Summer Courses

Come pass a seductive slice of ‘la bella stagione’ [‘the beautiful season, what ‘summer’, is called in Italian) in the kitchen and around table, learning about food and then cooking it, learning about wine, then drinking it and then learning how to prolong summer’s bounty by doing it.

* Master 8 shapes of fresh pasta production, using only a butterknife, a rolling pin and the spoke from an old umbrella
* Critically taste (and then drink freely) 17 different local wines, all sourced with 25 kilometers of the school, from grapes that have been in Southern Puglia for at least 200 years
* Master two canning (preserving) projects, each performed as a group (everyone gets gossipy after the first hour)
* Grasp extra virgin olive oil: Production, history, ascertain quality and learn to critically taste. This is often the biggest surprise of the course, how different the artisanal reality is from supermarket expectations
* 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
* Gain market skills, tricks and tips, from how to select fish, fruit and vegetables, legumes, wine and flours
* 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 50 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). Guided tasting of 3 and then be given an empty 4th glass to visit what must be Southern Italy’s largest private amaro bar

You’ll learn:

  • The science behind the 6 preserving techniques that we use in the home in Puglia
  • How to make 6 different local pasta shapes using only flour and water (which is also the healthiest pasta in all of Italy)
  • How to critically taste wine (looking for persistence, tannins, heat, fruit and ultimately harmony) and extra virgin olive oil (looking for fruitiness and bitterness but to avoid wine-y and rancid properties).
  • The wines of the Salento (all made within 25 kilometres from the school, from grapes that have been here for least 200 years. You’ll taste at least 17 different local wines.
  • How to make about 25 local dishes. While not strictly vegetarian the local cuisine is driven by legumes, sun-ripened vegetables, hearty greens, fish and very little meat or dairy
  • The chalkboard talks: What eats what, where, in Italy? The history of wine, from Mesopetamia and Mazara del Vallo. The history of coffee and Italy’s contribution to global coffee culture. The history of salt. Traveller’s Italian: how to order in a market, caffè, ristorante and stores
  • How baroque painting, theatre and architecture were the heavy artillery of the Catholic church in response to the Protestant reformation
Mediterranean Fish Cooking Class Puglia, Italy

Taken from TripAdvisor

  • ‘If you have the opportunity to experience Silvestro’s thoughtful and informative class, snap it up in a heartbeat! It was the highlight of our trip’!
  • ‘If you are interested in authentic food from the Salento region of Italy, Sivestro is your teacher. Highly educated in the food, wine, and olive oils of the area, widely read and published, he will cook with you, answer all your questions, and sit down to eat with you in his centuries old home in the heart of Lecce’.
  • ‘Informative, educational, and tons of fun! There is no need to look anywhere else for a great local cooking experience in Puglia’.

Logistic at a Glance:

When: Throughout the warmer months of the year. We only can the tomato sauce once a year. See calendar after throughly reading it

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

Transportation: We handle the transportation during the week, from Monday morning until Friday at midnight. We suggest against hiring/renting a car for the week

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 kilometers from the school. All poured (generously) and explained by an Italian-trained sommelier

Cost: 2495 Euro (2295 with discount code. Read throughly down below)

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

Walking: About 4,000 daily steps. We have stools in the kitchen for anyone 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. Dairy issues are not an issue. Vegetarians welcome

*Discount code: (See FAQ below)

Q: I see that summer courses have lots of cooking, eating, drinking and learning but also have two canning projects. Which week is where we make the annual tomato sauce?
A: It’s usually the second week of September but see our calendar to be certain. Our other canning projects are just as fun but the tomato sauce class is always the first one to fill.

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 dinning room

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. It’s not a vegetarian cuisine per se but it is very vegetable and legume (pulses) forward cuisine. Yes, just like the blue zones

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 each day. We do have stools for anyone that would like one. If you have mobility issues write us. We do have options, such as suggesting a B and B right across from the school, etc.

