Anne Robichaud had a few days free during her U.S. cooking tour and dropped into Placerville recently. Lucky enough to have seen her kitchen prowess in Livermore a couple of years ago, she called me for a quick visit downtown. Every other exclamation was, “I love this town!” She prowled around the antique stores and Violet’s with fervor, had lunch at Heydey and heard all about the ghosts that might still haunt the Carey Hotel.

One of Anne’s favorite things to talk about, research and taste is Olive Oil, of course, so Leslie at Winterhill gave Anne a “festival of tastes”, including the olive oil that won such International acclaim two years in a row, named “Shakespeare’s Acre”. This is a blend of 7 Tuscan varietal olives grown on the Winterhill farm in Placerville, CA.

Shakespeare’s Acre won the Silver Medal at the international competition in New York City and last year won the GOLD MEDAL!

California Olive Oil Council Certified Extra-Virgin (as all of Winterhill Olive Oils are) Shakespeare’s Acre tested out as having no negative attributes and comes in at a free fatty acid level of .2%.   This is far below the required level of .5% at California Olive Oil Council. The lower the free fatty acid level, the higher the antioxidant levels.

A beautiful full bodied extra-virgin with multi layered flavors of green grass, fruit and earthy notes, it enhances all foods with increased flavor profiles and provides superior health benefits as well.

Anne and her husband Pino worked the land for many years in Italy in the 1970’s, so rural life, people and Umbrian cuisine are “una passione” for her. Now a tour guide in central Italy for most of the year, Anne teaches Umbrian rural cuisine classes in private U.S. homes in Feb/Mar. See www.annesitaly.com.

Anne writes frequently of Umbrian and other feast days and celebrations, of visits to cities all over Italy’s culinary spectrum, often complete with recipes. Sign up at the Italian Notebook and/or join Anne’s “Inside” Umbria tour in May!