Join Cooking Class as “Guest Student”
The adjective ‘Pugliese’ is overused, if only because there is little in common between one city and the next in Puglia, especially when you consider that the region runs a third the length of Italy. Here is your chance to cannonball into the region’s wine, extra virgin olive oil, food, culture and history.
And not in the classroom, but the dinning room.
Cooking Course Important Details:
When: Held before week-long courses. Although far from obligatory, most week-long students sign up for this course as well, as most arrive the day before the week-long course begins. Check Cooking Class Calendar for dates.
Course Fees: 195 Euro per person (View Cooking Class Calendar)
Click on “Logistic at a Glance” section below for complete details.
Why Join as Guest Student?
In this class you’ll:
- Visit a local enoteca (wine store in Italy) with a sommelier and begin to understand all the concepts that producers mean to convey to consumers through packaging and labeling, if only consumers know how to read the language
- Blind taste three pugliesi reds: Learn to focus on persistence of flavor rather than bottle weight or quirky branding. Once home you’ll likely earn back the cost of this class in savings in the first month
- Learn to critically taste olive oil isolated from food in cobalt-blue ISO international olive oil glasses. You’ll learn to ascertain both merits and defects. You’ll learn about olive oil fraud and the role that supermarkets play. Taste three DOP olives from Puglia
- Learn about the 7 best DOC and DOCG wines of Puglia: why each stands out as part of the world heritage of wine and wine culture. Get to know each in a guided tasting through the evening
- Grasp finally and forever the 4 legal, governments-recognized tiers of Italian wine quality. You’ll wonder why all the world’s wine isn’t organized the same way
- Enjoy a long and winding, staff-prepared 5-course Southern Italian designed to pair with and showcase the free-flowing wines
- 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 wine information, lesson, recipes and all of our password protected content, not just for this class but all of our classes. When we email you the password we’ll also include all the other students’ emails in your class so that you can keep in touch and meet up all around the world (we receive emails and photos of reunions all the time). And we’ll include the link and password to our Spotify playlist (Italian music is a big part of what we do and everyone asks for the list)
Logistics at Glance for Guest Students Class
Length of course: From 1800 to 2400 (from 6 pm until midnight, often later)
Taught in: English
Cost: 195 Euro per person
When: Held before week-long courses. Although far from obligatory, most week-long students sign up for this course as well, as most arrive the day before the week-long course begins
Size: There is only space for 10 students
Perquisite: No prior wine training needed
Parking: Via Adua (see map below). Parking isn’t an issue for week-long students, who are already sleeping in Lecce for the week
Meeting point: Under the column in Piazza Sant Oronzo. See map below.
Walking: You’ll need to walk about 2,000 steps but there is very little standing involved in this course
Diet restrictions: We can offer gluten free pasta. Alert us when booking
FAQ Guest Student
Q: Can we predict the menù?
A: No. With the numerous national holidays, we often need to move around the menù. If you need to know the menù in advance we suggest you book one of our shorter, themed classes.
Q: I’m a celiac. Can you offer this course with gluten free pasta?
A: Yes, we can serve you gluten-free pasta. We only produce regular pasta though.
Q: I want to make pasta but we can only come to the evening session
A: We only produce pasta in the mornings, usually two shapes, one for lunch, one for dinner
Q: Can we come for the lunch session during your bicycle weeks?
A: We bicycle in the day time, then only cook at night
Q: Who teaches this class?
A: Our owner- Dottor Silvestro Silvestori- 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), 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 teaches university classes in Italy each year
Q: How big is this class?
A: 8 to 10
Q: Can we take away some of your extra virgin after class?
A: Few things would make us happier. We love our oil.
