Filosofia Borgo Santo Pietro
Borgo Santo Pietro è incentrato su una filosofia basata sulla natura come fonte di nutrimento e sullo spirito di collaborazione. Questa filosofia si traduce nella vita quotidiana della tenuta, dove un’equipe di agricoltori, giardinieri culinari e chef lavorano in armonia per portare a tavola i frutti dell’agricoltura biologica. Ogni giorno gli agricoltori mungono il latte delle pecore del Borgo, che viene poi trasformato in formaggio e yogurt artigianale prodotto nel caseificio in loco. La fattoria biologica include polli allevati all’aperto, api da miele ed alpaca ed ospita ampi vigneti; fornisce così non solo l’ispirazione, ma anche gli ingredienti ai suoi ristoranti Saporium così come la Trattoria Sull’Albero, nonché il recentemente aperto Saporium Firenze.
Saporium Chiusdino e Saporium Firenze
L’etimologia di Saporium deriva dalla parola che in latino significa gusto, e il suffisso ‘orium’ significa identificare un luogo con una specifica funzione. Entrambi i ristoranti di Chiusdino e Firenze, infatti, mirano a celebrare il gusto dei prodotti della tenuta di Borgo Santo Pietro.
Le due sedi celebrano il viaggio che inizia con la raccolta degli ingredienti della tenuta e culmina in seducenti tecniche culinarie per raggiungere quella che – per noi – risulta essere la migliore esperienza culinaria guidata dalla natura.
Saporium Firenze
Claus e Jeanette danno vita a Saporium Firenze per portare la filosofia di Borgo Santo Pietro in città. Una filosofia profondamente radicata nei principi di biodiversità e agricoltura rigenerativa e il desiderio di condividere uno stile di cucina meravigliosamente creativo, rispettando ed esaltando al contempo il ritmo della natura e i sapori autentici della nostra terra. L’Executive Chef Ariel Hagen e il suo team, insieme al maestro giardiniere, al raccoglitore, al casaro, al panettiere, allo specialista della fermentazione, al macellaio, al responsabile del ristorante e al sommelier, vi accompagneranno in un viaggio delizioso e assaporate l’arte della cucina “dalla Terra al piatto” di Borgo Santo Pietro, che celebra le emozioni suscitate dai sapori dei nostri giardini culinari e dai prodotti della tenuta.
Stile e Design
Ideato da Jeanette Thottrup e progettato in collaborazione con il pluripremiato studio di design britannico Campell-Rey, entrambi gli interni del Ristorante e del Lounge sono ispirati al design architettonico italiano della metà del secolo: un mélange di affreschi dipinti a mano e grandi specchi adornano le pareti della sala da pranzo e della zona bar creando un ambiente elegante ma disinvolto. Il Saporium Lounge, con ingresso indipendente, presenta uno stile art déco decadente ridefinito, soffitti a volta in pietra, sedie da lounge e colori caldi per creare un’atmosfera easy e di relax.
La stagione che non c’è: La cucina di Saporium è lo specchio della nostra Filosofia e del nostro Impegno a fare dell’autenticità uno dei valori fondamentali alla base del nostro lavoro. “La stagione che non c’è” è il principio al quale si è ispirato lo Chef Ariel Hagen per portare nei suoi piatti i prodotti migliori. Non solo secondo le regole della biodinamica e della stagionalità, ma anche in base alle condizioni ideali che garantiscono l’autenticità, la qualità e l’unicità dei prodotti. Sapori che “dalla terra al piatto”, grazie alle materie prime coltivate nell’orto biologico di Borgo Santo Pietro, passano attraverso alcune realtà locali uniche che lo Chef ben conosce, e approdano ad un pescato del giorno che arriva nella nostra cucina esclusivamente dalle acque della Toscana. I percorsi degustazione che state per conoscere sono frutto della semplicità di quanto offre Madre Natura unita alla complessa ricerca per comprenderne i tempi ormai divenuti imprevedibili.
SATORI SAILING YACHT
THE ULTIMATE POST-COVID EXPERIENCE THAT CELEBRATES THE SLOW LIVING EXPERIENCE A DETACHED HOLIDAY OF FREEDOM AND OPEN-AIR ADVENTURE ON THE FLOATING BOUTIQUE HOTEL, SATORI SAILING YACHT, QUALITY TIME WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND A UNIQUE GOURMET EXPERIENCE.
