Put your head in the soil, not in the sand. Or at least this is what I did...
Late this Summer I was presented with two pieces of news: I had to be treated for breast cancer (successfully I’m very pleased to report) and I had to close my beloved business, built over 17 years, after it had been targeted by criminals.I know Autumn is about change, but this still seemed excessive.
When everything shifts, you wonder what will remain of you. You also make discoveries about yourself. Some suggested I should switch off from it all, especially my campaigning for environmental and social justice. But I realised I didn’t want to turn away from the crisis – I wanted to face it with positive action.
This is why I channelled my energies into Quintosapore, our 80 acre family farm in the heart of Italy, which is being cultivated by my twin brothers Alessandro and Nicola (the Twin Farmers). They are creating something incredibly precious – a vertically integrated and totally innovative farming project that takes its lead from nature and stares the climate crisis straight in the eye. They use every instinct, every minute of every hour, to grow using nature-first techniques in a way that is utterly brilliant and very courageous.
Put your head in the soil, not in the sand. Or at least this is what I did...
Late this Summer I was presented with two pieces of news: I had to be treated for breast cancer (successfully I’m very pleased to report) and I had to close my beloved business, built over 17 years, after it had been targeted by criminals.I know Autumn is about change, but this still seemed excessive.
When everything shifts, you wonder what will remain of you. You also make discoveries about yourself. Some suggested I should switch off from it all, especially my campaigning for environmental and social justice. But I realised I didn’t want to turn away from the crisis – I wanted to face it with positive action.
This is why I channelled my energies into Quintosapore, our 80 acre family farm in the heart of Italy, which is being cultivated by my twin brothers Alessandro and Nicola (the Twin Farmers). They are creating something incredibly precious – a vertically integrated and totally innovative farming project that takes its lead from nature and stares the climate crisis straight in the eye.
They use every instinct, every minute of every hour, to grow using nature-first techniques in a way that is utterly brilliant and very courageous.
Late this Summer I was presented with two pieces of news: I had to be treated for breast cancer (successfully I’m very pleased to report) and I had to close my beloved business, built over 17 years, after it had been targeted by criminals.I know Autumn is about change, but this still seemed excessive.
When everything shifts, you wonder what will remain of you. You also make discoveries about yourself. Some suggested I should switch off from it all, especially my campaigning for environmental and social justice. But I realised I didn’t want to turn away from the crisis – I wanted to face it with positive action.
This is why I channelled my energies into Quintosapore, our 80 acre family farm in the heart of Italy, which is being cultivated by my twin brothers Alessandro and Nicola (the Twin Farmers). They are creating something incredibly precious – a vertically integrated and totally innovative farming project that takes its lead from nature and stares the climate crisis straight in the eye. They use every instinct, every minute of every hour, to grow using nature-first techniques in a way that is utterly brilliant and very courageous.
Put your head in the soil, not in the sand. Or at least this is what I did...
Late this Summer I was presented with two pieces of news: I had to be treated for breast cancer (successfully I’m very pleased to report) and I had to close my beloved business, built over 17 years, after it had been targeted by criminals.I know Autumn is about change, but this still seemed excessive.
When everything shifts, you wonder what will remain of you. You also make discoveries about yourself. Some suggested I should switch off from it all, especially my campaigning for environmental and social justice. But I realised I didn’t want to turn away from the crisis – I wanted to face it with positive action.
This is why I channelled my energies into Quintosapore, our 80 acre family farm in the heart of Italy, which is being cultivated by my twin brothers Alessandro and Nicola (the Twin Farmers). They are creating something incredibly precious – a vertically integrated and totally innovative farming project that takes its lead from nature and stares the climate crisis straight in the eye.
They use every instinct, every minute of every hour, to grow using nature-first techniques in a way that is utterly brilliant and very courageous.
“We’re a community here and the aim of this newsletter is that you become part of that too.”
The work we do here is urgent and potentially transformative. We are farmers that grow with care and love. The same attention goes into our recipes and our production so that when we ship our organic Heritage Tomato Aglione sauce or our Aubergine Caviar, you can taste that commitment in the jar.Our goal is to bring back joy, passion and beauty into eating.
Perhaps, like Stanley Tucci, who filmed a glorious episode of his CNN show Searching for Italy here, you have already visited and drunk in the magic yourselves.
