Italian Cookery Courses

Nothing enhances the vibrant colours and seductive aromas of Italian cooking than creating it in its own backyard. Think of a bistecca Fiorentina sizzling away on a grill against a vista of cypress trees, eagerly awaiting the companionship of a glass of Chianti from the neighbouring azienda, or a sauce of lemon, capers and chilli poured from a padella over a piece of swordfish fresh from a Calabrian fish market.

No wonder, therefore, that the Sunday supplements carry numerous advertisements for cookery courses in Il bel paese, or punching the relevant keywords into an internet search engine produce 10 or more pages of results. A market that existed only on the margins 20 years ago is now a lucrative sector for travel operators.

Given the range of options on offer for what the late, great Keith Floyd termed “gastronauts”, there is little value in singling out a small number of individual packages. Time and space is better served by outlining the most important aspects of the experience in order to allow one to make an informed choice. So, for instance, what about the destination? You will find packages based in many regions, although the majority appear to favour Tuscany. In all probability this is the result of the colonisation of the region by English-speaking second-homers that led to it being christened Chiantishire. Certainly, it is a safe bet that Pisa airport’s carousels won’t be short of luggage checked in by foreign foodies anytime soon.

Price and Itinerary

The neighbouring regions of Umbria and Emilia Romagna are also popular, followed by Lazio, home to the capital Rome, and to a lesser extent the southern destinations of Calabria and Puglia. Price and itinerary will always play a big role in decision making, but if you are still left weighing up where to go, why not simply head for the home of whatever your favourite dish is. You may have made it numerous times in your own kitchen, but imagine using local ingredients to create it in the place it calls home.

In terms of the itinerary, ensure that the number of classes matches your thirst for knowledge. Quite simply, don’t sign up for a trip that is aimed at more serious students eager to spend five hours or more in the kitchen each day if relaxation is your priority. The size of the class is important, too: the smaller the number of students, the more time the chef can devote to offering pointers to individuals.

An important part of the experience should be group visits to local producers to discover the philosophy and technique behind a particular staple, and how to judge quality. Local markets, too, offer an insight into how Italians shop – make sure a visit to one is also pencilled in. Markets illustrate the importance Italians place on handling, smelling and sampling meat, dairy, fruit and veg that is a world away from temperature controlled supermarket cabinets and shrink-wrapped packaging.

Backbiting About Pasta

A word, too, about the competitive nature of certain individuals you may run into on a cookery break. Of course, everyone wants to do their best, and, yes, there is nothing wrong with being proud of the knowledge you have accumulated. But don’t try and be teacher’s pet, or use your high-school Italian in a desperate attempt to achieve a little one-upmanship. Remember that you are all in this together for the period of a week or 10 days, so please all try to get along, and not let every evening meal descend into backbiting about overcooked pasta, or the lack of seasoning in a peasant bean soup.

These packages should be considered an opportunity to sample regional dishes and learn how their distinctive character was shaped by the raw ingredients that the surrounding countryside provided. Along the way, you may sharpen your knife skills, or finally discover how to prepare a globe artichoke, but it is making that connection between the dishes you enjoy and the land they were born out of that is the true value of an Italian cookery course.