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Dario Cecchini – The Butcher of Chianti Classico

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Joe Becerra

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As we all gradually become vaccination against the COVID disease, we can begin planning travel trips to far away wine country. I am reposting this article in anticipation of tourists thinking about a trip to Chianti. This article is about our unforgettable meeting with one of the great Italian chef and butcher, Mario Cecchini.

If you ever travel to Tuscany, don’t pass up the chance to dine at Dario Cecchini’s Solocicca restaurant and to visit to his butcher shop, Antica Macceleria. We can guarantee this will be one experience extraordinaire you will not soon forget.

Dario Cecchini, the butcher of ChiantiBefore I left the U.S. to embark on my wine adventures in Italy, I watched YouTube videos of the famous butcher of Panzano in Chianti with utter fascination. We were to dine at his restaurant along with fellow wine bloggers and experience the “Whole Steer” dinner. I wasn’t really sure what that meant, so I watched the videos to mentally prepare myself. Dario Cecchini is an 8th generation butcher but he has taken his skill to another level from his predecessors. Not only does he have innovative ideas about his profession, but his amazing outgoing personality, and his love for his trade and the people that come to his butcher shop and restaurant, are what sets him apart. He is truly a living legend in the land of Chianti Classico.

Dario Cecchini butcher shopFirst we walked into Dario’s butcher shop directly across from the restaurant. The first thing that catches your attention is a mannequin with a human body but with the head of a steer. The steer head is eyeballing you as if to say “Hello” and welcome you to the butcher shop. A variety of meat appetizers are there to sample. Jug Chianti wine made by Dario is offered. Suddenly, the living legend appears behind the counter and with a loud and booming voice Dario shouts out: “To Beef or not to Beef, that is the question!” That’s Dario in a nutshell. The music is turned up and people begin to dance, it is an impromptu party like no other.

In the Cave of Solo Ciccia

The Whole Steer dinner is a menu of many beef items, all delectable, including a spicy meat ragu on toast, boiled beef with vegetable salad, and braised beef very tender and tasty. The “Whole Steer” menu consists of ten different items for 30 Euros per person. This is quite a reasonable price to pay for such an extraordinary meal. In San Francisco, I suspect something similar would be well above $50 per person. For an extra 3 Euros, you can get a liter of Dario’s jug wine, or you can bring in your own, and there is no corkage fee. Dario’s vision is to use the steer responsibly and to search for ways to use as much of the steer as is possible for food. In his shop and on his website, he has done something I have not seen before. He has created a diagram outline of the steer which maps the various parts of the steer he uses for each entrée on his restaurant menu or item he sells in this butcher shop.

Dario makes several appearances at our table to toast us and to expound on his philosophy as a butcher. To say the least, he is quite an interesting person. We left very full of food, fun, and happiness and a night never to be forgotten.

Check out this video of the impromptu party at Dario’s shop, Antica Macelleria in Panzano in Chianti. I don’t think you will find this same experience any time soon at your local butcher shop. In fact, I am showing this video to my local butcher and ask him if he could start serving wine and meat goodies while I shop.

  • Joe Becerra

    Joe Becerra has been traveling to wine country and enjoying wine since 1965. He is a retired educator, and now have the time the opportunity to share his wine travel experiences through this Website.

4 thoughts on “Dario Cecchini – The Butcher of Chianti Classico”

  1. Visiting Dario’s Macelleria was a great experience. The food was delicious! I agree that the pricing is definitely not expensive. The fact that you can bring your own wine and not pay corkage fee show how the food gets premium placement here but also how wine is such a big part of the culture and not just an (expensive) add-on. Nice video!

    • Thanks Andre! Where I leave in the S.F. area, in most good restaurants wine prices are marked up high and corkage fees average $20. In Italy, we always paid a retail price when ordering wine at a restaurant. Like you say, it is the culture.

  2. So funny that we were there within a week of each other! I second everything you said…a unique dining experience. Dario had taken the son of one of our singers as an apprentice in the art/science of butchery, and the kid is opening a restaurant in Maine soon. Didn’t you love the “Rosemary en culo”?

    • I’m still replaying that night in my head. Did you read the book “Heat” by Bill Buford? Dario is featured in the latter part of the book. I’m reading that section again and wish I had done so just before leaving for Italy. Salute!

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