I don't think we could have started our time in Firenze with a better experience than a cooking class at In Tavola. We literally went from the train station to our apartment to the cooking school in about an hour, and immediately we were immersed in lessons in Tuscan cuisine.
On arrival we sat at a table with the other four classmates. We got to know eachother for a few minutes before washing up, putting on our disposable aprons, and moving into the commercial kitchen, which was prepped well just for us but also had a delicious demi glace cooking on the stove... something that the REAL cooking class had been working on through the day. I couldn't help but lift the lid and just examine the beautifully rich brew, with it's amazing aromas wafting up at me. I was so happy when our instructor allowed me to take a couple spoons to taste.
The 4 course meal was slightly different than advertised on the website when we registered, but that's fine. It was all very new to us and has inspired us to try new things at home in Canada.
The first course was artichokes on some croutons. We learned a very new way to us, to prepare artichokes and cook them down into something that could be served with sauce as an appetizer. We love artichokes, but typically have only steamed them and had them whole. Now we know better!
The pasta was a fresh spaghetti with eggplant in sauce plus a cheesy herby creamy addition on top. OH MY was that good! The eggplants were dredged and fried first and cooked into the sauce, making the sauce ever-so-slightly creamy and rich. Just amazing.
The main course was hunter's chicken, or what we know as chicken cacciatore. However, this was very different from any recipe we had seen back at home in Canada. We are used to something much more tomato based, but this had a very different background flavour and an altogether different process. The end result was so, so good.
And the dessert... well I guess you could almost call it a tiramisu but with a blend of liquors and custards and chocolate that was just fabulously decadent.
Once we completed cooking, we headed outside and to the beautiful wine cellar to enjoy our creations.
We were served our meals with some of their own wine... which is probably the only thing I could say was not 5 star. It was definitely a little cheap, and one bottle per 4 people is maybe a little low. If In Tavola is listening, I would recommend to them they think about serving some beverages during the class. That would make the whole time just perfect!
But other than that, it was exactly what we were hoping for. Thanks, In Tavola! read more