Following the lockdown caused by the global pandemic, Jeanette and Claus have decided to craft the ultimate holiday experience: a celebration of slow living, appreciating each and every moment with family and friends.
Jeanette and Claus comment: “Before the pandemic, life was chaotic and included a hectic itinerary, but at Borgo we have always believed in the quality of time and in a slow living philosophy. Satori represents all of this, especially now at the climax of the Borgo way of living.”
They continue: “Satori combines the comforts of a 5-star boutique hotel with a traditional hand-built wooden schooner to create the ultimate classic sailing experience. A safe holiday experience on the open waters – to which our guests can now add a gourmet dinner.
With a five-star hotel and two Michelin-starred restaurants, dining is part of our DNA and a great passion of ours. On Satori, it’s one of our cruxes.”
For this season and the next, that could not be truer: dining takes centre-stage as the professional open kitchen layout will offer a peek into the genius culinary mind of Satori’s gourmet chef specialised in Mediterranean cuisine along with Borgo’s Michelin’s starred restaurant chefs to provide guests with a world-class private dining experience.
IT’S TIME TO TRAVEL AND DISCONNECT
BORGO SANTO PIETRO – OPENING ON THE 14 MAY- INTRODUCES
A SERIES OF GROUNDING AND MINDFUL WEEKLY AND DAILY RETREATS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF TRAVELLERS IN THE POST LOCKDOWN ERA
Slow living in the Tuscan countryside and connecting with Mother Nature to rediscover the beauty of a simple life. That is at the heart of the mindful retreats and hands-on workshops at Borgo Santo Pietro opening on the 14 of May.
Jeanette, founder of both Borgo Santo Pietro and Seed to Skin beauty line says: “Our heritage is rooted in a mindful connection to nature. Forest bathing, green rooms and luxury farming are now a novelty for many luxury retreats. When many hospitality brands launch farm to table concepts and vegetable gardens, we have focused on the development of our working farm with sheep, cows, and pigs; a biodynamic production of herbs and vegetables; and the creation of a fermentation lab to make meaningful use of our produce and leverage a more natural, traditional way of living.”
Borgo’s luxury slow living experience began 20 years ago. Jeanette continues: “Every single experience has evolved organically and this is why we already meet the needs of the post pandemic travellers we don’t need to change our offer.
Connecting with nature, farming and slow living are part of our DNA.”
Today Borgo opens introducing a new series of grounding experiences to allow hotel guests and daily visitors to immerse themselves in 300 acres of verdant surroundings for an intimate luxury retreat in ultimate seclusion, as light-filled, airy interiors open onto leafy private terraces with outdoor lounges and entirely private gardens that create the perfect post-lockdown holiday destination.
FROM LAND TO SEA
A range of activities offered create a truly unique retreat thoughtfully tailored to guests’ individual preferences. With so many activities, guests will find it hard to leave the estate.
Wellness Retreats:
Once a healing stopover for medieval pilgrims, today Borgo Santo Pietro continues to provide a sanctuary for modern souls, offering the chance to shed the stresses of a hectic life and fall back into a slower way of being. Our holistic approach runs undercurrent throughout the estate with holistic spa treatments using our natural skincare line Seed to Skin, and guided meditation walks that lead you out of the garden and into the woods for grounding and reconnecting with nature. Refocus and recenter with a plethora of wellness practices like private yoga lessons, Tibetan bell therapy, healing crystal treatments and gong meditation all in the privacy of your own garden. For sportier activities we offer private training session in the forest gym and tennis lessons.
Romantic Retreats:
There is no place more romantic and intimate than Tuscany, so if you are looking to vacation with your special someone our romantic activities make the perfect stay for couples looking to relax together. Surrender to your senses as we run a bath for you using your favorite essential oils and flower petals. Relax in intimacy while receiving couple’s spa treatments in the gentle breeze in your own garden. Dine by candlelight or lakeside for a gourmet picnic. Enjoy the fun of creating decadent and seductive desserts in the Borgo Cooking School with our own pastry chef and chocolatier. Our estate offers a private sanctuary like no other.
