Calvani, who runs a Tuscan guesthouse with his husband, joins olive oil importer Walter Pogliani for a conversation, an Italian wine reception, and three dishes from "A Tuscan Table"
Sunday, October 11, 4–6pm | Hudson, NY
Talbott & Arding hosts Luca Calvani, the Italian actor, filmmaker, and cook, on October 11 for an evening built around his first book, A Tuscan Table: Seasonal Vegetarian Recipes from Italy. He'll talk with Walter Pogliani of Pogliani Select about Tuscan food, olive oil, hospitality, and the stories behind the recipes he serves at Le Gusciane, the farmhouse and guesthouse in the Tuscan hills that he runs with his husband, Alessandro Franchini.
After the conversation, guests stay for an Italian wine reception with three tastes from the book, made by the Talbott & Arding kitchen, and a Tuscan olive oil tasting led by Pogliani Select. Calvani will sign books.
Calvani was born in Prato in 1974. He moved to New York after high school, worked for a textile company, and studied at the Actors Studio. His screen work includes his Italian film debut in Ferzan Özpetek's His Secret Life, then Tom Tykwer's The International, Woody Allen's To Rome with Love, and Guy Ritchie's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. He has also been on TV in "Sex and the City," co-hosted Italy's "Come Dine with Me," and made ravioli with Alan Carr on the BBC. Le Gusciane has been featured in Condé Nast Traveller and Vogue Italia.
The book, published by Octopus, is organized by season, with recipes photographed at Le Gusciane. It includes pappa al pomodoro, summer panzanella, pumpkin gnocchi with Gorgonzola, vegetable lasagne, and tiramisù, along with dishes from his grandmothers' kitchens. The host's description puts it simply: vegetables have always been given star billing in the Italian kitchen.
Pogliani Select, based near Catskill, imports single-estate olive oils and balsamic vinegars from small family farms in Liguria, Tuscany, Sicily, and Emilia-Romagna. Pogliani runs it with his partner Mike Fish and hosts tastings in a historic farmhouse. His family emigrated from Italy in the late 1950s and settled on Long Island, and Italian is his first language.
Talbott & Arding was founded in 2014 by chef Mona Talbott and cheesemonger Kate Arding.
Talbott & Arding, 202 Allen Street, Hudson, NY. More at talbottandarding.com.
