You know how you sometimes day dream about the perfect meal? Well, at least I do. I think if you cook and eat a lot, your mind tends to wander off into table territory quite often.

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No matter how nice, polite, and evolved we think we are, it's in our nature to want the best experiences for ourselves. When we get them, sometimes we even stoop to our baser instincts and brag. Today, we have some fine bragging rights to offer you.

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'I have to say while the book was tremendous, the recipes were tremendous, the place itself was…they pale in comparison to what may be the most beautiful place on earth.'

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FS: 'Did you think, going in from the outset, that you could make an economically viable farm that could sustain itself ecologically and economically and make it work?'

SMG: 'Yes. That's the pipe dream…One of the things we're really trying to do at La Petraia is to set an example, that yes it is possible to create wealth in a sustainable way. By wealth I don't mean tons of money. I mean a good life and an economically viable life.'

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A Canadian cookbook about the ideals of the slow food movement has been awarded a prestigious Le Cordon Bleu World Food Media Award.

Piano Piano Pieno by Susan McKenna Grant is a tale of a life-changing move by Grant and her husband, Michael, to Tuscany to farm…

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In an earlier post I wrote about Carlo Petrini, the founder of the Slow Food Movement who has been an inspiration to many people worldwide. As I reflected on his thinking I thought it would be fun to talk with my friend Susan Grant who has put into practice much of what Petrini advocated at La Petraia, her agriturismo (the meeting ground of agriculture and tourism) located in the Chianti Classico region of Tuscany. Susan is an entrepreneur, accomplished chef, author, wife of my friend Michael, organic farmer and a source of inspiration. What follows is a recent email exchange that I had with her:

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TORONTO, December 18, 2006—The 2006 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards has selected Piano Piano Pieno: Authentic Food from a Tuscan Farm for the award of Best Italian Cuisine Book, English-Rest of the World. Author Susan McKenna Grant’s impressive book will now compete against winners in the same category in other languages for The Best in the World, with results being announced in Beijing, China in April 2007.