For one day only, cooking instructor Viola Buitoni, native from Perugia, Umbria, and compatriot chef Andrea Sposini have cooperated together as a cooking team to bring the best of Umbrian traditions at Cookhouse SF, a place uniquely designed for culinary entertaining.
This evening of traditional Umbrian cooking, food and wines, last Tuesday, April 17, 2012, took place at the juncture of North Beach, Jackson Square, and Chinatown in San Francisco.
The two chefs have sourced fresh raw materials locally, crossed them with Umbria’s finest agricultural imports and shared what they learnt in the kitchens of their mothers and grandmothers. If you missed this special evening, both of them will be holding cooking classes along the month of April.
Viola Buitoni is bringing her acclaimed hands-on classes to the East Bay, with “The Italian Heart of a California Cook, Contemporary Regional Italian Cooking from the Bay Area’s Farmers’ Markets”.
In a 3-class series, held in the intimate setting of a private home, Viola will share how to cross the seasonal bounty of our Farmers’ Markets with quality Italian ingredients in order to create lovely meals, steeped in the established traditions and contemporary trends of her country’s regional cooking.
Ingredients will be seasonal, fresh and, whenever possible, organic. During the class, Viola will discuss sourcing, selection and the culinary crossroads of Italy and California. Each participant will have a booklet to follow during class. Because menus will be based on seasonal market availability, they will not be finalized until the week preceding class. All classes will end with a communal meal, and will include wine carefully paired to the menu. Series is $250, $170 for 2 classes, $90 for 1 class. Classes run from 5 to 8pm on Sundays 4/29, 5/6 and 5/13. Location will be disclosed upon confirmed registration.
Viola is a direct descendant of the Buitoni family, premier producers of pasta and chocolate dating back to the early 19th century. In 2010 she launched “Enogastronomia”, a series of educational initiatives on the foods and wines of Italy. Produced in conjunction with the Italian Cultural Institute, the series features classes taught in the kitchen of the Italian Consulate in San Francisco. Additionally, she teaches “The Italian Kitchen,” a monthly workshop at Cavallo Point Lodge in Sausalito, writes articles, and appears in videos on her subject for Mission Local.org, a web-site produced by UC Berkeley’s School of Journalism.
Andrea Sposini is a classically trained chef and native of Perugia. He travels the world teaching and consulting in the culinary field and is a tireless ambassador of Italian food culture and lifestyle. Among other roles, he covers that of executive chef of Caffè di Perugia, the top restaurant of Umbria’s capital city. His work brings him to the Bay Area every year to share his passion and knowledge with local chef and food lovers.
Andrea will also be holding cooking classes in Sebastopol, 19-25 April and is available for private classes (18 people max) during his stay. He will be the protagonist at the Italian based learning center here in Northern California: VIVA, created by Study Abroad Italy to share a love of good food, wine and Italian culture and heritage with neighbors, students of all ages and visitors from around the globe. Here the complete culinary program:
“Cold Food For a Hot Italian Summer” (Thursday, April 19 – 11am – 2pm), A roundup of gastronomic stimuli, history and techniques of Italian cold plate recipes.
“Italian Surf and Turf” (Friday, April 20 – 6pm to 9pm), Ingredients from the Sea and Land.
“Cous Cous and Sicilian Cuisine” (Saturday, April 21 – 6pm to 9pm), Techniques of how to make real Cous Cous and Italian sauces.
“Italian Desserts” (Sunday, April 22 – 1pm to 4pm), A way of serving desserts that stimulates your fantasy and your palate.
“Vegetarian” (Wednesday, April 25 – 11am to 2pm), All the secrets of vegetarian stuffed pasta – tortelloni, ravioli, cannelloni – with vegetables, cheese and beans.
Space is very limited, register early to ensure a spot, for information about both programs email violabuitoni@gmail.com.
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