They started in three. Three guys, very young entrepreneurs. It was almost a gamble. They asked for funds from Europe for start-ups … but they did not receive any (this type of survey is not good for this blog ).
The place is … .. almost unreachable, halfway between the municipalities of San Miniato and Castelfiorentino: an oasis of priceless peace. So priceless that the internet signal doesn’t even get there. Fabulous!
Fortunately, there is now the STR 29, a brand new road that connects the two municipalities and passes through a green valley.
Niccolò showed up on a spring day at GiglioCooking’s door. There and then I thought: the usual seller. But then her smile and enthusiasm about him spoke for him.
So he started bringing me eggs.
What about these eggs: the sturdy shell does not break at the first blow, the egg white struggles to separate from the yolk: they are robust even inside.
Once you try it (mayonnaise, custard, sponge cake …) there is no going back.
Yes, I am advertising the Biosole Farm. Nobody asked me. In reality, the reason is another: I want to let you know that at GiglioCooking is taught which are the real products.
The revolution begins here. From shopping. It sounds like a slogan, but it’s the truth.
To start doing what my father did when he was at home: he took us to Monte Serra to get good water; he would take us to the Coltano farm to get the eggs from the farmer, who sometimes even made bread or sold us a rabbit – gone to fetch it from the hutch -; or in Montescudaio to get oil; by the Marquis Pancrazi for cheese. We went to the farms to buy bags of good nuts (not those washed with bleach), chestnuts, chickens, lambs and whatever else the place and the season offered.
Doing this, everyone and always, is out of the question: if only for the queues that would be created on the roads. But there are farmers’ markets. Giving them support means helping our health.
I do my best. And on Sunday I got here.
I sat down at the Degustauova (Eggtaster) table,
then I visited the hens, equipped with shoes so as not to pollute their soil.
They were intrigued; they have all approached the net.
Niccolò proudly showed me the farm buildings.
- – We made them, just us, with our hands. We cleared the ground, dug, drilled, glued…. And here it is. The first building was that chicken coop up there, verse. This little red house is the latest in chronological order. Here is the egg packing room. –
The house is delightful: it has a small curved wooden access road. I could live there….
Niccolò is happy. Even if the European community did not give him the promised money. Here the life they lead gives a lot of satisfaction and … then the grass, the silence, the sun … what else?
Marcella Ansaldo © 2021