anda chunkofagedParmigiano-
Reggiano– andI couldnotbe
happier.Thereis a well-curated
selectionofbooks,a tenniscourt
whereyoucanworkupan
appetiteand 12 acresoflush
gardens,includinga phenomenal
vegetablegarden.Wesoakup
someraysbythepoolandread
aboutnearbytownswecanvisit:Parma,Bologna,ReggioEmilia
orperhapswe’llopttostaycloseandeatin Modena.A guest
kitchenrepletewithsnacksprepared by the kitchen team will
keepyoucomingbackformore.
Themainreasonwearehere,though,is becauseFrancescana
at MariaLuigia,theCasa’sdiningroom,is offeringthetasting
menufromBottura’sworld-renowned,three-Michelin-starred
restaurantOsteriaFrancescana.In 2018,it won‘thebest
restaurantin theworld’at the 50 BestRestaurantAwards.It’s
nearlyimpossibletogeta reservation,butasguestsofthehotel,
youcansecurea booking.Naturally,weareecstaticthatwecan
experiencethenine-coursetastingmenumatchedwithregional
wines.Theonlydifferenceis thatwearetobeseatedat a
communaltablewithguestsfromallaroundtheworld, which only
servestomaketheeveningmoreenjoyable.
Thenightis electric,withBotturaandhisteammasterfully
executing each dish while Gilmore chimes in with a little backstory
CLOCKWISE:the
property’sdreamy
gardens;theexpansive
collectionofvinyl
recordstoenjoy;
MassimoBottura
andLaraGilmore;
a luxuriouscommunal
area;guestsare
treatedtolambrusco
andParmigiano-
Reggiano(inset).
OPPOSITE:Casa Maria
Luigia.delicious.com.au 141