Italian Chef for the Day

One of my favorite things I have done here was a cooking class.  Aurora (one of our program directors) approached us with this opportunity to get cooking lessons from a chef from Le Fate (meaning the fairies- an organic restaurant in Trastevere).  We had to pay 30 euro to attend, which is a lot cheaper then the 60 it usually cost.  There was about fifteen of us who signed up.

We got there, put on our aprons and headed to the kitchen.  The chef's name was Andrea and he told us that we would be learning recipes that are all do-able at home.  We made home-made pasta with Bolognese sauce, a meat dish and a strudel.  Everything was so easy to make, with the exception of the home-made pasta.

During the class, Chef Andrea really emphasized that the most important thing to do is to get fresh ingredients.   He told us that instead of going to the grocery store, we should get our ingredients from the markets.  In Rome you can really tell the difference between grocery store products versus the market products.  All of the produce from the markets taste so much fresher.

The day after the class, I actually made the strudel again for my host family.  They loved it and thought it was better then the strudel they have eaten before.  I was so excited because I was nervous to impress them.  We even had extra dough and were also able to make cookies and a pie.

I’m glad I had the opportunity to learn about Italian cuisine and how they cook here. After the class, chef Andrea emailed all of us with the recipes so that we could try them again.  I plan on impressing my family with the same exact meal when I get home.