07/03/2026
Recently, Joe had the opportunity to visit his kindred spirit, Italian butcher, Dario Cecchini in Panzano, Italy.
Dario and Joe originally met several years ago when Dario was a visiting chef for a wine dinner at the James Beard Award winner, Michael Smith Restaurant. Michael brought Dario to Bichelmeyer Meats to select his meat for the dinner. Despite the language barrier, Dario and Joe had an instant connection. After Dario made his beef selection and cut it accordingly, they traded aprons as a sign of their new friendship and admiration for each other. Thank you Michael Smith Restaurant for the initial introduction!
Since then, it has been a dream of Joe's to visit Dario at his butcher shop, Macelleria Cecchini - family owned for EIGHT generations! Thankfully, that dream was realized. The pictures below tell more of the story and you can see how unforgettable the experience was.
We sincerely thank our friends, Julie Sano and Jasper Mirabile for helping us reconnect with Dario. We are ever so grateful for your efforts!
A heartfelt thank you to Jim and our staff at Bichelmeyer Meats for keeping the daily operations going while Joe traveled. We truly appreciate you!
Dario and Kim, words can't express how blessed we are by your generosity and friendship. Thank you for the authentic JOY you brought to us and people all over the world! Our hearts are full!
To learn more about Dario you can visit his beautifully done website: dariocecchini.com. We also highly recommend watching Chef's Table (Season 6 Episode 2) on Netflix. Better yet, go visit him in person!
Take the trip. Sit at his table. Eat the beef. Give thanks and be glad! CARNE DIEM!
