Food
Tuscany is known world wide for the quality of its food and wine. We know that many guests will be well traveled and often already familiar with traditional Tuscan Cuisine. That is why we have sought out local chefs that are capable of interpreting traditional Tuscan recipes with a modern flair, creating unique dishes that will delight and surprise you and your guests. Your wedding day happens only once, so your wedding meal should also be a once in a lifetime experience.
A traditional Tuscan wedding feast can take hours to consume, so our chefs have come up with some dynamic solutions that allow you to maximize social mixing time and minimize the time you are seated at table. A popular proposal is to offer your guests a cocktail hour with a reinforced buffet. This usually means a huge variety of different buffet appetizers, freshly made and served in conveniently to hold portions, that accompany light Prosecco and white wine based cocktails, Italian style sangrias, and non-alcoholic cocktails. The typical reinforced cocktail will last 1 and a half to two hours and allows your guests plenty of time to break the ice and get to know each other. Best of all, as there is plenty of food on offer, your guests are less likely to loose their steam in the middle of the evening because of drinking on an empty stomach.
The balance of the meal service can be kept to a pleasant pace by reducing the number of courses. Typically, Tuscan wedding meals have three first courses and 2 second courses. However, we feel this is really too much food and your guests can barely walk after a meal like this. Best to leave this tradition to hard core Italy afficionados. Our chefs suggest opting for a light plated appetizer followed by one first course and one second course. The sommelier will pair the best local wines to each course. The hills of Lucca are scattered with small family run vineyards producing limited quantities of excellent reds and whites that are often lesser known outside of Italy and are indeed a treat to taste.
For dessert, we recommend that you consider offering your guests a dessert buffet station filled with small mono-portions of a variety of desserts. This will provide another moment for mingling and also be a natural segue to the dancing portion of the evening.
Times are changing and we recognize that not all guests may be able to eat every dish on the menu. Our chefs are particularly sensitive to the needs of vegetarians, vegans, those with food allergies and those who need to keep Kosher or Halal. They recommend that you ask your guests ahead of time if they have any dietary needs, based on their replies, the chefs will propose substitute dishes that will be just as delicious and creative as those offered on the main menu.
