Melchiorre and Dana are a chef couple who are passionate about their cooking and passionate about the cooking experiences of their guests. This passion is especially evident in the lives they had led!
Melchiorre is a professional chef who has taught in Italy and the U.S. Being a shepherd he has the wisdom of ‘il mondo pastorale’ (the pastoral world). He is an expert in the art of butchery, cultivating Fruit and Vegetables, bee-keeping, olive oil production (for more information click here) and of course cooking.
Melchiorre grew up as the oldest of eight children born to a Sardinian shepherd. The excerpt about Melchiorre, below, is from the writings of Ginda Simpson (in El Marsam Cookbook)
…Melchiorre followed in his father’s footsteps – footsteps that led him to the green pastures of Umbria over forty years ago.
…In addition to his responsibilities at home, helping out in the kitchen and with his younger siblings, Melchiorre attended school in town, a great distance from their mountain home.
…The rest of his time was spent accompanying his father and learning the ways of a shepherd’s life, a path he chose to follow as a young adult.
…Melchiorre speaks with quiet passion of his love for all animals, but especially for their sheep, 400 in all, individually named and called with affection when it came time for milking. He learned first-hand to respect the wiles of Mother Nature, her moods and her fury – the biting cold, the unexpected tempests, the unrelenting heat of August, the dreaded droughts. He learned to fear the wolf and worry obsessively about protecting his sheep, plotting ways to ensnare the hungry beast. He learned to identify the plants and herbs that grew in the wild and how to use them to flavor the simple meals that were prepared on a wood-burning stove.
…Melchiorre remains a free spirit. He now feeds flocks of satisfied diners at his or their tables.
…He often stops along the way to pick wild fennel, or mountain asparagus, or zucchini flowers from a friend’s vegetable garden, to improvise, create, and present hearty peasant-inspired meals fit for modern-day Magi. He can still make his own ricotta, or formaggio cremosa, or order a lamb from a friend who still pastures in the nearby hills. His culinary inspiration comes from the verdant pastures of his past, both real and imaginary and the results never fail to both please and satisfy.
The amazing story of his life can be seen in more detail here, Melchiorre – Shepherd or Wise man by Ginda Simpson
Dana is an ebullient American pastry chef with a palpable passion for her craft. She has traveled internationally, studied in France, and settled in Umbria. Besides being a massage therapist, and having been a nurse (Labour and Delivery) for over 20 years, she has been involved in the food industry for over 15 years and earned a degree in Pastry Arts from Johnson and Wales University.
Dana met Melchiorre in 2007 while she was vacationing in Italy with a women’s food group called ‘Forking Delicious’. She was impressed by his cooking class, which she attended, and by a festive wedding dinner for which he catered. Dana was charmed by Umbria and intrigued by Melchiorre’s deep knowledge of regional Italian food…from seed, grove and pasture to table. Within a year Dana returned to work with him.
Their passion continues!