Food and Wine Retreats:
Indulge in the amazing food and wine that Tuscany is world-renown by experiencing our “farm-to-plate” philosophy in action. Rise early with our livestock and experience sheep milking, then see it off to our artisan dairy farm where you can witness it transform into delicious cheeses right before your eyes. Learn to make fresh pasta with our local mamma at the Borgo Cooking School. Get close up to our grapes while touring our 12-acre vineyard then arouse your palate in a wine-tasting session with your own personal sommelier. Learn about the benefits of gut health while preparing creative fermented dishes in the Food Lab to be enjoyed in the open air of our vegetable garden. VIP tables and exclusive dining experiences with special menus cater to seasoned foodies and gluttons alike.
Adventure Retreats:
Take in stunning natural surroundings while honing in on your passion with our amazing adventurous activities for a healthy blend of thrill-seeking and relaxation.
Feel the rush of adrenaline while you watch the flight of these large birds of prey and call them to you, or get your heart pumping as you trek through our forest for guided wilderness tours or mountain bike through the exciting off-road trails. Also, practice your target with a bow and arrow in archery class.
Family Fun Retreats:
Get in on the family fun learning how to arrange flowers or setting up an easel lakeside with our resident artist. While the rest of Borgo is sleeping, head out to the chicken houses to collect fresh farm eggs for your breakfast. Explore the surrounds of the estate on a guided tour to meet all our furry farm animals. Have a pizza party at the Borgo Cooking School with our pizzaiolo who will teach you and yours how to bake a handmade pizza over a wood oven fire. For some fun in the sun, we can arrange for a private transfer to take your family to the Tuscan seaside. And when you need a little breather, relax lakeside for a gourmet picnic and feed our ducks.
For travellers who are in the in Tuscany, Borgo Santo Pietro has also designed a special escape to nature day tour. On weekends, day guests will have the opportunity to visit and experience the estate. The farm tours begin at 11am and guests will be escorted throughout the estate to not only learn about Borgo’s ‘farm-to-plate’ philosophy but also to actively partake in it. Learning about the working farm, the livestock animals, the vineyards and the science lab are just few of the activities offered. The experience will end with a lunch at La Trattoria sull’ Albero enjoying the view of Valle Serena.
All itineraries are upon availability.
For more information and reservation, contact info@borgosantopietro.com or call
+39 0577 75 1222
THE INGREDIENTS’ HABITAT BECOMES THE DISH CENTER PIECE
THE NEW MEO MODO’S MICHELIN DINING EXPERIENCE
THAT EMPHASIZES A HEALTHY LIFEESTYLE
DELIVERED BY AN AWARD-WINNING TEAM
ESCAPE TO NATURE THROUGH THE ART OF GASTRONOMY
POWERED BY BORGO SANTO PIETRO
A new award-winning team of 9 joins the brigade of Giovanni di Giorgio to celebrate the role of organic ingredients and its habitat. The art of gastronomy reaches new frontiers at Borgo Santo Pietro and puts the estate and the region where Meo Modo is located front and center.
Borgo Santo Pietro’s Founder Claus Thottrup comments: “We have a very specific goal we want to achieve, so we decided to invest in an international team to arrive at a certain level of artistry.” Claus continues, “We have assigned three sous chefs so that there is a combination of young and old minds working together to create stellar dishes. The new chefs really push Meo Modo to raise the level, so the menu has been uphauled to offer something really revolutionary and totally new, yet fit completely within the Escape to Nature experience that Borgo provides.”
Giovanni explains, “Each dish features only three elements leveraging complex culinary techniques to tie it to our estate from which the ingredients came.” He continues: “My team and I work to deliver a healthy balance between a protein, vegetable and carbohydrate from Borgo and the habitat in which they were born in each dish.
The menu becomes a multi-sensorial experience. If before, we focused on the foraging the right element, now the different dishes tell a story of the ingredients explaining where they grow, how they live and the way they developed. A harmony of mother nature.”
Pioneered from starred kitchens of prominent culinary hubs like London, Paris and Milan, the team has evolved Meo Modo’s original farm to plate philosophy to the celebration of the habitat.
The signature dish of the new season is ORTO del Borgo as it encapsulates all the key elements the Borgo farm is known for: a “tomato” made of Robiola cheese from the farm’s livestock of sheep, malt to represent the soil of Borgo, baby carrots and a smoked tomato for the outside layer. The dish is presented on marble.
