TUSCAN COOKING CLASS - TREVINANO, ITALY

TUSCAN COOKING CLASS

LA PAROLINA RISTORANTE

TUSCANY, ITALY 

 Upon check in at our hotel in Tuscany (Fonteverde), we asked the concierge if she could book us into a cooking class during our stay.  She said to give her some time and she would call our room if there was something available.  We got the call and were told to be at the front desk at 10:00 am the next day.  A driver was waiting and he drove down the winding Tuscan roads for about fifteen minutes before he turned on to what looked like a residential street in the middle of nowhere.  The houses were very nice and the views of the Tuscan valley were beautiful.  He parked in front of a home that had a small sign that read La Parolina Ristorante.  There was a nice patio on the right side with seating and views.  We entered La Parolina not knowing what to expect.  We were greeted by a young man who asked us to wait a bit for the chef.  I walked outside and enjoyed the view and then re-entered to find a smiling chef in a white jacket.  Her name was Di Iside e Ramano.  A charming and cute little chef I thought.  Chef Di Iside walked us into the kitchen where 3 to 4 cooks were busy prepping for the days service.  The kitchen was immaculate and appeared to be the kind of place a chef dreams of.  Great lighting, equipment, air conditioning and space to work.  Chef asked us if we wanted something to drink and mentioned a few things.  When champagne came up I said "sure" and happily consumed the bubbly liquid while we cooked.  We had no idea of what we would be cooking or that Di Iside was a well known chef with award winning talents.  When she told us that her restaurant had earned a Michelin Star I about dropped my champagne glass.  WTF I thought to myself.  Her we are cooking with a Michelin Star Chef in her personal kitchen.  It was the things a foodies dreams are made of.  Something unexpected and oh so perfect.  I was in awe now.  Living and enjoying every second of this experience.  Chef started us out making fresh pasta.  Simply flour, water, eggs and olive oil.  Seems so easy but it is an art to make the right dough with consistency and texture.  My wife did the mixing and we all pitched in to roll the dough into long thin pieces of pasta.
The pasta cooked up in seconds and really tasted good.  I began cubing day old bread for a traditional Tuscan Salad.  The bread was hard and took some hand work to cut through.  After cubing the Chef placed the bread in the oven to cook.  My daughter was busy cutting vegetables for the salad while my wife moved on to making pasta sauces.  I was given the task of cutting a filet of beef into tiny squares for a Beef Tartar dish.  I did this flawlessly (smile).  We asked Chef Di Iside if we could learn a few pasta sauces.  She asked which ones and we said Tomato, Carbonara and Cacio Pepe.  We had had all of these sauces during our visit to Rome and had really taking a liking to them.  Without hesitation the Chef began pulling out ingredients and asking that we prep.  She showed us the three sauces and we were able to enjoy a taste of each right there in the kitchen.  We finished up the Beef Tartar and Tuscan Salad along with a Chocolate desert with strawberries.  All looked great in the kitchen.  The Chef then asked us to take a walk next door to visit her rental property where we could possibly stay on another visit to Tuscany.  The two bedroom apartment was adjacent to the restaurant and dreams of staying here and cooking at La Parolina rushed through my head.  This was a cute little apartment that was clean, cozy and attached to a Michelin Star restaurant.  And don't forget the view. Simply beautiful from both rooms.  We strolled back to La Parolina and passed the Chefs herb garden right in front of the restaurant.  This is cooking to me.  Fresh and local ingredients grown on the property.  We went back into La Parolina and were seated at a table.  A nice glass of wine arrived and some fresh breads.  The breads were amazing.  Not only beautiful to look at but incredibly tasty.  I had one piece that had potato baked into the middle of it.  Wow...this was the bomb of breads.  Next came the food that we had spent the afternoon prepping and cooking.  First we enjoyed the Beef Tartar with the Tuscan Salad.  Have to admit this was delicious.  Next was the fresh homemade pasta with tomato sauce.  Light and fresh.  So simple and so perfect.  Delicious!  The restaurant staff used the remaining meat that was not cubed for the salad and made a great Filet of Beef with Zucchini.
Again simple preparation of quality ingredients and delicious.  We were all blown away by the desert we helped create in the kitchen.  A warm chocolate cake that oozed with chocolate.  Still can't figure out how the caked cooked all around and the center stayed gooey.  It was chocolate perfection.  Wow...what a great meal and we helped cook it.  This was a day that the entire family did not want to end.  We liked Chef Di Iside and her food so much we asked to make a reservation that same night for dinner.  After a few hours back the hotel we returned to La Parolina for dinner and enjoyed one of the best dinner of our entire lives.  That blog is next.  Cannot say enough good things about Chef Di Iside or La Parolina and our experience cooking here.  Truly and dream of a lifetime come true for me.  The cost of this class was a bargain when you look at the food we enjoyed and the hours that we spent with a Michelin Star Chef.  I would do this ten times over if I had the chance. 

