La Festa di Sant Oronzo

Festival of Local Patron Saint (Sant Oronzo)

Live music! Fireworks! Parades and processions featuring 300 year old statues! The entire city swelling with late night revellers.

Come play your part in this week of pasta making, cooking, eating and celebrating new friends with cases of local bubbly. (And yes, the school has air conditioning!)

But we do focus more on summer foods, Mediterranean salads, countless antipasti and gelato and sorbetti based on sun-ripened fruits. We still make fresh local pasta form scratch every day but it often is lighter, featuring raw pounded sauces, perfect for the height of the Mediterranean summer.

You’ll cook every meal, never repeat a wine and the late night amari tastings will have spent some quality time in the freezer.

You’ll

  • Master 8 different shapes of fresh pasta production, using only a butterknife, a rolling pin and the spoke from an old umbrella
  • Celebrate Sant Oronzo in Italy, Lecce’s biggest local holiday of the year (it’s actually so big that you need 5 days to contain it!)
  • Guided tasting of at least 16 different wines (we never repeat a wine, unless you ask to). All hyper local
  • Gain market skills, tricks and tips, from how to select fish, fruit and vegetables, legumes, wine and flours. Get to know all of our vendors by first name
  • Enjoy these chalkboard talks over wine: Who eats what where in Italy? The history of Italian wine. Italy’s contribution to world coffee culture. The materials of kitchen gear. 1493: Southern vegetables. Olive oil fraud and what to do about it
  • Begin to understand Italy, Italian food and Italian wine as an expression of the territory, history, geography and climate
  • Build Italian daily lifestyle habits, living for a week in one of Italy’s prettiest cities. By walking the same streets with a slower pace, you’ll get to know locals, the vendors, patrons in coffee and wine bars. You’ll also pick up enough Italian to play a part in the local community
  • Prepare 30 local Mediterranean side-dishes, each dripping with high-quality extra virgin olive oil
  • Revel in 10 healthy, wine-soaked feasts. Reconfirm your faith in humanity with time spent emotionally and intellectually connecting with people from all over the world, united through a love of Italian food and wine
  • Learn about the history of amari (Italy’s after dinner drinks). Southern Italy’s largest private amaro bar
Friday Night Wine Class: Short Cooking Courses, Lecce, Italy

Taken from TripAdvisor

  • ‘So much fun!!! Silvestro delivered so much knowledge and fascinating backstory about Italian cuisine, olive oil and wine. His incredible home and kitchen was worth the price of admission alone, and shows the years of planning and creating. An authentic sharing of important culture. Completely recommend’!
  • ‘Silvestro is a generous host & teacher and manages a diverse group really well. Really well run, comfortable, delicious, very generous and to top it all off, came home confident of my pasta making and other delicious morsels. Highly recommend’!!!
  • ‘Silvestro is a beacon of knowledge and was kind enough to answer all our questions, teach us the ins and outs of wine and olive oil tasting, shared tips of buying fresh fish and vegetables. Such a valuable experience from a greatly kind and intelligent person. Thank you! This experience will be highly recommended. Can’t stop thinking about your beautiful museum of a home also’ !

Logistic at a Glance:

When: August 24- 28, Check Cooking Class Calendar for dates.

Where: In the historic centre of Lecce, in Puglia. In our owner’s private home

Daily schedule: from 10:00 to 15:00 and then from 18:00 until 23:00 or later

Taught in: English

Who is the teacher: Our owner has been teaching the food, wine and olive oil of the Puglia to students from 59 countries for the last 22 years. He is a sommelier of wine (AIS) and a sommelier of extra virgin olive oil (FIS) and has been a professional wine writer for magazines since 2010. He also lectures on behalf of the region of Puglia and annually teaches university classes here in Italy

Wine: At least 16 different wines, all sourced from historically-present (at last 200 years), autochthonous grapes, grown, produced and bottled within 25 kilometres of the school. All poured (generously) and explained by an Italian-trained sommelier

Cost: 2295 Euro

Twice-daily meeting point: Under the column in Piazza Sant Oronzo (Lecce’s main piazza—see map below). We meet under the column each time (never at the school) to facilitate many local market visits

The Awaiting Table Cooking School Map

Where to sleep: We have recommendations

Walking: About 4,000 daily steps. And about two hours standing in the kitchen. We offer stools for those that would like one

Diet restrictions: We’re happy to serve you gluten-free pasta but we won’t be able to make it. If you can’t touch regular flour and/or pasta, this is not the class for you

Q: Isn’t Italy hot in August?
A: We have 4 brand new air conditioners, one in each of the rooms of the school. And most of the celebration of la Festa di Sant Oronzo happens in the evenings, when the temperature really drops

Q: What prerequisite skills do I need?
A: Zero. This is regional cooking. We all start at zero when learning a new cuisine but our school emphasis the ‘why’, as most of the time in Italy the ‘how’, is surprising straight forward. While you’ll certainly pick up some skills, tips and tricks that will make you more competent in cooking any and all cuisines when home, our classes are far more anthropological/sociological, but held in the kitchen and dining room.