Ricciola is the new fish dish in which the fillet is immersed in octopus ink and Italian caviars and finished with a plankton sauce. The amberjack’s dry skin becomes like an oyster shell that hosts the fish tartare in a sea moss base from neighboring coastal town, Punta Ala and plated on a sea rock.
And for the first time, Meo Modo has a dish to celebrate a game meat that the area is famous for: deer. Served as tartar, the dish is a tree bark where the ingredients recreate the forest where Borgo is located. The deer’s spine hosts a flask with ginger bear and red fruits to compliment the dish.
Additionally, Meo Modo’s traditional dishes have changed prospective. The new Terra Piatto dish now includes eight different wild herbs foraged in the vast woods of the estate. The new pigeon dish is marinated 6 months with fermented beet roots. The risotto is now matched with a marinated pig sauce cooked for 14 hours at low temperature.
The tasting menu also includes a different prospective on the dessert offerings. The new Sotto Bosco is a layered pastry with wild Borage or starflowers and the new Piselli, Fave and Mais with Caffe celebrates the seasonal vegetables of the estate.
“Over the past few years,” continues Claus, “Meo Modo and our chef went through a journey where the starting point has been always the farm which we bought 20 years ago.
This year we wanted to thread the fabric of Borgo in the Meo Modo dishes to share the complexity of mother nature with guests. This is why this year we offer three different tasting menus. To take the guests on a journey to discover our history and harmony of mother nature.
It’s taking the best of the best and approaching it with simplicity to execute a wonderfully creative plate in which we want to encourage a choice of health and well-being.”
The art of gastronomy in this renown Escape to Nature experience at Borgo Santo Pietro is also present at the new pop up restaurant Orto and at La Trattoria sull’Albero.
A philosophy of nurture via nature and a spirit of collaboration are tangible throughout Meo Modo, La Trattoria sull’Albero and Orto, where a team of farmers, culinary gardeners and talented chefs work together to bring the organic cultivation on Borgo Santo Pietro’s 300-acre estate to the table.
Opening May-October 2021
More about Borgo Santo Pietro
Born in 2001 from the desire to create a community and share a tangible sense of home, where nature and luxury flow seamlessly together, Borgo Santo Pietro, a luxury five-star boutique hotel and part of Leading Hotels of the World, features 22 rooms and 4 private pool suites decorated with traditional craftmanship and vintage find furnishings, 1 Michelin star restaurant Meo Modo, La Trattoria sull’Albero, a holistic spa and an estate of over 300 acres with 300 sheep, 20 pigs, 15 alpacas, 175 chickens, 70 rabbits, 11 acres of herbs garden, 2 acres of vegetable gardens, 1 Herb House, 1 Fermentation Laboratory and new hands-on experiences to nurture the body, mind and soul on another level.
FOOD & WINE
‘Farm to Plate’ Philosophy
At Borgo Santo Pietro we embody a ‘farm to plate’ philosophy that begins in the dairy pastures, oak forests, beehives, culinary gardens and vineyards of our organically cultivated, 200-acre estate and is served up at Down on the farm we transform fresh sheep’s milk into a variety of fresh and mature cheese at our artisan dairy, collect free-range eggs and let our pigs roam freely through the forest to munch on the acorns that provide the sought-after flavours and quality of Tuscany’s famous prosciutto. Our in-house beekeeper tends two apiaries on the estate, collecting raw honey that changes subtly in perfume and flavour depending on where our busy bees have been; guests often pick out notes of lavender derived from the bushes growing in profusion along the drive.
Borgo Santo Pietro’s biodynamic culinary gardens and expansive nut fields and fruit orchards supply our kitchens with fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs and edible flowers, which are ‘made to measure’ thanks to an ongoing collaboration between our chefs and culinary gardeners.
Our ‘farm to plate’ philosophy carries right through to our breakfast buffet, Michelin-starred restaurant Meo Modo and Sull’Albero Trattoria, Brasserie & Bar, delivering our fresh, organic harvest straight to the table. We believe in a hands-on approach, which is why guests are invited to roll up their sleeves and follow the journey of freshly grown ingredients as they are transformed into dishes at the Borgo Cooking School, and nurture close working relationships with our local ‘Food Heroes’, who provide high-quality, niche products that range from saffron to salami served to European royalty.
Passionate about wine, we also cultivate two vineyards on the surrounding slopes, continuing a local tradition for which Tuscany is justly renowned. This is reflected in Borgo Santo Pietro’s extensive wine cellar, where our collection of close to 1000 prestigious and boutique wine labels showcases Tuscany and Italy’s finest producers.
