So as I was previewing my post, the format kept changing and the pictures would not be placed in the correct spot. Because of this, I have put all of the pictures at the bottom of the post. I'm sorry about that and I hope the post makes sense.
I cannot begin to discuss the food that we cooked without explaining the environment in which we were learning. Villa Lucia is a private residence consisting of three large houses, two pools, a grotto, and a variety of beautiful gardens. The cooking school was held in the main house (shown below), where the kitchen and dining room were on the main level and the nine guests/students stayed on the second. Besides learning to cook, another goal of the trip was to be able to relax. As you can see, the gardens provided the perfect setting to do just that.
Below is a picture of our chef Fabio. Without him, our vacation would not have been a success. He is a wonderful chef (he actually worked as head chef in the states for a few years and had interesting stories about his staff, always referring to them using stereotypes that an American could not get away with) and taught us a lot. Actually, the most beneficial parts of the cooking lessons were the hands-on experiences that we were encouraged to partake in. I just graduated from college and will be looking to save as much money as possible, so learning how to prepare the food that I will be cooking was a huge help. We were taught how to fillet fish, scallop veal that turned into this beautiful creation, and made ravioli and tagliatelle from hand.
Oh. my. gosh. That looks so beautiful! That's the best vacation ever. Man, I need to work on my cooking skills. =)
Posted by: Julia | July 06, 2007 at 01:11 PM
hand made ravioli... i can smell it from here. and that is a long way..to smell a picture..you have made me want to go and cook that too does not happen very often thanks for the great read.. happy week end margie
Posted by: margie | July 06, 2007 at 11:21 PM
when things settle down, i'm definitely getting in on some of that ravioli!!!! see you soon.
Posted by: pigeontoes | July 07, 2007 at 11:05 AM
What a stunning setting, the perfect gift from your mum. To learn how to fillet a fish and make ravioli and tagliatelle sounds complicated, but great learning experience, well done!
Posted by: cruststation | July 07, 2007 at 04:49 PM
what a wonderful experience in such a beautiful setting!
Posted by: Veronica TM | July 07, 2007 at 09:37 PM
wow! what a fantastic experience... great lessons, a beautiful town, wonderful food... perfect :)
Posted by: amisha | July 09, 2007 at 08:55 AM