Cooking a steak to perfection is a truly rare skill and chef Aurelio Barattini and his father are masters.

Before cooking, head waiter and Aurelio’s younger brother, Lambi shows the diner the choice steak.

The meat derives from the long horned white Chianina cattle, a rare breed from Tuscany, Umbria & Lazio, and one of the oldest breeds in the world.

The Barattini’s have created their own ingenious grill using olive wood which is the hottest burning of all woods. They have introduced an extractor fan to remove the smoke, so the dominant flavour is the wonderful meat and not smoke.

Antica Locanda serve their Bistecca alla Fiorentina rare. Because they are so large at 1.2 – 1.8 kg, it takes 35 – 45 minutes to cook the meat and so allowing the middle of the steak to become hot.

Aurelio hangs his meat for 10 days, believing the fat tastes sweeter when the fat is white rather than yellow.

The steak is cut at the table by the chefs and served with a drizzle of their wonderful olive oil, rocket or finely sliced artichokes.

www.anticalocandadisesto.it www.aureliobarattini.com