MEO MODO BY ANDREA MATTEI
‘Farm to plate’ Michelin-starred dining
Executive chef Andrea Mattei embodies a ‘farm to plate’ philosophy at Meo Modo, uniting a deep understanding of his Tuscan culinary heritage with seasonal bounty cultivated on Borgo Santo Pietro’s 200-acre estate.
By collaborating with the estate’s farmers and culinary gardeners, Mattei is able to craft highly personalised gourmet dishes using tailor-made, certified organic ingredients, such as fruit and vegetables that are grown to size by employing biodynamic principles. He also harnesses local wisdom, learning where to forage for wild herbs and how to utilise the benefits of fresh sheep’s milk according to the season, and fosters close working relationships with local artisan producers who supply niche products for Meo Modo.
“A guest should understand where the dish originates”, he says. “You cannot eat the same ingredients anywhere in the world; there needs to be a connection to the place you are in – the location, culture and climate.”
Mattei’s approach extends not just to the flavours of the territory but also to its tactile, olfactory and visual landscape: various courses are served on stones dug up from the nearby River Merse or wedges of local cork; a dish of suckling pig and acorns is accompanied by a smouldering fire of sweet-scented hay; while visitors approaching the Borgo Santo Pietro estate along the striking cypress-lined drive may find their hand-made chocolate dusted with the very same cypress needles at the close of the meal.
Diners on the Meo Modo terrace enjoy panoramic views of the sublime Valle Serena, a visual reminder of the Tuscan roots at the heart of Meo Modo’s cuisine.
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SULL’ALBERO TRATTORIA, BRASSERIE & BAR
Built around two giant spreading oak trees and overlooking sweeping views of the Valle Serena, Sull’Albero Trattoria, Brasserie & Bar evokes the feeling of an immense treehouse. Exposed beams, studded leather armchairs pulled up to a double-sided, rusticated brick fireplace, and a wall of glass lighting up the exquisite wood detail found throughout create an ambience of laid-back tranquility, ideal for enjoying a traditional Tuscan meal by the fire or a glass of wine on the terrace looking over our newly planted vineyards.
Outside the bar and open courtyard offer a shady spot for a cool drink near the freshwater infinity pool, where guests can watch an expert pizzaiolo make and twirl a pizza from scratch before sliding it in the wood-fired oven and serving it, still sizzling, onto the plate. Each Monday evening Sull’Albero plays host to our gourmet Farmers’ Market with a banquet of fresh produce and live music.
WINE CELLAR
The Borgo Santo Pietro wine cellar hosts 1000 boutique and prestigious labels that showcase Tuscan and Italian producers, whose passion for wine and time-honoured techniques faithfully reflect the terroir in which each wine is produced.
Tuscany is undisputedly one of Italy’s top wine regions, and our sommeliers are dedicated to highlighting not just the range but also the depth of the local terroir, with chosen wines spanning different vintages to enable vertical as well as horizontal wine degustations.
Our wine cellar has been built up over time as a result of dedicated hands-on research by our sommeliers, who visit the vineyards in person to understand the context in which each wine is made. Italian producers have been selected from the length and breadth of the peninsular, from the cool-climate wine terraces of Trentino and Piedmont to the sun-ripened vineyards of Campania and Puglia, and volcanic soils of Sicily. These range from some of Italy’s most recognised labels to boutique winemakers who produce a mere 10,000 bottles a year.
Respect for nature lies at the core of the Borgo Santo Pietro philosophy, and our approach to wine is no different. We actively seek out wines that have been produced without the use of pesticides, from producers that practise organic and biodynamic methods.
WINE DEGUSTATIONS
Held in the wine cellar of Borgo Santo Pietro’s thirteenth-century villa and hosted by our expert sommeliers, our wine degustations take participants travelling through Tuscany and Italy by virtue of their senses, cracking open a vault of wondrous vocabulary along the way.
VIP TABLE & SPECIAL DINING EXPERIENCE:
Grotto Dining Experience
The Grotto Dining Experience invites diners to enjoy a romantic candlelit dinner for two or celebrate a special occasion in an intimate group of up to four people in the private grotto area tucked away in the grounds, undisturbed by other diners, with exclusive service from your own personal waiter. Discreetly located in one of Borgo Santo Pietro’s most scenic garden nooks, it’s an ideal location for secluded suppers and romantic proposals, or simply to enjoy the stillness of the starlit Valle Serena.
