Meryl Streep celebrated her 70th birthday in Umbria. Discover what I cooked for her and which “Oscar” activities I suggested for her dream holiday
For all Meryl Streep fans and …not only them!
Meryl Streep celebrated her 70th birthday in Umbria. Discover what I cooked for her and which “Oscar” activities I suggested for her dream holiday
If you are planning a holiday in Italy and want to have the same experience Meryl Streep had for her birthday… Read carefully the article here below!
On 22nd June 2019 newspapers all over the world reported the news about Meryl Streep’s birthday.
They told about her magnificent career without mentioning how she would spend that special day.
I didn’t know anything about it either!
On 29th June 2 Italian newspapers reported that I had been the chef for her 70th birthday dinner and during all her stay in Umbria.
An “Oscar” birthday in the Upper Tiber Valley for Meryl Streep (La Nazione, Italian newspaper)
It was a typical summer Saturday; I was waiting for a phone call from my guest to know the arrival time.
At midday my mobile rang. A foreign number, I thought: “It should be him” or better her; I was waiting for a group of 6 ladies.
“Hi! It’s Meryl; we’re having lunch at “this” restaurant, could you come and take us to the villa at 1:30, please?”
At 1:30 I arrived at the restaurant and I immediately saw the table of the 6 ladies, I approached them to introduce myself … and I got astonished, struck dumb.
The lady called Meryl I’ve been sending and receiving emails for two months to plan her birthday dinner is the most famous one I’ve known: Meryl Streep.
I was wondering why she had chosen me...
…Instead of a starred chef, and why she had come to Umbria, so secretly
Meryl has chosen Umbria, exactly the northern part, because she was looking for a quiet location to celebrate her birthday together with her best friends.
Far from the spotlights and photographers, the news report about her birthday spread all over the world, but no one knew how the actress would celebrate it.
And actually.. Nor did I, even if I had been organizing her evening!!!
I was surprised because she chose me and not a starred chef to prepare her birthday dinner.
I’m not a starred chef; I’m not going to serve you some caviar on golden sheets at 14k per course, but I’m the most qualified in Umbria to let you discover the traditional ancient flavors of the Umbrian cuisine.
As most of my guests are, also Meryl was looking for an AUTHENTIC stay and NOT-CONVENTIONAL experiences.
She wanted to discover the true Umbrian cooking traditions, handed down from mother to daughter, and to taste simple but genuine flavors.
The dishes you will hardly find in starred restaurants with fusion cuisine or in touristy restaurants where you’ll find only FAKE Italian dishes, all tasting the same…
…You will taste those GENUINE dishes too if you call and ask me to cook for you: I’ll be your chef at home during your holiday in Umbria!!
Meryl got astonished at the simple but typical dishes I proposed
and to know that I always use only local and fresh products so my menus may change according to … the fresh foods I can find at the market.
While she was choosing what to eat, she told me exactly these words:
“Daniela everything you have on your menu sounds wonderful, and I think I will let you decide the menu each night, depending on what looks best at the market “
After visiting the villa, I left my guests having some relax and I entered my “kingdom”: the kitchen!
They ordered a light dinner, but they couldn’t absolutely miss Meryl’s favorite dessert: Tiramisù
A few days before, a friend of hers asked me to prepare a Tiramisù with a candle on the top instead of the conventional birthday cake.
Tiramisù is my best dish; I use only organic eggs and local mascarpone cheese; I immediately started preparing it and when it was ready I hid it.
Click below if you want to get my cook book for free, including my Tiramisù recipe.
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Then I made the sauce for the pasta.
That morning at the local market I had found some cherry tomatoes, sweeter than the sugar itself, and some courgettes picked less than 2 hours before.
I cut courgettes and tomatoes, then added some fresh salsiccia (pork sausage) and I prepared an easy but tasty sauce for the pasta.
Daniela’s Pasta with Sausages, Courgettes and Cherry Tomatoes
Then..I only needed the starter!!
Those cherry tomatoes were the perfect ingredient for the… traditional bruschetta: tomatoes and basil.
The smell of basil was so intense that it reached the living room where the ladies were.
