Home cooking restaurants, where guests can enjoy true Italian mamma’s homey dishes, are always popular in Florence. Such dishes may not look gorgeous and fancy, but they are all so tasty and filled with Italian mamma’s warm love. Professor lectured about different kinds of seasonings and how to choose the best ones. Many students were surprised to taste the hot olive oil for the first time. These are ingredients used for today’s menu. Professor disclosed names and packages he recommended, allowing students to find the same kinds of ingredients at the supermarkets in Italy. Today, students made pastas using a different kind of flour. They learned a new shape of […]

Today, the class learned vegetarian cooking. There are quite a few numbers of vegetarian restaurants in Italy nowadays. It is extremely important for chefs to prepare any dish understanding the customer’s preferences and allergens. Some students were struggling with shaping pasta dough into a unique shape. Students who were very good at this work helped others by giving them tips on shaping. It was the last day of the class for 1-month Chef Training students. We are sure they got a priceless experience here in Italy. We wish them all the best in their future back in their home countries. 2016.10.24 Ota

Today, students took a wine seminar at a wine shop, where various bottles of wines were lining up on the shelves. By taking this seminar, one can learn and understand how to describe the smell of wine, about grapes grown in different regions, and many more. Quite a few customers ask questions about which wine to choose for the dish of their choice, so it definitely helps to have basic knowledge of wines as a chef. It also makes one look stylish if he/she can taste a glass of wine in a smart manner at a restaurant. There is no surprise that students with sommelier experience take Chef Training course. […]

Today the class visited a slaughterhouse near Florence. Here are some comments from one of the students: “Although it is one of the smaller slaughterhouses around Florence, this slaughterhouse processes highly-ranked cattle grown in ranches nearby. Today, we were lucky we got to see wild boar meat after 3 days of aging in a refrigerator. We learned a lot about how fresh meats are managed before reaching to the consumers in Italy, where the fresh meat sanitation rules and regulations are the strictest in Europe. It was such a valuable visit to recognize that any over-the-counter meat must be taken in with the appreciation to having lives of living creatures.” […]

Today, the class visited an agritourism in Rufina, Chianti. Although the weather is gradually getting cold these days, it was such a clear beautiful day with a great countryside view. One of the students told us his impression on this visit: “The view of Tuscan winery was so gorgeous. We were very lucky that we were able to see grapes for Vincent (dessert wine representing Tuscany). I enjoyed tasting wines and Vincent. It was a great opportunity to get ourselves refreshed in busy days of training and studying.” The staff at the farm told us that this year was a great vintage. Students enjoyed the wonderful view of the olive […]