Q: Aside from the festival of Sant Oronzo, what makes this course special?
A: Believe it or not, August is low season for international tourism. It’s not likely that you’ll meet many international travellers around town. This is how you can really understand Italy

Q: With two coast lines is the food of the Salento mostly fish?
A: Fish has always been expensive, both in perishability but also in the historic loss of life. While there is plenty of seafood today- especially on the coasts- the majority of food of the Salento is decidedly terrestrial. And it’s largely vegetarian, with pulses (legumes), foraged greens, sun-ripened fruits and vegetable playing the staring roles.

Q: Can you offer this course without gluten?
A: If you are able to touch flour but not eat it, we can offer gluten-free pasta to eat. We do not teach the production of gluten-free pasta. If you are concerned with breathing or touching flour, this is not the course for you.

Q: How much walking? How much standing?
A: Plan on walking at least 4,000 steps and standing for at least 2 hours. If this sounds like it might be an issue let us know when booking and we can make some adjustments to meet your needs.

Q: I don’t drink a lot (or at all). Is that a problem?
A: No. We only pour the first glass and then the bottles are on the table. If you want less, simply don’t refill your glass or glasses. For those that don’t drink at all, you can just simply turn over your goblets and we’ll remove them without comment

Q: Where do I sleep for the week?
A: We have suggestions. Once you book we’ll give you access to Student Services which has all the arrival/departure/accommodation information. We give this out only after booking to make sure we actually have space for you before you book anything further.

Q: Can my non-participating spouse attend meals and outings?
A: Of course. They can pay half-price and we’ll give them a set of keys that they can come and go as they please. While they are welcome to come with us on field trips, they aren’t counted as students in the kitchen.

La Festa di Sant Oronzo

Festival of Local Patron Saint (Sant Oronzo)

Live music! Fireworks! Parades and processions featuring 300 year old statues! The entire city swelling with late night revellers.

Come play your part in this week of pasta making, cooking, eating and celebrating new friends with cases of local bubbly. (And yes, the school has air conditioning!)

But we do focus more on summer foods, Mediterranean salads, countless antipasti and gelato and sorbetti based on sun-ripened fruits. We still make fresh local pasta form scratch every day but it often is lighter, featuring raw pounded sauces, perfect for the height of the Mediterranean summer.

You’ll cook every meal, never repeat a wine and the late night amari tastings will have spent some quality time in the freezer.

You’ll

  • Master 8 different shapes of fresh pasta production, using only a butterknife, a rolling pin and the spoke from an old umbrella
  • Celebrate Sant Oronzo in Italy, Lecce’s biggest local holiday of the year (it’s actually so big that you need 5 days to contain it!)
  • Guided tasting of at least 16 different wines (we never repeat a wine, unless you ask to). All hyper local
  • Gain market skills, tricks and tips, from how to select fish, fruit and vegetables, legumes, wine and flours. Get to know all of our vendors by first name
  • Enjoy these chalkboard talks over wine: Who eats what where in Italy? The history of Italian wine. Italy’s contribution to world coffee culture. The materials of kitchen gear. 1493: Southern vegetables. Olive oil fraud and what to do about it
  • Begin to understand Italy, Italian food and Italian wine as an expression of the territory, history, geography and climate
  • Build Italian daily lifestyle habits, living for a week in one of Italy’s prettiest cities. By walking the same streets with a slower pace, you’ll get to know locals, the vendors, patrons in coffee and wine bars. You’ll also pick up enough Italian to play a part in the local community
  • Prepare 30 local Mediterranean side-dishes, each dripping with high-quality extra virgin olive oil
  • Revel in 10 healthy, wine-soaked feasts. Reconfirm your faith in humanity with time spent emotionally and intellectually connecting with people from all over the world, united through a love of Italian food and wine
  • Learn about the history of amari (Italy’s after dinner drinks). Southern Italy’s largest private amaro bar
Friday Night Wine Class: Short Cooking Courses, Lecce, Italy

Logistic at a Glance:

When: August 24- 28, Check Cooking Class Calendar for dates.

