Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cooking Schools for Travelers
91
International Cooking School
of Italian Food & Wine
La Cucina Italiana, Demystified
Bologna, Italy
If you're going to run a cooking school in
Italy, Bologna's the place to do it. Acknowl-
edged as the gastronomic capital of Italy,
it's one of the most fascinating cities in the
world for food shopping, cooking, and eat-
ing. In1987, the Italian government invited
American food writer Mary Beth Clark to
launch these English-language culinary
workshops based in Bologna; the author
of
Trattoria
and
Essentials of the Italian
Kitchen,
she runs six programs a year in
May, September, and October.
Cooking classes take place in an authen-
tic 16th-century Renaissance palazzo. Amid
the warm sienna-colored stone arcades of
the city's historic heart, it's conveniently
close to the food markets that are such a
part of cooking in Italy—the Pescherie Vec-
chie, the Mercato delle Erbe, and the food
shops of Via Drapperie. (The first thing the
class does is head for the market, before
they even begin to think about cooking.) A
fully outfitted teaching kitchen in the high-
ceilinged palazzo serves as classroom, with
a charming baroque salon attached where
the class and any friends who've paid a fee
to join as “tasters” can dine on what they've
cooked. Though guests don't stay in the
palazzo itself, accommodations in nearby
hotels are included in the course package.
Students gather for a meal at the International Cooking School of Italian Food & Wine in Bologna.
