KITCHEN CULTURE

Enjoy the best of Bologna on this hands-on cooking class. Gourmands will discover the city’s tastiest secrets and find out why Bologna has rightfully gained the uncontested reputation as Italy’s gastronomic capital.

In 1999 your host and instructor decided to make a career out of her unwavering passion for food and has been delivering cooking lessons to fans of Italian cuisine ever since. Your day begins with a visit to one of the city’s food markets. Here you will become familiar with the daily rituals of the locals, shop for the ingredients needed for the cooking class and stop along the way to taste several delicacies. As you amble past the stalls brimming with endless rows of fresh produce, cheese and charcuterie your teacher will explain the origins of the products that you see and show you how to select prime quality, seasonal ingredients.

Next, make your way through Bologna’s winding streets and reach your host’s private kitchen. In a relaxing atmosphere, under her watchful, friendly eye, you will learn how to concoct a delicious Italian meal using simple, reliable techniques. Depending on the day of the week, the season and the personal taste of her guests, recipes might consist of traditional Bolognese platters, classic Emilian specialities reinterpreted with your instructor’s very own creative twist or other Italian regional dishes.

After the cooking class take a seat around the dinner table and feast on the meal you just prepared washed down with a glass of wine. Among the lasting benefits of the day are your newly acquired cooking skills, priceless culinary advice and these useful cooking mantras to remember when trying out the dishes in your own kitchen.

1. “Simplicity: less is more.” Indeed each dish has a protagonist, a star ingredient and the cook’s mission is to enhance that flavour, not to cover it up with too many aromas.

2. “Local, seasonal and rooted in history. Eat everything, in moderation. And cook it yourself.” No meal will ever be as rewarding as the one you prepared yourself, but of course the quality of the raw ingredients plays a decisive role.

3. “First you shop, then you cook, then you play.” Playing is about presentation, having fun combining different colours, so as to make your dish look as inviting as possible. All our senses are involved in the act of eating and appearance matters too. Thoughtful presentation whets the appetite and is a fundamental part of fine dining.

4. “Flavour, colour, texture: When you eat an apple, eat an apple. When you drink tea, drink tea. Savour the moment.” Tickle your tastebuds. Mull over each mouthful. Take your time. Eating great food is a divine experience.