Two weeks in Italy and the absolute highlight was our day with Chef Michele. I had seen the amazing reviews so it was an easy decision to make a deposit. We booked the experience about 4 or 5 months in advance of our visit and glad we did. He books up early and for good reason!
The booking was for my husband and I (and I love to cook) and our two kids aged 11 and 8.
We opted to meet him at the market where we shopped together for ingredients for our meal - we visited a butcher, the fish market and the fruit and vegetable market. We also visited a spice shop together. He let us decide which two pastas we'd make and it was largely based on what we found in the vegetable market that morning in addition to our personal preferences.
We ultimately decided on:
- Squash and Porcini Gnocchi
- Linguine Bolognese
- Bruschetta
- Chocolate/Vanilla swirled Gelato
As we walked to his home (about 10-15 mins away) after shopping, he pointed out his favorite sandwich and gelato shops, taught us about cicchetti and where to find it, and so much more. We made mental notes and the next day returned to his favorite places for great snacks and bites and gelato!
The day totally exceeded our expectations. It was a great cooking class, my kids loved all the hands-on time making pastas or learning to make gelato, and the end result was an incredible meal! He has a very seamless way of teaching you, but also allowing you to relax and watch to fully enjoy the day. But it was so much more than cooking - Chef Michele is very warm and personable - he is a father and was good with our kids. He is full of fascinating information about Italy and Venice. His home is gorgeous and full of so much history. We talked about his experiences over 30+ years as a professional chef, his family, and our shared enjoyment of food, history, travel.
It was an amazing experience. Our kids still say it is the best part of their two-week trip to Italy (and they enjoyed a lot of fun stuff in those two weeks). Only downside to the class is that now my family has expectations that I'll be able to recreate what Chef Michele taught us! I hope I can! read more