Fish Market/Pasta-Making/Feast Course
Mediterranean Fish…demystified in a single morning.
Visit a fish market with an expert, learn to cook it all, master hand-making the local pasta, fall in love with rosè and finally understand extra virgin olive oil.
Cooking Course Important Details:
When: Usually Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And upon request. Check Cooking Class Calendar for dates.
Course Fees: 165 Euro per person (View Cooking Class Calendar)
Click on “Logistic at a Glance” section below for complete details.
Why Take Our Fish Market Class
Take this class if:
- You’ve always been intimated by cooking fish
- You want fish markets demystified and made approachable
- You want to learn fast, historical fish recipes for your own table at home
- You want to learn to make the healthiest pasta in all of Italy, with your own hands
- You want to better understand rosè wine; its history, production techniques and how to best pair it to your daily food
- You’d like to feast in a beautiful private home in Italy
- You’d like to have hours with an Italian sommelier and college professor to have all your food, wine, oil and travel questions answered over a great meal and flowing wine
In this class you’ll:
- Take a walking tour of the historic centre of Lecce, the city’s sculpture and architecture explained in historical context
- Visit a local fish market, meet the mongers and learn about every fish and shellfish on the marble slam
- Gain market skills, tricks and tips, such as gauging the thickness of shells to ascertain quality, and using the state of the gills, eyes and flesh resistance to establish freshness
- Spend some artisanal time with your own hands, learning to craft our local pasta. This is a valuable skill that you’ll keep for the rest of your life
- Master fish and shellfish cookery, hands-on. You’ll take apart a cephalopod to be seared- and marvel at its anatomy. You’ll sweat open a shellfish in a local form of alcohol and learn to expertly grill a round fish, one per person. All hands-on
- Prepare 5 local Mediterranean side-dishes, each dripping with high-quality extra virgin olive oil
- Critically taste 3 high quality extra virgin olive oils from Puglia
- Critically taste 3 local pink wines (rosati), (then poured liberally during lunch)
- Revel in a two hour feast with fellow students from all over the world (including learning how to debone a fish at the table in less than 4 seconds)
- 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
- Gain access to all the recipes, tips and tricks and all of our password protected content, not just for the class but all of our classes. In that email we also include all the other students’ emails so that you can keep in touch and meet up all around the world (when you do send an email with pictures). And include the password to our Spotify playlist (everyone asks for it)
NB: While you’ll be cooking with- and eating Mediterranean fish and shellfish during this course— this class focuses on universal techniques, so that at home you’ll have skills to cook any fish, wherever it is from—ocean, sea, stream, river or lake, farmed or wild.
Logistic at a Glance: Our Fish Market Course
When: Usually Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And upon request. See Calendar
Length of course: From 10:00 to around 16:00- 17:00. (10am until 4 or 5 pm). Last hour or two is lingering over wine and stimulating conversation
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 in Italy
Cost: 165 Euro per person (View Cooking Class Calendar)
Parking: Via Adua (see map below)
Meeting point: Under the column in Piazza Sant Oronzo (Lecce’s main piazza—see map below)
Walking: About 4,000 steps. And about two hours standing in the kitchen
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 pasta, this is not the class for you
FAQ For Our Fish Market Course
Q: Why is the wine in this course all rosè?
A: The most typical wine here in the Salento is pink. And it always has been, since the Greek era. In Southern Italy it’s actually called ‘rosato’ [‘rosado’ with a ‘d’ in Southern Spain and Portugal]. The is your chance to really dive into these wines, especially alongside fish dishes. If the choice of rosè seems hip or trendy, remember that it’s actually the opposite: Wine has been pink for far longer than it has been white, red or orange.
Q: Where do we park? Is parking an issue?
A: We have a map under ‘logistics’, of where to park and where we meet. If driving into Lecce for a course, make a point of arriving an hour early and then having coffee at Caffe Alvino, right next to our meeting place, in piazza Sant Oronzo. It’s not fair to ask those that manage their time well to wait for those that do not.
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) playing the staring role. This class represents how fish and shellfish are consumed on a holiday, much more say, than as your average daily meal.
Q: What are the teacher’s credentials?
A: 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 occasionally teaches university classes in Italy.
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: My partner really likes fish but I don’t (or I’m allergic to it). Can you offer me alternative dishes?
A: No. Consider taking different classes than one another. You’ll meet more people that way and you’ll both have more of what you want.
