I was born and raised in a mountain village in Italy’s Valle d’Aosta.
My great passions growing up were winter sports and eating. I had a promising career as a ski racer until injury.
That didn’t stop me from enjoying the outdoors, and I went on to graduate in Forestry and Environmental Science in Turin.
I love walking and cycling … and still ski whenever I can.
In the UK I’m best known for my cheese counter at Cuculo, which I cultivated over nineteen years.
The inspiration for that came from trips to the local market with my Mum, where the cheese man would slip me a chunk of parmesan.
Since then I have developed my expertise in British, French and Italian cheeses which I cherish whenever I travel in those countries.
I love cooking as well.
I learned a lot at my Mum’s kitchen table and over the years I have cooked in all sorts of weird and wonderful places, including a month in Europe’s highest manned refuge, the Capanna Regina Margherita (pictured).
One evening I managed to cook for 80 people without any running water.
Image credit: Hejkal (via Wikipedia).
I’ve worked as a walking tour guide, a tour manager, as manager of a private four-star hotel in a tenth-century Papal lodge and, of course, as owner of Cuculo Cheese & Wine in England.
Customer service runs in my veins and is a unifying theme in everything I do.
MacNay Travel & Wine brings together all of my personal and professional interests and I really look forward to greeting you in Italy in the very near future.
