With summer comes more time spent outdoors, more meals enjoyed by the water, and less time spent worrying about anything other than what to eat next. Luckily, we’ve got that covered with a whole summer menu inspired by Italian coastal living.
For us, summer officially begins with the first family dinner on the terrace. Every year, we come together to spend the day cooking, eating, dancing, laughing, and simply enjoying the moment. Here’s a little glimpse of our first summer day!
Summer always has its own rhythm, it's almost like a reset for many of us. The kind where time stretches endlessly, and daylight lingers well past dinner.
Our first true summer day always begins in the kitchen. Not in a rush to get anywhere, just the quiet excitement of everyone arriving, hands full of herbs from the garden, fruits from the market, wine, and laughter. This year, inspired by the sun-soaked spirit of the Italian coast, we let the food lead. Think fresh pasta rolled by hand, lemons on everything, and meals built to share.
The whole day becomes a gentle ritual. Cooking turns into talking, and talking turns into dancing. The terrace becomes the dining room, and the kitchen becomes the heart of it all - doors open and music playing.
Here’s a glimpse of how we welcome summer: not with grand plans, but with people we love and a table full of food.
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Terracotta
There’s no such thing as just one cook in a summer kitchen. Someone starts the dough, another takes over the grill, and before you know it, there’s a whole table’s worth of dishes and no clear idea of who made what. That’s how it should be.
The menu came together the way summer meals often do: by feeling, not by recipe. We leaned into bright, simple flavours—ripe tomatoes with torn basil, grilled zucchini dressed in lemon, hand-shaped pasta tossed with whatever herbs we had nearby. Nothing fussy. Everything shared.
It’s food that invites you to linger. To go back for seconds, to pass the bread basket again, to keep the wine flowing just a little longer. A table full of colour, texture, and little surprises. Bowls and boards passed from one end to the other, the kind of casual abundance that doesn’t ask for perfection, just presence.
Once the food is on the table, it’s time to pass the plates around and dig in. For a moment, things quiet down - everyone’s too busy tasting, sharing, and going back for seconds. It’s those simple, shared moments that make summer meals so special.
After dinner, some like to sit back with a cold drink and play cards, while others prefer to get moving with a game of football. As the sun sets, the terrace and backyard fill with laughter and relaxed vibes - just how summer evenings should feel.
