The only thing Italy is better known for than racing is cooking, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Yakhnich), Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP40) and Romano Fenati (SKY Racing Team VR46) were all given the chance to prepare one of Italy’s most famous dishes. Fortunately they weren’t taken too far away from their first love, the racetrack, as their cooking lessons were held in Villa Savelli, just meters away from the Mugello Circuit.
Their teacher for the day was Dario Cecchini, one of the world’s most famous butchers. An eighth generation butcher, Cecchini’s mantra is to use the entire animal and help promote local, traditional butchers. He set about giving all of the riders a crash course in butchery and how to prepare a proper bistecca alla fiorentina. The dish is a speciality of the region and is known throughout the world, many riders enjoying it almost as much as the track itself.
With aprons fitted the four riders helped to carry the meat out to begin preparing it, Cecchini teaching them all how to properly carve and cut out fresh steaks. As is customary with bistecca alla fiorentina, the T-Bones were to be grilled over a wood fire and seasoned with simple salt, pepper and olive oil. Much like their Grand Prix motorcycles, preparing the steaks took both power and finesse, the riders carefully cutting away any excess meat or rind.
It was then onto the grill where Cecchini shared all of his tips and tricks for making the perfect steak. Patience was key here, riders more used to trying to go as quickly as possible. Fortunately the riders didn’t have to wait too long as bistecca alla fiorentina is most commonly served rare, allowing you to really taste the quality of the beef.
The riders all got to sample what their hard work tasted like and were smiling from ear to ear. Served thickly cut, the steaks are usually shared between two people but all of the riders seemed more than capable of devouring a whole one. The hospitality chefs had better watch out in Mugello as Dovizioso, Petrucci, Rins and Fenati are now steak experts.
The fresh bistecca was a nice accompaniment to Andrea Dovizioso’s fresh deal with Ducati. Just before the Italian GP it was revealed he would partner Jorge Lorenzo in the Ducati Team for both 2017 and 2018. This continues the project that began in 2013, Dovizioso providing vital information to help return Ducati to the front of the MotoGP™ World Championship.