FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Are Italian cooking schools a good way to see Italy?
Old Jul 25, 2015, 7:25 am
  #6  
Perche
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: SFO, VCE
Programs: AA EXP >4 MM, Lifetime Plat
Posts: 2,881
There are several options.

1. Most cooking classes are done by a person who does it in there home. They take you to the market, talk, teach, take you to their home, you cook, drink wine, eat, converse, then drink grappa or limoncello, and have a day living like an italian. This is usually offered by someone who has written a cookbook, used to be a chef, is a chef, someone who used to own a restaurant, is a sommelier, or has some great credential. They will always know enough english to be able to conduct the event in english. At the least, it's something you would check before reserving. Almost all do. If the class includes several couples from different countries, it may be multilingual, with talking in english, french, german, and italian not being uncommon.

2. You go to a class offered by a restaurant, or a place like Eataly. This is not recommended, because the class will be conducted in Italian. Usually it's a famous chef, or held at a Michelin star or similar high end restaurant. The chef may know a little bit of english, but basically, they are not catering to english speakers. They will demonstrate, it will be a visual lesson, the explanations and talking will be in Italian, but it will not be very hands on unless it is a small town in Piemonte or Sicily. You can ask questions in english, and the chef will be able to answer in some broken english typically, but don't expect them to cater to someone speaking english. It will not be very hands on, as in option #1, the chef may just let you slice the vegetables, put some toppings on crostini, etc. These will be more watching than doing. Then you eat, but you will not have played too big a part in preparing the food.

3. A language school. There are language schools everywhere. They have learned that it is profitable to make a small kitchen and to offer an option of a, "cooking class." Language schools will have students from South America, Japan, China, Austria, Denmark, France. They only allow people to speak in Italian, because that's what the students are there to learn. And, the cooking classes are not taught by a real expert. The duty usually falls to whichever language teacher is considered to be the best cook. They are not necessarily professional at teaching people how to cook. These classes can be fun especially if you are a student at the school and are having fun with your classmates, but generally they are awful. Sometimes the food is not even very edible.

4. Cena a casa, o a domicilia, but be careful not to be signing up for take out food. Similar to web based things like AirBnb, Uber, there has been an explosion of people who offer you to come to there house, help them cook, and you eat. This is not like option number 1, generally done by someone who is more or less a professional. These are just offered by plain people or a couple who consider themselves to be a good cook, and they invite you into their home to eat dinner with them, at a very fair price. You help them cook, and you will learn. Unless you are part of a large group, typically there will be 4-5 couples from different couples. The hosts are skilled at making it interactive, despite language barriers. The prosecco and wine flows, and they are lots of fun, and very cultural enlightening. Of course, as with any web-based service, your experience may vary. In Rome there is a guy who is a fully trained chef, and is a working chef at a great restaurant, who has an apartment near the Vatican with a gorgeous view patio. He holds great, "help me cook, then we'll eat," experiences in his apartment. In Naples there are two sisters who bring in a third friend, and you all cook and eat in one of the most stylish apartments in the city. These people do it not just for the money, they really enjoy the interaction. There is a website, and they are everywhere, Florence, Venice, and in almost every medium size town. It's a big thing in Italy. I just don't remember the website. There is a major website for it, just like you can type in AirBnb and a city and find out who is offering an apartment, you can do this too to eat in someone's home.

I would recommend option 1 or 4. This is the way to experience Italy and get to go into a home, and learn the culture and the food, not by taking a selfie in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

If you like the wines from Piemonte, then you are wise. Piemonte kicks Tuscany in the butt when it comes to food and wine. I think that most of the cooking schools there are run by restaurants in cities like Alba, or somewhere in Langhe, with the exception of the city of Torino, where you can arrange a class in a home very easily, just like in any major city.

Everyone knows what UNESCO is, and they name certain cities as World Heritage sites that must be protected. Italy has more world heritage sites than any city in the world. Less well known is that UNESCO also has cities that are considered, creative cities for gastronomy, music, literature, design, crafts and folk art, media, etc. The best are chosen by a panel of experts. The Creative cities for gastronomy in Italy are Bologna, Torino, and Fabriano. Tuscany loses. The regions are Emilia Romagna, Piemonte, and Le Marche.

They just redid another selection, it is not really out there yet, but the choice of the best came down to Alba in Piemonte, and Parma in Emilia Romagna. Parma edged out Alba as the best city to eat at in Italy by Unesco, in what is referred to as the battle between prosciutto and truffles, with prosciutto di Parma eking out the victory.

I don't know what that has to do with cooking schools, but if you prefer the wines of Piemonte, that is where the best wine in Italy is made, and you should consider going there and taking a cooking class, especially if you can get one in an apartment, so that you soak up the culture, and not just go there to take pictures of yourself in front of statues and buildings.
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