Every now and then some guests followed the smell and peeped in the kitchen!
“It smells delicious” they said!
And of course… truffle; just two days before I had found 2 beautiful black truffles in my garden: that was the perfect occasion to use them!
Tomatoes Bruschetta
Tomatoes Bruschetta
Umbrian Black Truffles
To serve a typical starter I prepared a wooden cutting board full of salumi (cured meat), obviously cut with a knife, and local pecorino cheese from 3 different farmhouses and with different ageing.
I laid the table in the porch under a scented wisteria; the evening air was cool, perfect to have an alfresco dinner so I told the ladies the starter was ready.
Umbrian Pecorino Cheeses
Umbrian Pecorino Cheeses
Umbrian Homemade salami and Pecorino Cheese
If you had been Meryl and her friends, you would have had the same astonished reaction looking at my table
It was a riot of colors and scents: the bright red of fresh tomatoes on the bread, the strong smell of salumi, freshly sliced, mixed with the cheese one….
But the top moment was when few minutes later I came to the table holding a bouquet of… fried zucchini flowers!
Light and crisp, they were snapped up!
All the ladies wanted to know how I had made a fried dish light and crisp as well, not oil soaked… everyone was hanging upon my lips.
Fried Zucchini Flowers
If you had been sitting at that table you would have asked me the same….
… And I’m completely sure that if you came to Umbria to taste that dish and I had to give you the same answer, you would be really surprised: very cold sparkling water.
That’s all!!
This is one of the peculiarities of the Italian cuisine.
Simple dishes, that have never changed, perfect to discover genuine flavors you have never tried before or you wouldn’t expect to be so delicious, using only what nature can offer.
… And you can taste them too, if you decide to spend a holiday planned by me.
I won them over with my starter
At pasta time all together said “Pasta is al dente, well done Daniela!”
The taste of fresh vegetables and sausages left them… speechless.
They were astonished at the fresh flavor of the vegetables, the cherry tomatoes were sweet, the courgettes were fresh and delicious, not tasteless as they used to eat them.
They wanted to know how I had prepared the sauce.
They couldn’t understand how I had managed to make such a tasty sauce in half an hour; they believed that preparing appetizing dishes meant lots of cooking hours and preparation.
Click below if you want to get my free cook book, including the recipe for pasta with sausages, courgettes and cherry tomatoes.
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20+1 Easy Homemade Recipes to Prepare in Less Than 30 Minutes
These are some of the unique experiences MY guests have during their holidays in Umbria..
… And they are so satisfied and enthusiastic that over the 77.9 % of them comes back to feel the same emotions and to discover new ones the following years..
… You can have the same experiences if you decide to spend a holiday planned by me!
Dinner with happy guests
But the best course was the dessert
I intentionally left the porch almost in the dark, I took the Tiramisù with the lighted candle on and I went outside.
Oh!
Meryl was touched, her enthusiastic friends started singing “Happy Birthday” (and I joined them…. when would I get a chance like this again?!)
As soon as she tasted my Tiramisù, she called me “Daniela, come here please”
I came into the porch and Meryl was speechless, she was tasting it and staring at me she exclaimed:
“Your Tiramisù is the best one I’ve ever eaten”
I had no doubt about it!
Click below if you want to get my cook book for free, including my Tiramisù recipe.
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20+1 Easy Homemade Recipes to Prepare in Less Than 30 Minutes
Believe it or not!
It will be the best Tiramisù you’ve ever had; even if you have been in lots of Italian restaurants, you have never eaten such a delicious Tiramisù before!
… And you will tell your friends you have eaten the same Tiramisù Meryl Streep ate on her 70th birthday: terrific, isn’t it?
All the guests that asked me to plan their holidays last summer could do it, and lots of them will!! I have already received requests and confirmations for next summer!
Meryl wasn’t looking for something spectacular for her birthday, she wanted something true!!
She found the authenticity she was searching for in my cuisine, based on simple but genuine flavors and on the recipes my mother has been teaching me.
She didn’t want to know what I was going to prepare the following day; she just asked me if they could stay in the kitchen and watch me cooking.
