SPLENDIDO (but multiplied a couple hundred times)

Eleonora Galasso

Let’s face it, it was a good start.
Wandering into Blenheim’s exquisitely decorated ‘Indian Room’, my nostrils flared to the smells and scents of Italia. And just to top off this sensation of effortless European adventure, Ms Galasso herself, Italy’s best kept gastronomic secret (who thankfully at last is becoming much better known over here too).
Classier than Nigella and certainly more fun, Ms Galasso could easily do for Italy what gelato, gnocchi and blaring car horns already have.
Dressed immaculately, as if challenging the ingredients in front of her to dare stain or blemish her perfectly coiffured look, she animated both her talk and demonstration with wit, style and unabashed warmth.
“I don’t really trust myself as a chef,” she confessed, while demurely slicing her way through an artichoke, “I trust tradition instead”.
And between mouthfuls of Tiramisu and a distinctly amusing Amuse-Bouche, she advanced her theories on how women, and their intimate relationship to food, have challenged whole empires.
Fascinating. Funny. Feel good.
And a perfect Saturday brunch.