Following our recent trip to The Dandenong Ranges and the subsequent interest created in chestnuts, we decided to hold a special Castagne Festival Happy Hour.

Robert and his trusty kitchen staff prepared 10 kilos of both roasted and boiled chestnuts, which were kindly donated by Lifestyle’s Tony Bernardo.

Of course, before the nuts were dished up, they had to be removed from their shells.

So, we enlisted the Assisi Castagne Deliverance Committee, which included residents, Lucia Pane, Giuseppina Busacca, Teresa Lattuada, Liliana Bona, Giuseppina Agosta and Tina from Lifestyle. After the painstaking task of removing the little parcels of bliss from their shells was complete, the Committee also acted as official ‘tasters’.

This was a wildly successful event which we hope will become an annual fixture.