Where: In the historic centre of Lecce, in Puglia. In our owner’s private home

Daily schedule: from 10:00 to 15:00 and then from 18:00 until 23:00 or later

Taught in: English

Who is the teacher: Our owner has been teaching the food, wine and olive oil of the Puglia to students from 59 countries for the last 22 years. He is a sommelier of wine (AIS) and a sommelier of extra virgin olive oil (FIS) and has been a professional wine writer for magazines since 2010. He also lectures on behalf of the region of Puglia and annually teaches university classes here in Italy

Wine: At least 16 different wines, all sourced from historically-present (at last 200 years), autochthonous grapes, grown, produced and bottled within 25 kilometres of the school. All poured (generously) and explained by an Italian-trained sommelier

Cost: 2295 Euro

Twice-daily meeting point: Under the column in Piazza Sant Oronzo (Lecce’s main piazza—see map below). We meet under the column each time (never at the school) to facilitate many local market visits

The Awaiting Table Cooking School Map

Where to sleep: We have recommendations

Walking: About 4,000 daily steps. And about two hours standing in the kitchen. We offer stools for those that would like one

Diet restrictions: We’re happy to serve you gluten-free pasta but we won’t be able to make it. If you can’t touch regular flour and/or pasta, this is not the class for you

Taken from TripAdvisor

  • ‘So much fun!!! Silvestro delivered so much knowledge and fascinating backstory about Italian cuisine, olive oil and wine. His incredible home and kitchen was worth the price of admission alone, and shows the years of planning and creating. An authentic sharing of important culture. Completely recommend’!
  • ‘Silvestro is a generous host & teacher and manages a diverse group really well. Really well run, comfortable, delicious, very generous and to top it all off, came home confident of my pasta making and other delicious morsels. Highly recommend’!!!
  • ‘Silvestro is a beacon of knowledge and was kind enough to answer all our questions, teach us the ins and outs of wine and olive oil tasting, shared tips of buying fresh fish and vegetables. Such a valuable experience from a greatly kind and intelligent person. Thank you! This experience will be highly recommended. Can’t stop thinking about your beautiful museum of a home also’ !

Q: Isn’t Italy hot in August?
A: We have 4 brand new air conditioners, one in each of the rooms of the school. And most of the celebration of la Festa di Sant Oronzo happens in the evenings, when the temperature really drops

Q: What prerequisite skills do I need?
A: Zero. This is regional cooking. We all start at zero when learning a new cuisine but our school emphasis the ‘why’, as most of the time in Italy the ‘how’, is surprising straight forward. While you’ll certainly pick up some skills, tips and tricks that will make you more competent in cooking any and all cuisines when home, our classes are far more anthropological/sociological, but held in the kitchen and dining room.

Q: Aside from the festival of Sant Oronzo, what makes this course special?
A: Believe it or not, August is low season for international tourism. It’s not likely that you’ll meet many international travellers around town. This is how you can really understand Italy

Q: With two coast lines is the food of the Salento mostly fish?
A: Fish has always been expensive, both in perishability but also in the historic loss of life. While there is plenty of seafood today- especially on the coasts- the majority of food of the Salento is decidedly terrestrial. And it’s largely vegetarian, with pulses (legumes), foraged greens, sun-ripened fruits and vegetable playing the staring roles.

Q: Can you offer this course without gluten?
A: If you are able to touch flour but not eat it, we can offer gluten-free pasta to eat. We do not teach the production of gluten-free pasta. If you are concerned with breathing or touching flour, this is not the course for you.

Q: How much walking? How much standing?
A: Plan on walking at least 4,000 steps and standing for at least 2 hours. If this sounds like it might be an issue let us know when booking and we can make some adjustments to meet your needs.

Q: I don’t drink a lot (or at all). Is that a problem?
A: No. We only pour the first glass and then the bottles are on the table. If you want less, simply don’t refill your glass or glasses. For those that don’t drink at all, you can just simply turn over your goblets and we’ll remove them without comment

Q: Where do I sleep for the week?
A: We have suggestions. Once you book we’ll give you access to Student Services which has all the arrival/departure/accommodation information. We give this out only after booking to make sure we actually have space for you before you book anything further.

Q: Can my non-participating spouse attend meals and outings?
A: Of course. They can pay half-price and we’ll give them a set of keys that they can come and go as they please. While they are welcome to come with us on field trips, they aren’t counted as students in the kitchen.