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Already thinking about 2020? There are only a handful of weeks until the new decade, and even though the South Texas weather is just beginning to flirt with colder temperatures, Chef Tim McDiarmid already has the Italian summer on her mind. For the last 10 years, she’s led a culinary tour every summer through the famed Cinque Terre region. Registration has just opened for McDiarmid’s next tour, via haute-luxe boutique travel experts the Italian Fix – and maybe it’s time to start planning your 2020 vacation.
McDiarmid, the chef behind Tim the Girl Catering, The Good Kind, and Ivy Hall Events, is known for her bright, fresh, just-off-the-boat, just-pulled-from-the-garden style of food, directly inspired by her time on Italy’s coast. This summer’s trip has inspired such new menu ideas as farinata with grilled shrimp and pumpkin seed pesto, Sicilian grilled beef and caponata, and honey-sweetened mascarpone with pistachios and biscotti.
More than 100 San Antonio women have taken McDiarmid’s tour, including Amy Nunnelly, who loves the Italian Fix so much she’s been three times. “I love going to out-of-the-way places and feeling like I am experiencing the real Italy,” Nunnelly said. “Rooftop dining, walking through vineyards, cooking classes at villas, breathtaking scenery, unique, gorgeous hotels … I could go and on!”
“Two moments always come to the surface when I think of Cinque Terre: swimming in a secret inlet of the Mediterranean only accessible by boat and eating at my friend Valeria’s restaurant in a small town in the Tuscan countryside,” McDiarmid said. “The menu changes daily and a little sculpture studio is hidden behind. You’d never find either of those places on your own.”
In 2020, the trip – traditionally reserved for women only – will be open to men as well, which means that all the dining in private 17th-century villas and yachting to secret swimming coves is open to everyone and anyone you want to take with you.
You can join McDiarmid on June 14 through June 20, 2020, for the trip of a lifetime, or maybe just get a taste of it here at home. Tim the Girl Catering is featuring customized Italian-inspired menus for all holiday and spring bookings – everything from intimate family dinner parties to major galas. Let McDiarmid and her team bring Italy to you! Guests at Ivy Hall can also enjoy this true taste of Italy al fresco, under the stars. Ivy Hall, an eclectic green oasis in the King William neighborhood, offers flexible indoor and outdoor space with upscale fire pits and heaters that work perfectly with our mild winters.
Whether Cinque Terre or Southtown, mangiamo – let’s eat!
For more information on The Good Kind Hospitality Group, please visit: www.timthegirl.com, www.eatgoodkind.com, and www.ivyhallevents.com. For more information on Italian Fix, check out www.italianfix.com.