Q: I don’t drink a lot. 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 when sitting 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 Service 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

Q: What is the discount code?
A: It’s, ‘I’ve thoroughly read the course description’, and you need mention it in the introductory email to be eligible

Q: What are the canning projects?
A: Summer courses happen just before, during or just after the zenith of the summer’s ripening energy. The methods we use are sterilising in glass with heat, under vinegar, sugaring, under alcohol and dehydration. What we will put up is largely based on the week that you visit and it depends on what is available agriculturally.

We won’t try to predict what will be available because it’s based on the weather and things haven’t been normal at least predictable for a while now. Have they been in your city?

Q: How much of the week is dedicated to canning projects?
A: From 4 to 5 hours total, over the course of two days, spread out over the course of the week. They are optional but no one has ever decided against attending

Summer Courses

Come pass a seductive slice of ‘la bella stagione’ [‘the beautiful season, what ‘summer’, is called in Italian) in the kitchen and around table, learning about food and then cooking it, learning about wine, then drinking it and then learning how to prolong summer’s bounty by doing it.

* Master 8 shapes of fresh pasta production, using only a butterknife, a rolling pin and the spoke from an old umbrella
* Critically taste (and then drink freely) 17 different local wines, all sourced with 25 kilometers of the school, from grapes that have been in Southern Puglia for at least 200 years
* Master two canning (preserving) projects, each performed as a group (everyone gets gossipy after the first hour)
* Grasp extra virgin olive oil: Production, history, ascertain quality and learn to critically taste. This is often the biggest surprise of the course, how different the artisanal reality is from supermarket expectations
* 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
* Gain market skills, tricks and tips, from how to select fish, fruit and vegetables, legumes, wine and flours
* 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 50 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). Guided tasting of 3 and then be given an empty 4th glass to visit what must be Southern Italy’s largest private amaro bar

Mediterranean Fish Cooking Class Puglia, Italy

Logistic at a Glance:

When: Throughout the warmer months of the year. We only can the tomato sauce once a year. See calendar after throughly reading it

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

Transportation: We handle the transportation during the week, from Monday morning until Friday at midnight. We suggest against hiring/renting a car for the week

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 kilometers from the school. All poured (generously) and explained by an Italian-trained sommelier

Cost: 2495 Euro (2295 with discount code. Read throughly down below)

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

Walking: About 4,000 daily steps. We have stools in the kitchen for anyone 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. Dairy issues are not an issue. Vegetarians welcome

*Discount code: (See FAQ below)

Taken from TripAdvisor

  • ‘If you have the opportunity to experience Silvestro’s thoughtful and informative class, snap it up in a heartbeat! It was the highlight of our trip’!
  • ‘If you are interested in authentic food from the Salento region of Italy, Sivestro is your teacher. Highly educated in the food, wine, and olive oils of the area, widely read and published, he will cook with you, answer all your questions, and sit down to eat with you in his centuries old home in the heart of Lecce’.
  • ‘Informative, educational, and tons of fun! There is no need to look anywhere else for a great local cooking experience in Puglia’.

Q: I see that summer courses have lots of cooking, eating, drinking and learning but also have two canning projects. Which week is where we make the annual tomato sauce?
A: It’s usually the second week of September but see our calendar to be certain. Our other canning projects are just as fun but the tomato sauce class is always the first one to fill.

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 dinning room

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. It’s not a vegetarian cuisine per se but it is very vegetable and legume (pulses) forward cuisine. Yes, just like the blue zones

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 each day. We do have stools for anyone that would like one. If you have mobility issues write us. We do have options, such as suggesting a B and B right across from the school, etc.

Q: I don’t drink a lot. 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 when sitting 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 Service 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

Q: What is the discount code?
A: It’s, ‘I’ve thoroughly read the course description’, and you need mention it in the introductory email to be eligible

Q: What are the canning projects?
A: Summer courses happen just before, during or just after the zenith of the summer’s ripening energy. The methods we use are sterilising in glass with heat, under vinegar, sugaring, under alcohol and dehydration. What we will put up is largely based on the week that you visit and it depends on what is available agriculturally.

We won’t try to predict what will be available because it’s based on the weather and things haven’t been normal at least predictable for a while now. Have they been in your city?

Q: How much of the week is dedicated to canning projects?
A: From 4 to 5 hours total, over the course of two days, spread out over the course of the week. They are optional but no one has ever decided against attending