In Spring 2020, TuttoToscana launched a new chapter of its long-standing collaboration with the James Beard Foundation through “Spring at the Tuscan Table,” the 16th annual gala dinner presented by Florence University of the Arts and The American University of Florence. The event inaugurated The Four Seasons of the Tuscan Table, an ongoing dinner series conceived to explore Tuscan cuisine through the changing rhythms, ingredients, colors, and emotions of the seasons.
The Spring edition focused on freshness, rebirth, and the verdant flavors associated with the Tuscan countryside during the transition from winter into springtime. Recipes selected for the dinner were inspired by the personal and family culinary traditions documented in Four Seasons of the Tuscan Table and The Girl Who Counted Ants, publications by FUA-AUF President and Founder Gabriella Ganugi that also supported scholarship initiatives for future students.
As with previous editions, TuttoToscana continued to operate not simply as a study away program but as a multidisciplinary experiential learning platform where students collaborated directly with faculty, chefs, hospitality professionals, designers, photographers, and communication teams on the creation and execution of real international events. Culinary Arts, Baking & Pastry, Hospitality Management, Digital Media, Visual Communication, and Creative Writing students contributed to all phases of production, from menu design and storytelling to hospitality operations, branding, photography, and guest experience.
The menu itself celebrated spring through ingredients associated with freshness, herbs, vegetables, and lighter seasonal preparations while remaining deeply rooted in Tuscan culinary identity. Garden reception hors d’oeuvres featured octopus salad skewers, onion pie, potato and caper salad, bread with butter and anchovies, and crostini with chicken liver pâté, Moscato, and figs. Main courses emphasized green vegetables and aromatic herbs through dishes such as asparagus risotto with fresh thyme, spicy penne with artichokes, spinach casserole with Parmigiano Reggiano and nutmeg, and Robespierre-style beef served with market vegetables. Desserts concluded the experience with delicate spring flavors including cream bavarian, strawberry and whipped cream roll, seasonal fruit tart, and traditional Tuscan cantuccini.
Wine pairings curated with Campo alle Comete and Fattoria del Teso reinforced the seasonal and territorial identity of the menu, while specialty food producers contributed products closely connected to Tuscan craftsmanship and regional quality traditions.
Alongside the James Beard Foundation gala dinner, Spring 2020 also featured the Le Formiche Trunk Show, an interdisciplinary lifestyle and hospitality event connected to the broader TuttoToscana theme. Inspired once again by The Girl Who Counted Ants and the visual identity of the Tuscan garden, the trunk show merged gastronomy, design, atmosphere, and storytelling into a more informal but equally immersive cultural experience.
The menu for the trunk show highlighted comforting Tuscan recipes associated with domestic cooking and spring gatherings, including leek tart, Etruscan legume soup, gnocchi with radicchio sauce, roast lamb, duck with orange sauce, sweet and sour peppers, and traditional desserts such as zuppa inglese, chocolate pudding, and apple cake with custard. The visual presentation of the event incorporated botanical illustrations and soft spring palettes that reinforced the connection between nature, memory, and Tuscan family traditions.
The Spring 2020 edition of TuttoToscana represented both continuity and renewal: a continuation of the long-standing relationship between FUA-AUF and the James Beard Foundation, and the beginning of a new thematic cycle centered on the emotional and cultural meanings embedded within seasonal Tuscan cuisine. Through food, hospitality, storytelling, publishing, and interdisciplinary collaboration, Spring at the Tuscan Table reaffirmed TuttoToscana’s mission of translating Tuscany into a living international educational experience where gastronomy becomes memory, culture, and creative practice simultaneously.