“To Meat Or Not to Meat” – that’s the question you need to ask yourself before dining at a Dario Cecchini establishment. Panzano in Chianti is a village where less than 1000 people live, but the whole world passes through to explore the Chianti area. They also travel to Panzano in Chianti to eat from the famous “poet of steaks” — Dario Cecchini. Honestly, I had no idea who he was when we ate there. I just googled “dinner” in Google Maps when staying at Pensione di Vignamaggio and his restaurant Officina popped up right across the street. It was only after posting on IG Stories that I got an influx of messages from people saying they loved him and would love to experience his food. That’s when I learned that this man was a butcher legend and had been featured on the Netflix TV Show, Chef’s Table.
While the food is reason enough to visit Panzano in Chianti, a stay at Pensione di Vignamaggio, situated on top of the hill with expansive views of vineyards is an idyllic getaway. As we made our way outside for dinner, we decided to indulge in an aperitivo beforehand. Just steps from Panzano in Chianti’s piazza, down a small alley, we saw a crowd of people enjoying complimentary wine outside. What?! Complimentary wine? You heard that right. We had to approach.
Pat grabbed a glass and we marveled at the staff dressed in traditional garbs walking around with large straw-encased wine flasks and long wooden tables with olive-oil toasted crostini topped with what they called “Chianti butter.” A man dressed in red and white and wrapped in an apron was orchestrating the whole thing while reciting Dante’s Inferno from memory (something he is famous for doing while cutting meat). People stopped to take pictures with him as they walked by. This man seemed larger than life.
Where the heck had we landed for aperitivo and who was this man and presence? This was Dario Cecchini’s Antica Macelleria Cecchini, or antique butcher shop. Although it feels more like a little theater than it does a butcher shop. Without meaning too, we had stumbled upon Dario’s butcher shop before proceeding to one of his restaurants for dinner.
Like kids in a candy store, we kept jumping up and running into the macelleria to grab glasses of wine and bruschettas with “Chianti butter.” The macelleria had beef and pork hanging in the meat locker that looked like something out of a cartoon. There was a letter written by Jack Nicholson in the corner: “Dear Dario, America is becoming more and more a country of teetotalers, vegetarians, and puritans. Personally, I continue to prefer red wine, meat, and beautiful women.” Other celebrities had penned quick notes to him including Bruce Springsteen and Dustin Hoffman. The rest of it was adorned with artwork, antique tools, cookbooks, food, and more. It looked like an Italian butcher shop out of the 1800s. Marble-topped tables, antique oak butcher blocks, and butcher hooks hanging from the ceiling holding prosciutto, salami, ropes of sausages, and fire red-hot peppers.
We took our first bite of the Chianti butter crostini. This…didn’t taste like butter to me. What we were eating was Dario Cecchini’s invention, “Chianti butter,” which is whipped lard, or uncured pork fat, seasoned with his own salt blend, ground, and whipped to a luxurious spreadable consistency. He sells the lard and mixture of sea salt, herbs, and spices in his butcher shop. The wine being served was made using grapes from Dario’s vineyard.
So who is this Dario Cecchini? Dario Cecchini is known as one of the finest butchers in Tuscany, although he prefers the word “artisan.” What makes him one of the finest butchers in Italy is his respect and reverence for animals. His story is an interesting one. To keep it brief, he came from a family of butchers, but was never interested in the family business. He cared more for animals than anything else and started off wanting to be a vet. But after his father fell ill, he decided to take on the family business and continue the 5th generation of macellai, but with his own twist. He loved and cared for the animals that he would eventually serve to others, ensuring that no part of the meat goes wasted or unused. And I mean literally as can be witnessed by his various eating establishments—
Dario Cecchini has 5 establishments in Panzano in Chianti:
If there’s one piece of meat Dario Cecchini loves more than any other, it’s the Florentine steak. Located above Dario’s head next to the Macelleria was a plaque that read in Italian: “Reduced to an invalid, I’d prefer to die. In Memory of the Florentine Steak that prematurely disappeared on March 31, 2001.” The story goes that in March 2001, the famous Florentine steak was banned by the EU due to fears of mad cow disease. He held a funeral for his cuts and a beef auction was held and televised. Elton John was the highest bidder and proceeds went to the nearby children’s hospital. His Florentine steaks are so highly requested, you should reserve one 7 days in advance.
Each showcases a different love and side of his meat story. Following aperitivo, we proceeded up to our 7:30PM communal dinner at Officina. There was bread, olive oil, and decanters of Chianti wine enough to keep people going all night long.
Dinner was, as always in Italy, a show. And in this case, a 3 hour show paced excellently while rubbing shoulders with locals and other tourists. The saying here? Carne Diem. The place is so famous, locals next to us had driven an hour from Tuscany just to eat here for dinner. The meats leading up to the grand finale barely left enough room for the fiorentina steak. It was all washed down with unlimited quantities of Chianti—and San Pellegrino water for me. We tried everything from beef tartare to seared rump carpaccio, a variety of Cecchini signature cuts, a Panzanese steak and to top it off the Florentine steak.
If you’re a picky eater or like your meat done a certain way – this is not the place for you. You eat it how it’s served, Dario knows best and he’s not afraid of staying on the rawer side. After all, he is the inventor of the sushi del Chianti. Trust me, the tartars are things of dreams…Of course, because I was pregnant, he made an exception for me. They offered me the vegetarian options to replace the tartare, such as the pappa al pomodoro, or tomato stew made with bread and tomatoes. He also cooked the steak a bit more for me—very sweet!
But let’s not to forget all the sides. Other house specialties included their insane baked potatoes, Tuscan beans, or fagioli, and mind-blowing olive oil cake dipped in caffè. The latter two had to be my favorite things of the night. I know, I sound crazy – my favorite things weren’t meat! We emerged 3 hours later. You could have rolled us back down to Pensione di Vignamaggio located right across the street.
The experience of eating at Dario Cecchini’s establishments, like Officina, are a celebration of culture and traditions that have endured in Tuscany for more than a millennium. Dario is more than a butcher, he’s an artisan, a poet, and an energy. And if you’re still hungry (doubt it!) and looking for a recommendation from the legend himself? When Dario’s not eating at his own establishments or at home, he goes to Il Cipresso in Loro Ciuffenna, about 20 minutes from Arezzo.
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