Or perhaps you are still planning your visit. But whether you are an old acquaintance or a potential friend, we consider you part of our community. You’re a Quintosaporean now!
I hope you love our newsletter – and if you don’t and want to opt out, please do.But we can’t wait to tell you more ..
Livia Giuggioli Firth
“We’re a community here and the aim of this newsletter is that you become part of that too.”
The work we do here is urgent and potentially transformative. We are farmers that grow with care and love. The same attention goes into our recipes and our production so that when we ship our organic Heritage Tomato Aglione sauce or our Aubergine Caviar, you can taste that commitment in the jar.Our goal is to bring back joy, passion and beauty into eating.
Perhaps, like Stanley Tucci, who filmed a glorious episode of his CNN show Searching for Italy here, you have already visited and drunk in the magic yourselves.
Or perhaps you are still planning your visit. But whether you are an old acquaintance or a potential friend, we consider you part of our community. You’re a Quintosaporean now!
I hope you love our newsletter – and if you don’t and want to opt out, please do.But we can’t wait to tell you more ..
Livia Giuggioli Firth
SEASON TO REASON
As we say: ‘e’ bella ma non balla’.
Translation: it’s beautiful, but it doesn’t dance (basically the Italian way of saying ‘All style and no substance’).
Some people are puzzled. In fact they are mystified: ‘Why on earth did you give up your old lives to be farmers?’ they ask. And then: ‘Why do you want to do it now when everything is getting so tough because of climate change?’
Twin farmers Nic (left) and Ale (right)
We know it’s not that helpful to answer a question with a question, but in this case we can’t help it … ‘What do you expect us to do in a climate emergency?’ For us, digging hope and future into the soil here doesn’t just feel like the right thing to do, but the only thing to do.
There is nothing like ‘true farming*’ to bring you directly into the path of climate change. This is not just a tale of rising heat or heavy rains – although both demand our attention – it's a story about instability. We can no longer rely on the patterns of old. Each day brings something unexpected, a fresh uncertainty.
At Quintosapore, we’ve set ourselves the most challenging (and exciting) job there is. We’re trying to create our own stable growing environment as quickly as possible in order to adapt to changing patterns.
We also want to demonstrate that another way of farming is not only possible, but can flourish in ways beyond imagination. We arrived at farming late in life, after having both lived in big cities and having different jobs (can’t wait to tell you more about this in the coming issues!) and yes – our approach is unconventional and our plan ambitious. But this is how we are wired.And we have the greatest mentor and guiding star: nature herself! Like biomimicry, we watch, accompany, mimic and support the elegant systems that have sustained life on earth for millennia.
And we do it the Quintosapore way, embracing methods that mainstream agriculture may have forgotten or overlooked. We rekindle ancient wisdom and pair it with modern innovation. We employ biochar to enrich the soil, fast-growing trees to shelter our crops, effective micro-organisms to breathe life into the earth, and we even add a touch of quantum physics (yes really).
In future issues, we’ll share more about the compelling science that fuels our journey. We’re so passionate about what we’re doing here. But for now please follow us on Instagram or, better yet, visit our farm.
Depending on the time of year you visit, the air may be rich with the scent of tomatoes ripening on raised permaculture beds. We pick and choose elements from different sustainable farming systems; from organic, biodynamic and regenerative farming. But here’s the thing: we do not treat any one system as sacred doctrine. After all, nature herself is not static. She adapts, she evolves, and so must we. This adaptability drives our work, and we want others – farmers, dreamers and doers across the world – to join us.We’re passionate about reviving forgotten varieties, breathing life into ancient crops, and experimenting with biodiversity.
But we’re ambitious not only for the soils but for the produce too. Some of our crops may dazzle the eye, but not the palate. When that happens, we smile and say, ‘Sei bella, ma non balli’ – you’re beautiful, but you just don’t dance. In the world of heritage tomatoes, beauty is fleeting, but taste reigns supreme.
Ale and Nic (aka the Twin Farmers).
*‘True Farming’ is the umbrella term we use here for farming in cooperation with nature rather than with recourse to agri-chemicals and industrial practices.In the next issue, we’ll share the story of our Quintosapore vineyard, where an ancient Etruscan grape was plucked from the brink of extinction, and we’ll explore how positive energy infuses the life force of our produce.