Chef’s Table Diners curious to observe the action unfold in a Michelin-starred kitchen and witness the creation of gourmet masterpieces are invited to draw up a chair at the Chef’s Table, an exclusive dining platform with a bird’s-eye view of executive chef Andrea Mattei and his team at work. This privileged experience entitles diners to enjoy Andrea Mattei as their own private chef for the evening, and collaborate with him to design a menu of seasonal ingredients tailored to their personal tastes.
Farmers’ Market On Monday evenings the Sull’Albero Trattoria, Brasserie & Bar plays host to our gourmet Farmers’ Market, where guests are invited to take their pick from the range of fresh meat, fish, cheese and seasonal produce on offer, and watch it being prepared and cooked on the spot. Live music adds to the relaxed and festive outdoor atmosphere, providing the ideal environment in which to mingle with other guests and enjoy a showcase of local produce under the stars.
TRADITION MEETS INNOVATION:
Borgo Santo Pietro expands artisan cheese production
Borgo Santo Pietro is taking tradition forward with the expansion of artisan cheese production at its newly acquired dairy.
Established by a local family with more than 30 years’ experience in cheesemaking, the dairy has developed a reputation for excellence both locally in Palazzetto and in neighbouring towns.
With the additional acquisition of the dairy’s working farm with more than 300 sheep and a further 100 acres of rolling green pasture land alongside the River Merse, Borgo Santo Pietro is now integrating generations of cheesemaking knowledge and practice to produce artisan cheese on a large scale. Approximately 400 litres of sheep’s milk is produced daily, which is transformed into cheese that ranges from exquisitely soft and fresh ravaggiolo and primo sale to ricotta and fresh, semi-mature and mature pecorino.
Borgo Santo Pietro is currently developing a wider range of cheeses, including the potential production of grotto cheese.
The new dairy significantly strengthens Borgo Santo Pietro’s ‘farm to plate’ philosophy and production of fresh sheep’s milk yoghurt and cheese, served onsite at the hotel breakfast buffet, Michelin-starred restaurant Meo Modo and Sull’Albero Trattoria, Brasserie & Bar.
Typical of Borgo Santo Pietro’s hands-on philosophy, guests are also invited to attend a cheesemaking demonstration or roll up
their sleeves and try it for themselves at the Borgo Cooking School’s ‘From Pail to Plate’ course.
Situated in the heart of Tuscany, Borgo Santo Pietro merges a luxury five-star boutique hotel and spa concept with a ‘farm to plate’ philosophy on a 200-acre, organically cultivated estate, with 20 individually styled rooms and suites located throughout the magnificently restored thirteenth-century villa and 13-acre gardens.
THE ESTATE
The 200-acre, organically cultivated Borgo Santo Pietro estate comprises hospitality, a working farm, an artisan cheesemaking dairy, two vineyards, 13 acres of garden with extensive culinary gardens, and 100 acres of rolling green pasture land alongside the River Merse.
‘FARM TO PLATE’ PHILOSOPHY IN ACTION
A philosophy of nurture via nature and a spirit of collaboration are tangibly felt at Borgo Santo Pietro, where a teamwork of farmers, culinary gardeners and chefs work together to bring the fruits of organic cultivation to the table.
Culinary collaboration
The Borgo Santo Pietro estate supplies both the inspiration and ingredients for its Michelin-starred restaurants Meo Modo (on site) and La Bottega del Buon Caffè (in Florence). Our culinary gardens lie at the heart of Borgo’s ‘farm to plate’ philosophy, where executive chefs Andrea Mattei (Meo Modo) and Antonello Sardi (La Bottega del Buon Caffè) design their plates from the source in collaboration with our culinary gardeners. The estate’s freshly harvested ingredients are also transformed into hearty Tuscan fare at the hotel’s Sull’Albero Trattoria, Brasserie & Bar and used in the Borgo Cooking School.
Artisan cheese dairy
The farm’s 300-plus sheep yield approximately 400 litres of milk daily, which is transformed at the estate’s artisan cheese dairy into exquisitely soft and fresh ravaggiolo, primo sale, ricotta and fresh, semi-mature and mature pecorino. These are served onsite at the hotel’s restaurants and breakfast buffet, which also offers freshly made sheep’s milk yoghurt from the farm.
