The Discovery of Italy through its Culinary Traditions

Course Description

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Italian food and wine are probably as famous as Italy's artistic and historical assets: you'll be surprised by the history behind the food, and how strictly related to the culture and heritage of an area a wine or a dish can be. Food is one of the cornerstones of Italian culture and even if times are changing and life is more and more frenetic, Italians still find a great pleasure in sitting at a table, at home or at the restaurant, and share a good meal together: this is because to the people of Italy, Italian food and wine are part of their culture and, very often, also of their own family history. Italian cuisine can be difficult to define, as recipes, tastes, ingredients and cooking styles vary enormously from region to region. One thing that most people will agree on though is that it is one of the richest and most delicious cuisines in the world.
The aim of this course is to introduce students to Italian culinary traditions and provide them with the opportunity to take part in "hands-on" cooking lessons under the guidance of one of Cattolica chefs.

COURSE CONTENTS
This course will combine lessons in class with cooking lessons. In class students will explore one of the world-renowned aspects of Italian culture, its cuisine. They will learn about regional cuisine, the importance of the Slow Food movement and the great traditions and techniques of Italian gastronomy. Films, extracts from books, articles from the press will be used in class to illustrate and explain the role of food and wine in Italian culture. Students will also take part in a field trip to Eataly food-market.
During each practical cooking class, different recipes will be explored. Students will discover the best of traditional and contemporary Italian regional cuisine and will have the opportunity to participate "hands-on" during the lessons, thus gaining experience to repeat the recipes once back home. Each lesson will be followed by the most important part of any cooking session: the tasting!