When you think of Florence, seafood doesn’t exactly come to mind. After all, this city is known for its meat dishes such as the famous bistecca alla fiorentina. So when I started looking around the city to do a culinary stage, Da’ Pescatore took me by surprise.

First, it’s a fairly new restaurant in Florence, only open since this past summer. The chef, Daniele Pescatore, had another restaurant here but it closed a few years ago. I was interested in the restaurant because their entire menu was seafood which is quite uncommon in this city. Their menu is designed for you to choose either three, five, or seven courses, all tasting portions.

Saturday Night Madness!

Fried Baccalà with Lemon, Green Pepper, Apples, and Homemade Mayonnaise.

Red Mullet with Pine Nut Crust, Raspberry Sauce, and Caprino Cheese Gelato.

Cauliflower Soup with Shrimp and Langoustine Canederli.

Spiced Tiger Prawns with Curry Potato Cream.

Turbot with Rice Polenta, Chestnuts, and Zabaione.

Ricotta and Pear Mousse with Sesame Twill and Persimmon Sauce.

Scallop with Foie Gras Parfait with Cauliflower Purée, Shallot, and Caramelized Sauce.

Cortecce with Prawns tossed in Shrimp Butter and Mint.

Calamari stuffed with Grilled Cheese with Pecorino Cheese Fondue and Calamari and Pecorino Cheese Sandwich.

Octopus and Foie Gras Terrine with Orange Sauce.

Beautiful Porcini Mushrooms.

Sea Bass Crudo with Angel Hair Pasta, Artichoke Salad, and Balsamic Reduction.

Calamari Lasagnetta with Pine Nut Cream.

Linguine with Piennolo Tomato Sauce with Clams.

Onion Soup with Fried Porcini Mushrooms and Langoustine.

Grilled and Fried Octopus with Potato Purée and Caramelized Scallion.

My experience at Da’ Pescatore has been nothing but positive. First of all, half of the chefs in the kitchen are Japanese! I was shocked when I met them and this definitely made my experience much better (my Italian is still not very good so speaking Japanese was a plus). The other chefs were of course Italian but I could easily communicate with them as well. I worked with one of the Japanese chefs the whole time as he was my station chef. I learned a great deal from him from keeping my station immaculately clean and organized to proper timing for food orders to working under pressure. Since I was working in the kitchen around 60-70 hours a week, these people become part of your second family. I am truly grateful for meeting these chefs who have taught me new cooking techniques, delicious recipes, and how to work in a professional kitchen. I know I’ll be back to visit them when I return to Florence in a few months!