salad, filled with fresh local tomatoes , cucumber and balsamic, and the potatoes were chopped up into small chunks and roasted with garlic and fresh rosemary which grows right outside our front door. Magnifico!