THIS MONTH'S
FEATURED PRODUCTS
Take three homegrown showstoppers from the Quintosapore cupboard ...
Our products from soil-to-jar are bursting with flavour and authenticity. In this month’s round-up we make a bid to redefine luxury and celebrate our first award winner!
AUBERGINE CAVIAR
AUBERGINE CAVIAR
We love to challenge the mainstream food world. In that spirit, we took a good hard look at the poster product for conventional luxury – sturgeon caviar. We noted how the sturgeon is on the brink of extinction and how the long, temperature-controlled transit of caviar spews planet-boiling emissions. Planet-trashing should never be labelled luxury in our opinion so we asked ourselves how can we do better?!
Our Aubergine Caviar is the answer. It’s a true luxury product – defined by us as one where you can taste the love, care and time that’s been poured in. Grown from our own seeds, in naturally super-charged soils, Twin Farmer Ale harvests the aubergines, then carries them the short distance to our farm barbecue for smoking. Once they’re deliciously charred and exactly the right level of smokiness, Ale hands them to Twin Farmer Nic who painstakingly hand peels and chops them.
Then, at our farm-kitchen lab, we fill each jar with our own delicious organic oil. Does it take hours? Yes. Do the Twin Farmers watch over our aubergines as if they were precious newborns? Yes. Is it worth it? Hell yeah!
We are declaring this the season for our ethical Aubergine Caviar!
HERITAGE TOMATO AGLIONE SAUCE
You can never go wrong with our Aglione sauce. Made from our stunning heritage tomatoes and Aglione del Re, the majestic garlic variety we grow in our fields, this beautifully simple, punchy, mouth-watering sauce can be traced back to the Etruscans.It’s the perfect companion from the past. In fact, along with thick, eggless noodles made by hand, it is the main ingredient in our region’s famous speciality pasta dish, Pici all’Aglione.Our tomatoes are grown with the utmost respect for the land and for nature, but also for you.We want you to experience the best taste possible with the shortest distance from field to jar. We keep the ingredients list simple to let the produce speak.
ZUCCHINE SOTT’OLIO
Drum roll please: our Zucchine sott’Olio is an official award winner!
We’re very proud to share that our simple and delicious recipe is the recipient of a hallowed star from the international Great Taste Awards 2024.
The Great Taste Awards are the world’s largest and most trusted food accreditation awards and man, it’s competitive! Our Quintosapore favourite was selected from among 13,672 entries across 115 countries. According to the judges, our beautiful organic zucchini cured in our extra virgin olive oil are ‘simply delicious’ with ‘fantastic flavour’.We agree and we think you will too!
SOIL TO FORK EXPERIENCES
We love visitors at Quintosapore, and they don’t come much more special than Nancy Silverton, a colossus of the food world who has been dubbed ‘the Goddess of Delicious’.Chef extraordinaire and co-owner of Mozza Restaurant Group, Nancy wrote her first cookbook, Desserts, back in 1986 and has shaped and driven food culture ever since.
One of many claims to fame is being the first to bring artisan bread to Los Angeles and then to the rest of America. She has quite the resume! Nancy’s 2023 book full of incredible cake, cookie, muffin and pie recipes is entitled The Cookie That Changed My Life …Well, Nancy, you’ve changed our food lives.
Nancy is no stranger to our region where, as she puts it: ‘I don’t just visit with my family; I spend quality time with peppers, tomatoes, spinach, artichokes, strawberries, aglione garlic, onions … always at @quintosapore farm. The Vespa ride there is icing on the cake’.
She is definitely on our wavelength. Instinctively, Nancy understands our core mission to create a growing-oasis and, as farmers who feel so strongly about the quality of our produce, we always wondered what our vegetables could do in her hands!
One evening this summer we got to find out, as the great culinary queen prepared an unforgettable soil-to-fork experience.
With the help of design luminary Tricia Guild, who staged the table, and LA florist Nick Floral, who used vegetables from our ‘Orto’ to create beautiful flower arrangements, an aesthetic and culinary feast emerged.
Guests included Rolando Beramendi, author of Autentico: Cooking Italian the Authentic Way and writer and blogger Elizabeth Minchilli, who described the evening as 'magical' and indeed it was. Take a look at Nancy talking us through the mouthwatering heaped plates of delicious food in our Instagram video.