TUSCAN COOKING CLASS

COOKING CLASS WITH CHEF DI ISIDE OF LA PAROLINA

LA PAROLINA IS LOCATED IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA HIGH IN THE TUSCAN HILLS

LA PAROLINA LOOKS LIKE A SMALL HOUSE

ENTRANCE TO LA PAROLINA

OUTDOOR SEATING WITH GREAT VIEWS

SEATING AREA WITH CANOPIES

LOVE THE VIEWS OF TUSCANY FROM LA PAROLINA

ENTRANCE TO LA PAROLIINA

SMALL WAITING AREA IN FRONT OF MAIN DINING ROOM

MAIN DINING ROOM 

BRIGHT, CLEAN AND ELEGANT

LIKE DINING IN A TUSCAN FARMHOUSE

TABLE SETTING AT LA PAROLINA

CHEF DI ISIDE PHOTO IN THE DINING ROOM.  THINK SHE LIKES CATS TOO

VIEW OF TUSCANY FROM LA PAROLINA

INCREDIBLE CLEAN AND MODERN KITCHEN

FIRST CLASS OPERATION IN THIS KITCHEN

WHAT A KITCHEN!

A LITTLE COOKING AND A LITTLE CHAMPAGNE FOR THIS CHEF

INGREDIENTS FOR FRESH PASTA

MIX UP THE DRY INGREDIENTS AND ADD EGG AND WATER

MAKING FRESH PASTA AT LA PAROLINA

GOTTA GET THE DOUGH JUST RIGHT

CHEF DI ISIDE SHOWS US HOW TO MAKE SPAGHETTI PASTA

EVERYONE STARTING ROLLING THE PASTA DOUGH

I GOT THE HANG OF IT AND WAS ROLLING PASTA ON THE STAINLESS STEEL

WE ROLLED OUT A PAN FULL OF FRESH PASTA

FRESH PASTA COOKED IN SECONDS NOT MINUTES

ROASTED TOMATO, BASIL, RED PEPPERS AND GARLIC

PANCETTA CUBED FOR THE CARBONARA SAUCE

A LITTLE PASTA WATER ADDED TO PANCETTA FOR THE CARBONARA

A FEW THINGS GOING ON AT ONCE HERE

CHEF SHOWS US THE WAY TO MAKE PASTA SAUCE

FRESH PASTA ADDED TO THE PANCETTA AND PASTA WATER

A LITTLE FRESH CRACKED PEPPER

CARBONARA IS NOW READY FOR THE EGG

CHEF USED A DOUBLE BOILER TO HEAT THE EGG AND WHISKED.
THIS WENT DOWN ON THE PLATE BEFORE SHE ADDED THE PASTA AND PANCETTA

PASTA ADDD TO EGG AND MIXED

PERFECT PASTA CARBONARA

ROASTED TOMATOES, BASIL, GARLIC AND OLIVE OIL

A PINCH OF SALT

FRESH PASTA WITH TOMATO SAUCE

MAKING CACIO PEPE PASTA

SIMPLY PARMESAN AND PECORINO CHEESE WITH PEPPER

CACIO PEPE PASTA IS AWESOME!

A FEW INGREDIENTS FOR THE BEEF TARTAR WITH TUSCAN SALAD

FILET OF BEEF

I HAD TO CUT MOST OF THIS FILET INTO SMALL CUBES FOR THE BEEF TARTAR

RAW BEEF CUT INTO SMALL CUBES

CHEF PULLS OUT THE MOLD FOR THIS ONE

TUSCAN SALAD ON BOTTOM AND BEEF ON TOP

NOT A BAD LOOKING DISH WE MADE

CHEF DI ISIDE SHOWS OFF OUR CREATION

DAYS OLD BREAD WAS HARD AS A ROCK

PREPPING THE VEGETABLES

EVERYONE WAS CUTTING SOMETHING

TWO GREAT CHEFS IN A MICHELIN STAR RESTAURANT

TUSCAN SALAD FRESH INGREDIENTS GO INTO A BOWL

COOKED OLD BREAD IS ADDED

CHOCOLATE AND BUTTER MELTED

MAKING A CHOCOLATE CAKE 

FINAL PRODUCT WAS AMAZING!

TOOK A BREAK FROM THE KITCHEN TO VIEW THE CHEFS RENTAL PROPERTY NEXT TO THE RESTAURANT

TWO BEDROOMS IN TUSCANY ATTACHED TO WORLD CLASS RESTAURANT AND CHEF

CHEF WITH HER SON

THE GUEST COTTAGE HAS BEAUTIFUL VIEWS

HERB GARDEN AT LA PAROLINA

DOES NOT GET FRESHER THAN THIS.  RIGHT FROM YOUR OWN YARD

THE BREADS AT LA PAROLINA ARE AMAZING

WARM BREAD WITH POTATO IN THE MIDDLE.  OH..SO GOOD!

TO THINK WE CREATED THIS DISH IN THE KITCHEN TODAY

OUR FRESH PASTA WITH TOMATO SAUCE WAS DELICIOUS

WISH I COULD RECREATE THIS AT HOME NOW

FILET OF BEEF WITH ZUCCHINI

THE CHOCOLATE CAKE WAS INCREDIBLE

THE CHOCOLATE OOZED OUT FROM THE CAKE

CHEF DI ISIDE COOKIES AND CHOCOLATES

SO HAPPY WITH OUR DAY WITH CHEF DI ISIDE AT LA PAROLINA

CHEF DI ISIDE AND ME....MAHALO FOR A GREAT DAY CHEF.  LOVE IT!!!!