Dario Cecchini, The Dante Quoting Butcher

Dario Cecchini

Panzano is a tiny village in the middle of the rolling hills of central Tuscany.  There’s nothing too exciting here except for one very unique butcher shop and its accompanying restaurants.
Cecchini is run by the now infamous Dante quoting butcher Dario Cecchini, a giant of a man with hands like baseball gloves and fingers like breakfast sausages, along with his wife Kim, a California girl who has been living in Italy for years.

40 plus years of butchering

Dario’s 40 plus years of butchering experience has brought him to a place that few butchers will ever reach, he has forgotten more about butchery than your average grocery store meat cutter will ever know.
Taking over the family butcher shop after his father’s untimely death, Dario taught himself the fine art of butchery and charcuterie, gaining a philosophical approach to respecting the animal’s sacrifice for our consumption. Within that philosophy he feels that it is our responsibility to use the entire animal and that all parts of the cow, if dealt with properly, can be delicious with more to enjoy than just the choice steak cuts.
Walking into the macelleria we were greeted by Kim who promptly poured us a glass of wine and offered us a selection of goodies from a buffet table along one wall of the shop.

Spread with lard

Fresh cut bread spread with lard mixed with white wine, sea salt and herbs or drizzled with lots of their own delicious olive oil accompanied by huge chunks of finocchio sausage was there for everyone who shopped at Cecchini to enjoy.

Huge tronchetto 

Sitting on the massive chopping block were huge tronchetto cooling from the oven, perfuming the air with the smell of bacon mixed with rosemary and herbs.
Dario was working diligently on a cut of meat behind the counter getting ready for lunch service at the upstairs restaurant.

The shop filled with a tour group

Soon the shop filled with a tour group there to see the local celebrity butcher at work. Unable to converse well over the crowd, Kim offered to show us Solociccia, their state of the art restaurant across the street which was closed that particular day.
We entered the kitchen through a glass door that looked out across a valley of rolling hills.

The restaurant was the brain child of Dario who, in his continuing effort to educate people on “the other cuts”, opened this restaurant which only serves beef. In fact not only does it serve beef exclusively it has a set menu that excludes steak in favour of other cuts. The place mats with their depiction of a cow, show where each dish is from and each is cooked with methods to expose their flavourful potential.

Melting marrow centre

Dishes like the shin of beef where the marrow from the bone is removed and placed within the meat to be cooked slowly creating an Osso Bucco-like roast with a melting marrow centre. Don’t think you are going to be dining on some locally pampered Chianina beef though because all of this butcher’s beef comes from a farm in Spain, a subject that ruffles many local people’s feathers and is explained by Italian beef not being as high quality as what is specially raised for Dario in Spain.
The restaurant has eliminated the need for a wine list by having one red wine on tap and there are no cozy tables for 2, it’s family style seating and service for all.

Four rooms, each with large tables decorated in a modern/Tuscan motif, are set within a multi-level restaurant connected by funky staircases.

Manhattan or L.A.

In fact, the restaurant would not be out of place in Manhattan or L.A. Unlike most restaurants, the menus here are a program for the evening, all you need to do is sit down and enjoy the show. It’s a method that works well for them.
We returned across the road to the shop, now engulfed in tourists being pummeled by the blaring sound of AC/DC. It seems that when this eccentric artist/butcher gets his mojo going he needs loud music, although I suspect that he uses it to stop the tourists from talking to him while he is trying to work.

Leg of beef

A huge leg of beef sat on the cutting board in the middle of the shop waiting for Dario to work his magic while slightly uncomfortable looking patrons sipped their complementary wine and tried to understand exactly what they were experiencing.
For lunch, Kim suggested we slip upstairs to Dario DOC, their “fast food” restaurant, to eat. She escorted us through the back of the butcher shop where she pressed a button that slid a door back exposing a staircase leading up to the dining room, pretty cool.

Seated at a large communal table

We were seated at a large communal table that was filling up quickly.  Young, pierced waiters scurried around looking confused, taking orders for one of two choices on the menu, the Dario burger or a more substantial tasting of some of Dario’s specialities. We chose the Dario burger and a couple of Dario beers brewed exclusively for, you guessed it, Dario. He is definitely the brand and trademark of this business with his overly serious mug on posters, labels and business cards, no lack of modesty here.
Unfortunately the burger, after a very long wait, turned out to be no screaming hell. It was served without a bun, instead, crusted in breadcrumbs and accompanied by what should have been some real vegetables but turned out to be a garnish of a few raw julienned carrot, onion and a couple of celery leaves.

The best thing on the plate

The roasted potatoes were the best thing on the plate and we were pretty disappointed that we had waited so long for something so average.
Kim, seeing that we were seriously underwhelmed, delivered a small tasting plate from the other menu choice which was better and included chunks of the porchetta we saw earlier, a tasty beef tartare and Dario’s special meatloaf, all excellent.
Finally ready to leave we asked for the bill and were surprised to hear that Dario had comped the meal.
It was an extremely nice gesture in exchange for what they had hoped, I’m sure, should have been a better experience for us.
As we walked to the car, more tourists pushed their way into the butcher shop for their piece of the Dario show.
As a chef, I was envious of his ability to dictate his interpretation of the dining experience along with what his customers will eat and despite his obvious ego, there’s no denying his great success and mastery of his craft.
In the end, I believe that not only is he a great butcher but a smart businessman, because all of the decisions that make him a devoted, unwavering artist to his craft also make him money.