The mister and I had not planned on taking a cooking class in Rome - but after two days of art, history, and walking non-stop, the MISTER asked if we could find one! Well, he didn't have to ask twice! I searched on-line and discovered Chef Andrea Consoli's class - and we got lucky and got in!! Our luck continued when we found out the class was held just a 10 minute walk away from our hotel (the Ponte Sisto, which we can highly recommend - small, clean and close to everything). The mister had a bit of business to do the morning of the class so I told him I could walk to the class by myself and he would meet me there later...it was in a safe area and it was a beautiful sunny day out - 10 minutes - two turns - no problem!
My luck quickly turned...this is me after walking for ONE HOUR - totally lost and near tears...I snapped this pic so when the mister found my decapitated body he would know that I was skeeered before I died! I asked for help from everyone I saw - funny how NO ONE spoke English during my time of need! I tried to retrace my steps and ended up at a dead end! And just when I thought I would be lost in the bowels of Rome forever, I stepped out onto Viale Trastevere - the enormous boulevard I had been searching for!! Three blocks later I found Andrea's Restaurant, Le Fate, where the class was held!
Chef Andrea opened the door and warmly greeted me - I was the first to arrive. As it turned out, everyone else was caught in traffic and a HUGE demonstration/protest down the block, which I missed because I was stuck in an alley! So I was able to sit and visit with Andrea for about an hour - and let me tell you - it was the BEST HOUR I had in Rome! Andrea is adorable - Roman God Adorable - and charming and passionate about cooking...I had to keep saying be still my heart!
Chef Consoli's restaurant is small but inviting. He teaches cooking classes during the day and then opens the restaurant at night and also teaches at night at the local universities! His American girlfriend, Erica, was every bit as charming, and came to lend a hand at our class. (I told Erica that he is teaching in the wrong country! Imagine signing up for an Italian cooking class at Sur La Table and having a gorgeous young Italian man walk in...with his first accented words everyone in the class would swoon...he'd be the talk of the town! But Erica wants to live in Rome...can't say as I blame her but really, he would be a hit over here!)
There were 8 of us in our class...5 American students, who are studying at a small college outside of Rome and their Professor, and the mister and me...pictured above from the left are Kristen, Joe, Linda, Jenna, Jessica and Megan - they were all darling and fun and darn good cooks, too! Since we were an hour behind when we started we had to work fast to catch up! Chef Andrea got us going quickly and we made Eggplant Parmigiana, Spinach Gnocchi and Tiramisu, which is the exact menu I would request for my last supper, you know, if I ended up on death row for killing someone who deserved it...I shall mention no names!
There's Kristen taking a picture of Chef Andrea working his magic...and unfortunately, this is the ONLY picture I have of him! What was I thinking?!? Like eggplant is more visually appealing?
I lifted a picture of Andrea, below, from his website...put on a bib to catch your drool, don't say you weren't warned!
Andrea would tell us what to do and why and he gave us a lot of little tips along the way - he said we didn't need to take notes, that he would email us everything - so I didn't take notes...Again, what was I thinking?!?!? He did email us all the recipes but all of those little tips, those valuable bits of info that come from years in the kitchen, which I filed away in my brain for future reference...hahahaha...as if!! I have NO MEMORY!! Can't remember one blasted thing he said about salt or eggplants and their seeds or mashing garlic...so as I see it the only way to rectify this is to have Chef Andrea himself come to America, to my house, to cook...clearly, there is no other way!
IF you get the opportunity to go to Rome you must take Andrea's class...skip the Vatican, skip the Borghese, skip the Pantheon, Spanish Steps and the Trevi...but don't skip what is truly a Roman experience - the making and eating of real Italian food - what more could you want?! You can find all about Chef Andrea's classes by clicking here. The class was very reasonably priced - and after taking it I would have paid double! Actually, I would have paid double just for the hour long conversation we had BEFORE the class began!
Sorry the picture got you with your eyes closed Linda - but it's probably because you were still savoring your last bite! And the mister, who hates everything, loved this class, and he loves nothing so this can only mean one thing, Hell has frozen over! Given everything we saw, everything we did in Italy, this was definitely a highlight! Thanks Andrea!
I plan to recreate the recipes from the class just as soon as my jet-lagged brain begins to function...in the meantime, here's some dessert for you...feast away!
http://www.cookingclassesinrome.com/thechef.htm
