We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.  Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. – Romans 12

When I travelled in ITALY last week it was impossible to cover the entire experience in just a few posts. So today I’m offering a “Food flashback” that I’m sure you will enjoy. Just writing about it has been mouth-watering for me!

Our son Andrew is a most excellent tour guide. But he was an even better host when it came to cuisine. “I’m going to make sure you get the best and most authentic Italian food,” he said, his eyes lighting up at the prospect. “I’m already looking forward to it.”

We sampled everything from the simple Prosciutto ham and tomato sandwich, to delicate puffed-pastry asparagus appetizers with Romano cheese, to traditional  Margherita pizza, and pasta with Cinghiale (wild boar).

Best Food Ever! But there’s one restaurant that is hands down Andrew’s favorite; La Gattaiola, in the Tuscan village of Fauglia. He discovered this place, just 8-minutes from his house, a few months ago and has been back often enough to be recognized by the owner. The staff there appreciate Andrew’s respectful use of what he calls his “Restaurant Italian,” and of course it doesn’t hurt that he keeps bringing people with him.

Sometimes it’s difficult to match the appropriate words to the experience. And this time I believe it’s as much of a language barrier as anything else; because how else would I be able to communicate the enthusiasm in the poetic Italian spoken by our host at as he offered “Cucina tipica Toscana” to one of his favorite patrons and his dad? But I’ll do my best.

La Gattaiola is the restaurant the knock-offs imitate when they’re trying for that “Authentic Tuscan” look. But in Fauglia they don’t try to be authentic, they just are. The restaurant occupies the upper level of a converted wine cellar that still stores a lot of wine. It owns the kind of ambiance that states very clearly that you are in rural Italy… and that good food is not so much favored as required… and that the guy who seats you is also the owner… and the recipes are his family recipes… and that he is genuinely glad to see you….

Andrew had been looking forward to the evening since the moment my plane touched down in Rome. It was his big treat for me. I had no idea what our host was saying (no menus), and of course I let Andrew handle the ordering. He was so excited that he said things like:

He was right, the food  was remarkable. The “star of the show” antipasta actually involved six separate samples that included truffles, mushrooms, pates, quail eggs, prosciutto ham and some stuff I have no idea what I was eating but that it was sooooo good.

The place is authentic without having to try to be. The owner was all smiles and full of poetic Italian phrases annotated with hand-language and enthusiasm – and he was so patient with Andrew when he translated for me.

Later, between the main dish and the dessert, he came up to the table with two glasses of wine that we hadn’t ordered. “This very, very good,” he said to me. It was a dessert wine, and it was very very very good. And, no, it didn’t appear on the bill.

Andrew asked him to bring his two favorite desserts and we were not disappointed. Followed, of course, by cafe espresso. And he was so genuinely happy that I didn’t order mine “Cafe Americano.”

At the door, as Andrew paid the check, the owner came out to say “Buona Sera” and poured us a glass of grappa. Again, the experience was about hospitality. La Gattaiola is a business, of course, but it’s a restaurant driven as much by the spirit of hospitality  as it is profit. They don’t turn tables in real Tuscan restaurants, they turn customers into friends.

And that, my friends, is another reason we’ll be back.