From farmyard to table Poached eggs and pancakes take on a new dimension at breakfast when they’re made from free-range eggs straight from the farm and served to order alongside raw honey collected from Borgo Santo Pietro’s own bees. This changes subtly in perfume and flavour depending on the flowering season; in fact guests often pick out notes of lavender derived from the bushes growing in profusion near the apiary.
The Borgo farm also raises pigs and lambs for the table. Free to roam throughout the forest, Borgo Santo Pietro’s pigs enjoy a nutritious diet of acorns that also enhances the flavour and quality of the prosciutto, one of Tuscany’s regional specialties, while our lambs are reared on lush pasture land along the River Merse.
Wine cultivation
Borgo Santo Pietro’s 200-acre estate also includes 25 acres of vineyards, with the first wine harvest projected for 2017. Red and rosé wine grapes largely consist of Sangiovese, with the addition of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Pinot Nero, while Trebbiano Toscano, Chardonnay and Viognier are under cultivation for white wine.
Beauty and bounty
Beauty goes hand-in-hand with our bounty, as the Borgo spa makes great use of the healing herb garden growing just outside its door with spa treatments blended with seasonal plants and a purifying tisane brewed for guests from freshly picked aromatic herbs.
Rich in butterfat, vitamins and minerals, and containing the gentle exfoliating action of lactic acid, Borgo Santo Pietro sheep’s milk is a key ingredients in our line of natural skincare, together with the healing properties of our raw honey, which are blended onsite at a custom-made lab. The fruit of an ongoing collaboration between owner and creative director Jeanette Thottrup, who is also a naturalist, and pharmacist and cosmetologist Anna Buonocore, the body range is available to guests as our in-house amenities set.
Borgo Santo Pietro also keeps a herd of alpacas, which is being bred to develop a cottage wool industry from the animal’s luxurious fibres.
HANDS-ON GUEST ACTIVITIES
At Borgo Santo Pietro guests are not only invited to enjoy our ‘farm to plate’ philosophy but also actively partake in it.
Daily life on the farm Guests are invited to wander down to the farm and watch the sheep being milked, help to gather free-range eggs for the breakfast table, and don a beekeeper’s suit and learn about the intricate world of bees with our beekeeper as he extracts raw honey from the hive.
Borgo Cooking School
We encourage our guests to get hands-on with the harvest at the Borgo Cooking School, transforming sheep’s milk into artisan cheese with our shepherd, learning to make fresh pasta with farm-fresh eggs under the guidance of our local Italian mamma, discovering the secrets behind our executive chef’s most popular dishes with ingredients picked straight from the culinary gardens, and much more.
Artisan cheesemaking
Those who are keen to learn the fascinating process of transforming sheep’s milk into fresh and mature cheese can attend a cheesemaking demonstration at our artisan dairy or roll up their sleeves and try it for themselves at the Borgo Cooking School’s ‘From Pail to Plate’ course.
Floristry
Learn the art of flower-arranging with our in-house florist, whose spectacular displays adorn the villa, rooms, spa and restaurants. The session begins with a stroll through Borgo Santo Pietro’s bountiful 13-acre gardens to gather seasonal blooms before returning to the florist’s cottage situated in the midst of the gardens to learn the various techniques of floral arrangement.
Forest and river trails Situated walking distance from the hotel, Borgo Santo Pietro’s 100 acres of lush pasture land enables guests to venture beyond the hotel’s 13-acre gardens to explore the wider horizons of the forest and fields beyond on foot or with a mountain bike from Concierge. Our Meditation Walk route takes guests out into the Valle Serena to explore forest trails, meander along the River Merse and scale the rises to enjoy panoramic views looking back towards Borgo. Guests can discover historical points of interest along the way, such as where the local women used to wash their laundry down on the Merse, and wander further to find a natural secluded swimming hole and hidden grottos studded with stalactites.
Estate tours
Trace our ‘farm to plate’ philosophy back to its roots with an estate tour and explore Borgo Santo Pietro’s culinary and healing herb gardens, farmyard, artisan cheese dairy, nut fields, fruit orchards, apiaries, vineyards and forest trails, meeting the farmers, cheesemakers and ‘green thumbs’ behind the scenes.
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