15. Pizza

Pizza. 

The national gastronomic delight of Italy which has conquered the world.

How was it served by Master Cook Elisabetta? 

In two words: it wasn't. 

Every Friday evening all the guests of Il Poggio and all the staff who wanted to join the party scrambled into the company van or into willing guest's cars (Everyone arrived at Il Poggio by car--there was no reliable local public transport except for occasional buses in the nearby village of San Vicenzo a Torre.) and we all drove to a respectable old pizzeria in the slightly larger village of Montespertoli about six miles distant.

Elisabetta had made an arrangement with the owner of this pizzeria  to be prepared for an invasion of hungry guests every Friday evening and he was a jolly and reliable host--no matter the size of the group--but always from ten to thirty  people--there was always  plenty of hot, fresh, scrumptious pizza.

And, of course, the ever-welcome classic Chianti wine produced by the surrounding vineyards was also plentifully present. 

So the Il Poggio kitchen staff had the evening off and the guests had the fun of dining in a real, honest-to-God Italian village pizzeria!

This was all paid for by Elisabetta--for the B+B guests it was a part of their regular fee and for the staff, it was a weekly free party.

Well remembered!

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