Their great curiosity was to discover little tips or secrets you can learn only trying yourself, like the very cold sparkling water to make a fried dish dry and crisp.
As Meryl was, you will be curious too to discover the little secrets that make a simple recipe a unique dish…
… It will be a pleasure to teach you all my cooking secrets during your next holiday in Umbria
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20+1 Easy Homemade Recipes to Prepare in Less Than 30 Minutes
During their stay they wanted to visit unconventional destinations
While I was cooking, they asked me for something unique to visit, away from the mass tourism where also Meryl could go unnoticed; that was the reason why Meryl came to Umbria so secretly.
Indeed during her stay, she has been recognized only once and followed by a great crowd.
She went unnoticed at the market while she was buying some vegetables, visited small medieval villages, and I suggested some restaurants to taste typical dishes.
When we met for the dinner in the evening, they were all enthusiastic and told me about their day, what they had eaten and asked for other places to visit.
They were all surprised for the relaxing lifestyle here in Umbria, they have told me many times that I was really lucky to live here.
Umbrian Medieval Village
Umbrian Medieval Village
Typical Umbrian Grocery Store
If you come to Umbria and book a holiday planned by me, I will let you discover typical and truly Italian locations where even an international star could go unnoticed, just because the locals don’t surf the net too much and you can count tourists on the fingers of your hand!
You can wander around small medieval villages where you will meet only the locals, busy craftsmen creating something unique in their workshops, farmers hoeing the garden and growing tasty vegetables, women preparing delicious lunches for their families.
When you sit to have a cappuccino or an aperitif at the only bar in the village square, you will meet grandfathers playing cards. You will smile while they will be quarrelling at the end of the play because they usually reproach each other the mistakes made and none of them wants to lose …
And … unlike the crowded touristy cities where every language is spoken but not Italian, HERE you will hear people speaking ONLY Italian!
Umbrian Medieval Village
Umbrian Medieval Village
Cappuccino
“Daniela, you know everything! You have made our holiday so much easier”
I was really pleased to hear Meryl telling me those grateful words, as I was when Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater and Sam Neill congratulated me, as well.
Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater
Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater
Sam Neill
I have been working non-stop for 5 years to create a team of local experts to plan successful holidays
Helping +1057 people to choose and plan their “Authentic Holiday”
My competitors offer you only “a roof and a bed”
The holiday I’m offering you is not an usual holiday, it’s a real “Oscar Experience”
It is An Immersive Stay to experience local culture and unconventional destinations AND to feel Like a Local not ONLY a tourist
If you are curious to discover all the suggestions I gave Meryl, just click here below, and contact me right now.
It is FREE and without obligation!
You are not booking anything, you are only asking for more detailed information; no credit card will be requested!!
You know… I want you to have a unique experience here in Umbria but, having also such famous guests, I must plan all my daily appointments and activities.
You can talk directly to me, but you should contact me right now because honestly… I don’t know when you will find a free date later.
And above all… I have only 3 villas available, always reserved in considerable advance, and availabilities in summer months sell out quickly.
I don’t want you to miss the opportunity to have your “Oscar experience” just because you have waited too long to contact me!
Moreover,
if you want to taste all the delicious dishes my chefs’ team and I always prepare for our guests, hurry up and contact me!!
I work only with 2 chefs and the requests always top the availability.
And…
If you want ME to cook for you during your holiday, remember:
I have already been booked for 2 weeks in July and I’m negotiating for the whole August!
We will have a friendly chat and you will discover how to plan a unique holiday tailored to your requests, needs and expectations, including the tourist itineraries, the commemorations, festivals and events you can’t absolutely miss.
It will be a pleasure to answer your questions, satisfy your curiosities or doubts and let you discover a hidden and unknown land.
You are not booking anything, you are only asking for more detailed information; no credit card will be requested!!
Then you will have 2 opportunities:
- to grab my offer within a week: and book the most suitable flight …. The rest is up to me!
- to thank me and look for your ideal holiday anywhere else, so you’ll let someone else grab the incredible opportunity I’m offering.
20+1 Easy Homemade Recipes
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