Make sure you follow in Nancy’s footsteps (as we always do). Contact us to book your next Quintosapore event or farm experience.
We love visitors at Quintosapore, and they don’t come much more special than Nancy Silverton, a colossus of the food world who has been dubbed ‘the Goddess of Delicious’.Chef extraordinaire and co-owner of Mozza Restaurant Group, Nancy wrote her first cookbook, Desserts, back in 1986 and has shaped and driven food culture ever since.
One of many claims to fame is being the first to bring artisan bread to Los Angeles and then to the rest of America. She has quite the resume! Nancy’s 2023 book full of incredible cake, cookie, muffin and pie recipes is entitled The Cookie That Changed My Life …Well, Nancy, you’ve changed our food lives.
Nancy is no stranger to our region where, as she puts it: ‘I don’t just visit with my family; I spend quality time with peppers, tomatoes, spinach, artichokes, strawberries, aglione garlic, onions … always at @quintosapore farm. The Vespa ride there is icing on the cake’.
She is definitely on our wavelength. Instinctively, Nancy understands our core mission to create a growing-oasis and, as farmers who feel so strongly about the quality of our produce, we always wondered what our vegetables could do in her hands!
One evening this summer we got to find out, as the great culinary queen prepared an unforgettable soil-to-fork experience.
With the help of design luminary Tricia Guild, who staged the table, and LA florist Nick Floral, who used vegetables from our ‘Orto’ to create beautiful flower arrangements, an aesthetic and culinary feast emerged.
Guests included Rolando Beramendi, author of Autentico: Cooking Italian the Authentic Way and writer and blogger Elizabeth Minchilli, who described the evening as 'magical' and indeed it was. Take a look at Nancy talking us through the mouthwatering heaped plates of delicious food in our Instagram video.
Make sure you follow in Nancy’s footsteps (as we always do). Contact us to book your next Quintosapore event or farm experience.
We love visitors at Quintosapore, and they don’t come much more special than Nancy Silverton, a colossus of the food world who has been dubbed ‘the Goddess of Delicious’.Chef extraordinaire and co-owner of Mozza Restaurant Group, Nancy wrote her first cookbook, Desserts, back in 1986 and has shaped and driven food culture ever since.
One of many claims to fame is being the first to bring artisan bread to Los Angeles and then to the rest of America. She has quite the resume! Nancy’s 2023 book full of incredible cake, cookie, muffin and pie recipes is entitled The Cookie That Changed My Life …Well, Nancy, you’ve changed our food lives.Nancy is no stranger to our region where, as she puts it: ‘I don’t just visit with my family; I spend quality time with peppers, tomatoes, spinach, artichokes, strawberries, aglione garlic, onions … always at @quintosapore farm. The Vespa ride there is icing on the cake’.She is definitely on our wavelength. Instinctively, Nancy understands our core mission to create a growing-oasis and, as farmers who feel so strongly about the quality of our produce, we always wondered what our vegetables could do in her hands!One evening this summer we got to find out, as the great culinary queen prepared an unforgettable soil-to-fork experience..
With the help of design luminary Tricia Guild, who staged the table, and LA florist Nick Floral, who used vegetables from our ‘Orto’ to create beautiful flower arrangements, an aesthetic and culinary feast emerged.
Guests included Rolando Beramendi, author of Autentico: Cooking Italian the Authentic Way and writer and blogger Elizabeth Minchilli, who described the evening as 'magical' and indeed it was. Take a look at Nancy talking us through the mouthwatering heaped plates of delicious food in our Instagram video.
Make sure you follow in Nancy’s footsteps (as we always do). Contact us to book your next Quintosapore event or farm experience.
THE SEASON AHEAD
As summer fades, the rhythm of harvest and planting continues. Grapes are the stars of September – the white ones first, followed by the reds. And our team is busy transferring from the farm seed house to the fields all sorts of varieties of winter crops, including heritage broccoli, cabbages, fennels and radishes.Next month brings a new excitement as we prepare our fields for the planting of Aglione del Re, a majestic heritage garlic variety from our region, with cloves as large as walnuts. But don’t mistake it for elephant garlic – this is something far more special, rooted in tradition and revived for the future.At Quintosapore, every harvest is more than just food – it’s a story, a connection to the past, and a step towards a hopeful, sustainable future.
