What Is Growing in QB Cucina’s Kitchen Garden This August?

18 August 2026

Our Sustainable Farm (OSF)

August at One Belvedere Tuscany brings QB Cucina’s kitchen garden this August into focus as part of the restaurant’s seasonal approach. Rather than following a fixed crop list, the kitchen works with ingredients as they become ready to harvest, complemented by produce from carefully selected local organic producers. This garden-to-table connection allows Chef Federico Viti and his team to shape each menu around seasonality, freshness, and the natural rhythm of the estate.

Seasonal vegetables and greens are gathered at peak ripeness, while the current summer menu features zucchini and zucchini flowers, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, romaine lettuce, herbs, melon, watermelon and apricots. Together, these seasonal ingredients show how August shapes QB Cucina’s fresh, vegetable-led cooking.

What Is Growing in QB Cucina's Kitchen Garden This August?

One Belvedere Tuscany dedicates part of its 50-hectare regenerative farm to vegetables and orchards, alongside vineyards, olive groves and other cultivated areas. The garden supplies seasonal vegetables and greens to QB Cucina, where Chef Federico Viti and his team build menus around freshness, availability and the character of each ingredient.

August is a productive moment in the Tuscan growing season. Rather than presenting the garden as a fixed catalogue, QB Cucina follows the harvest as it changes. The current summer menu reflects this rhythm through zucchini, zucchini flowers, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, lettuce and fresh herbs such as basil, mint, oregano, chives, tarragon, parsley and thyme. Summer fruits including melon, watermelon and apricots also appear across the menu throughout the warm summer season.

How Does the August Kitchen Garden Shape QB Cucina's Menu?

QB Cucina is proudly Deliciously Vegetarian, and its menus are closely connected to land and season. Lunch changes with the harvest, while the gourmet dinner is designed around the harvest of the week.

A zucchini flower can become part of a gnocco with potatoes, zucchini, fresh goat cheese and mint. Tomatoes can appear with organic spaghetti, garlic, oil, chilli, oregano and chives. Peppers can accompany tortelli filled with sheep’s ricotta, while roasted eggplant can be paired with chickpeas and fermented lemon. These examples show how summer produce can guide a dish without unnecessary complexity.

Why Does Regenerative Growing Matter to the Garden?

One Belvedere Tuscany approaches farming through regenerative agriculture, with attention to soil health, biodiversity and long-term ecological balance. Practices described by the estate include composting, cover cropping and crop rotation. On-site composting returns organic matter to the gardens, while low-drip irrigation and collected rainwater support a more considered approach to water use.

During Tuscany’s hot, dry summer, careful water management becomes especially important. The estate uses mulch around garden plants to help reduce evapotranspiration, retain moisture in the soil and suppress weed growth. Together with low-drip irrigation and rainwater collection, this helps the garden use water more efficiently while supporting plants through periods of intense heat.

For the kitchen garden, these practices connect food production with the health of the farm.

This approach also supports QB Cucina’s zero-waste philosophy. Chef Federico’s kitchen considers the structure and potential of ingredients carefully, looking for ways to use them fully. The connection between garden and kitchen therefore extends beyond freshness. It influences how ingredients are selected, handled and transformed.

Can Guests Experience QB Cucina's Kitchen Garden?

Yes. The garden is part of the wider One Belvedere Tuscany experience rather than an area separated from hospitality. Cooking classes begin with a guided tour of the garden and cantina before guests take part in hands-on preparation and a shared dinner. Estate experiences can also include walks through the farm, vineyards, olive groves and ornamental vegetable garden.

Seeing vegetables and herbs where they grow gives context to a menu that changes according to availability. It also makes the relationship between regenerative farming and vegetarian gastronomy easier to understand.

For guests dining at QB Cucina, the same connection appears at the table. The restaurant sources its ingredients from the farm and trusted organic producers in the region, bringing estate agriculture and local relationships into one considered dining experience.

August in the Garden, Reflected at the Table

What is growing in QB Cucina’s kitchen garden this August is best understood as a changing seasonal harvest rather than a fixed list. The estate confirms that its garden provides vegetables and greens, while QB Cucina’s summer menu currently highlights zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, lettuce, herbs and warm-season fruits alongside ingredients from trusted local producers.

At One Belvedere Tuscany, the garden, farm and restaurant work as connected parts of the same regenerative approach. August makes that relationship especially visible, with fresh produce guiding menus that respond to the week, the weather and the land.

Experience the August harvest through QB Cucina at One Belvedere Tuscany, where seasonal vegetarian dining offers a direct and thoughtful connection to the estate and its surroundings.