Cooking Tour at a Glance: Intro, Itinerary, Dates and Prices

Some Enchanting Italian Experiences You'll Always Remember

A Garden, Cooking and Cartoon Adventure with Fausto in his Little Paradise

On a sunny May day, I took a couple to Fausto's restaurant to cook. As they were kneading bread, she looked out the kitchen window and said, "Here I am in a kitchen in Italy, looking out at the sun, lemons on trees, roses and I'm making bread with the man I love. What else in life could I want?"

Fausto Oneto's well known Italian restaurant, U Giancu is country style place with big windows looking out over the olive trees that his family opened 40 years ago. In the restaurant's kitchen garden and gardens on terraces, they grow al kinds of vegetables, have fruit, lemon, fig and olive trees and grow an incredible variety of herbs, especially basil. You'll enjoy your tour of all the gardens with Fausto who has a vast knowledge of vegetables and herbs!

Since 1972 Fausto has collected 1500 original cartoon drawings from his artist customers from Americans Johnny Hart, Charles Schultz to important cartoonists from Europe, North America and Japan. About 700 drawings hang on the walls. Some added fun if you love cartoons!

Fausto goes with the flow, using imagination, and doesn't plan rigid lessons. He just sets out knowing the end result. Despite his refreshingly down-to-earth approach to life, he's an extremely organized and professional Italian chef. You cook about 12 things, everything from 3 types of focaccia, to soup and tagliatelle with vegetables of the season, to chick pea polenta, to rack of lamb bathed in a pile of herbs, to apple cake and much more!

A very informative and hands-on lesson with dishes you can easily make at home. Of course, you dine on some of your creations at a bountiful meal with good local wines Fausto selects. Then come his comical, impromptu performances--I won't spoil the surprises!

Vernazza, Italy: the Most Beautiful of All Cinque Terre Villages

In Vernazza, Italy, where you stop for lunch, the beach side piazza looks like a Van Gogh painting awash in yellows, golds, oranges, pale pink, dark red, dark and light blues and greens. Along three edges of the piazza, run tall, narrow, concrete houses, all attached, each a different colour. Fishing dinghies rest face up or down in the sun or in the shade. Big orange and yellow umbrellas shade four families' restaurants. The ancient grey stone church stands right at the sea's edge, at the rocks and sand. Green feathery trees border the harbour side of the piazza. Vineyards tumble down to dark grey cliffs meeting the clear blue sea.

At Gianni's, my favourite restaurant, under yellow umbrellas, you drink cool, light white wine and gaze out to sea. You dine on fresh pasta with pesto of basil, pine nuts, garlic and parmesan cheese, with pieces of green beans and potatoes mixed in, and a casserole with layers of potatoes, tomatoes and little fish seasoned with herbs. Yummy!!!

I've been going to Cinque Terre since 1979 and the first thing I always do is go to Vernazza and head to Gianni's!

Cooking Tour At a Glance: Intro, Dates, Prices & Cooking Tour Itinerary

Italian Cooking & Fun with Chef Paolo

Paolo Monti is officially the hotel manager, but with all his cooking talent, vast food knowledge and all his jokes and humour, he should be doing a stand-up comedian cooking show! Originally from Tuscany, effervescent, fun loving Paolo has travelled the world in his wide ranging 25 year culinary career. He has been teaching cooking classes and running his own cooking tours for about seven years, first in Portovenere and now in other parts of Italy.

He's been a waiter, restaurant manager, restaurant owner, food & beverage manager, hotel manager, and marketing and administration manager in hotels and restaurants. He's worked in Italy, Germany, Florida, Bahrain, Greece and Oman. No wonder he says he's fluent in English, French and German, can speak understandable Spanish, gets by in bad Greek and can make ladies laugh in Japanese. A real Italian character, one of our most popular chefs!

On arrival he greets you with a welcome Italian apertivo and crostini. In front of a huge table loaded with herbs, grains, cheeses, olive oils, vegetables and more, he takes you through a talk and tasting of these main ingredients of Italian cuisine. Fascinating! A great chance to compare tastes of olive oils, herbs and more!

Then it's into the kitchen classroom to watch him as he shows you how to prepare a variety of quick, attractive, and light Italian dishes. You're always welcome to help him. Of course, you have to taste them all! A bountiful grazing!!

In my last Italian cooking lesson, he cooked and we ate:

• prawns with beans, arugola and lemon
• fresh mozzarella with a raw tomato sauce
• mussels sauteed with garlic, lemon, wine
• mussels sauteed with celery, carrot, Sambuca
• crispy prosciutto with sage vinegar dressing over radicchio
• marinated beef with arugola and mushrooms
• linguine with pesto
• pasta squares with porcini mushrooms & prawns
• pasta with raw sauce of tomato, basil, olives
• fish baked with fresh tomato, potato, basil
• king prawns with mint, basil, saffron
• beef tenderloin with balsamic vinegar & grape sauce
• puff pastry nests with raspberries & zabaglione (Are you still hungry?)

Cooking Tour At a Glance: Intro, Dates, Prices and Cooking Tour Itinerary

To Reserve: Contact Margaret Cowan at margaret@italycookingschools.com or call 1-800-557-0370 wihtin North America or 604-681-4074.

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