Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
meal, but other great desserts include
zabaglione
(egg and marsala custard),
torta di
ricotta e pera
(pear and ricotta cake), cream-stuffed profiteroles, or
cannoli Siciliani,
the
ricotta-stuffed shell pastry immortalised thus in
The Godfather:
'Leave the gun. Take the
cannoli.'
WINE & COOKERY COURSES
You can hardly throw a stone in Italy without hitting a culinary course in progress, but there are better
ways of finding a cookery school. You'll find some of the big hitters below.
»
Città del Gusto
(
Click here
) Six floors of hot, nonstop gourmet-on-gourmet action in Rome, from
live cooking demonstrations and TV-show tapings to wine courses in the 'Theatre of Wine'. All work-
shops and demos are run by
Gambero Rosso,
Italy's most esteemed food magazine. You'll find a
second branch in
Naples
( 081 1980 8900; Via Coroglio 57/104e) .
»
Culinary Adventures
(
www.peggymarkel.com
) Indulge in and learn about cooking Italian dishes
with local, sustainably sourced ingredients at decadent week-long courses in Sicily, Amalfi and
Tuscany.
»
Eataly
This monument to artisanal food, with branches in Rome (
Click here
) & Turin (
Click here
),
offers samples, wine tasting, workshops and courses, some of which go on for up to two days. Italian-
speakers will have more options.
»
Italian Food Artisans
(
www.foodartisans.com/workshops
) Slip behind the scenes in restaurant kit-
chens and private homes and discover Italy's best-kept food secrets in Cinque Terre, Piedmont,
Emilia-Romagna, Campania and Sicily on one-day workshops or week-long adventures with cook-
book author Pamela Sheldon Johns.
»
Tasting Places
(
www.tastingplaces.com
) Recent offerings include excursions to regional Slow Food
festivals, a 'White Truffle and Wine' weekend in Piedmont and gourmet getaways in the Veneto and
Tuscany.
»
La Vecchia Scuola Bolognese
(
Click here
) In food-heaven Bologna, this offers three-hour pasta-
making courses (in English and Italian) plus lunch (€86).
Caffè (Coffee)
Most Italian mornings start with a creamy, frothy cappuccino (named for the Capuchin
monks, with their brown hoods), which is rarely taken after about 11am and usually
served not too hot. Otherwise it's espresso all the way, though you could ask for a tiny
stain of milk in a
caffè macchiato
. On the hottest days of summer, a
granita di caffè
(cof-
fee with shaved ice and whipped cream) is ideal. For more on the Italian Coffee Culture
see
Click here
.
