Dario Cecchini: the poet butcher in Florence

In 2001 following the alarm caused by the spread of the virus called ‘Mad cow’, Florentine steak was banned. You could eat and buy the steak but without the distinctive bone. For Tuscan inhabitants, this was the worst possible curse. Useless to deny it, the secret of the Fiorentina steak is also hidden in the bone. So it was that funerals were organized to mourn the sad loss. Dario Cecchini, the most famous butcher in Tuscany, perhaps also in the whole of Italy, known for his knowledge of Dante's tercets, even dedicated an ode to the steak that in Italian goes like this: ‘O Fiorentina, noi d’ogni piatto ti vogliam regina. Con l’osso, perché “senza” sei diversa! Come una porta senza la traversa, come la panca senza il suo Cittì, tu cambi serie, e scendi in serie Bì.’

This gives you the idea of ​​who Dario Cecchini really is. He is not a 'food star', but a butcher who has been one for eight generations, as he likes to describe himself. A craftsman in love with the 'ciccia' (as they call meat in Tuscany) who as he cuts the best pieces of meat and prepares them for cooking, entertains his guests with Dante and his own philosophy. So what is his school of thought? The idea behind his philosophy is being a 'conscious carnivorous'. According to the butcher from Panzano in Chianti, the only way to respect the animal from which we get meat is to use as much as possible, not wasting even a tendon. That's how he works! You've probably seen him on some TV show holding a big piece of meat in his mands, smiling and wishing ‘buona ciccia a tutti’... So, according to his philosophy, not only Florentine cut meat but all the more or less precious meat cuts can become tasty dishes. Cecchini is a proponent of a simple and genuine kitchen, a return to the conviviality of eating and a certain lightness in preparing food that should not be stuffed with other superstructures.

So if you are in the Chianti area, in Panzano to be precise, do not miss a visit to his old and special butcher’s. If you are in Florence but want to breathe a similar atmosphere, we recommend our tour of Florence's promenade and a visit to the Central Market with tastings or a cooking course and a visit to the Central Market of Florence . We are sure that among the stands of the Old Market you will find other butchers who share the same passion and love for their craft. As Cecchini would say, ‘Buona ciccia’!