Food Glorious Food

As a gift for planning this trip Bill and Laurie booked us all a cooking class. When you think of Italy,  you think of food. And when you think of Italian food,

you think of ExtraVirgin Olive oil. Enter Chef Giuseppi Mazzocchio and The Extra Virgin Cooking Class.

Our email confirmation gave us directions to a restaurant in the piazza where we would meet our chef and head off to the market to shop. We had scoped it out last night and felt certain we would be all set in the am. When we arrived, a couple from Arizona was waiting. Donna and Stu were here on a week long vacation. We chatted about where we were all from, how our trips were going, etc. As we chatted a very trim, well-groomed, man in crisp jeans and a collared shirt with an easy manner approached. He welcomed us all quickly identifying who was who. He warmed the group up as we waited for the last two to join us, two former- grad school friends who always pledged to travel together someday, Sap and Juhi rounded the corner. Our class was complete.

After learning a little more about Chef Giuseppi and his journey to begin EVCC (Extra Virgin Cooking Class) we headed off to shop for our day.

Our first stop was at the patisserie for a buccelatto, the pride of Lucca.

It is a raisin bread with the hint of anise. There is a saying – if you haven’t had buccelatto, you haven’t been to Lucca. The patisserie is a charming little shop already bustling with local customers in for a morning pastry and a cappuccino. The glass cases and stately wooden shelves were brimming with luscious goodies, cream- filled horns and crossings, rice cakes and fruit filled pastries, glass vessels filled with candies  No time for coffee for us… we have more shopping to do. We make a note to return here.

Next stop is the bakery ( il Forno…not to be confused with the patisserie)Forno a Vapore Amedeo Guisti is the bakery of choice.

Here we are searching for focaccia. As we make our way, we guess this may be the bakery we have returned to for a delicious walnut bread. Sure enough as we wind around a curve and down the street we find the shop. Giuseppi enters and begins chatting with Lucca and the other men behind the counter. This shop also is busy with people buying breads for today. ( we have had the delicious butter cookies from this shop, too).
Giuseppi explains about the focaccia. There are many varieties available. He describes the primary one which has a beautiful golden color and is front and center in the case. It is baked on an open hearth. As he explains, our shop owner holds up a five foot long loaf of focaccia! He is very much a character and entertains us with explanations of why some of the loaves are named as they are( military, Boy Scouts,etc). We add to our supplies several other varieties of focaccia-whole grain, an olive, a corn and sunflower seed and we bid farewell to Lucca and the men at the bakery… on to the vegetable market!

The vegetable market is not our little store we have been frequenting.

This is perhaps the busiest shop and is deceivingly large. The narrow shop goes back deep into the building, the walls are lined with shelves and boxes mounded with lettuces- bright leafy green, dark curly almost black, red curly lettuce arranged to offset each other. It is a feast for the eyes. Bunches of fresh herbs pretty enough to serve as bouquets are near the cash register. One gentleman pauses the chat with Giuseppi. He is known to all and is treated with great reverence. He speaks to our group ( in Italian).. he recently celebrated his ninetieth birthday. Although he is speaking Italian, the communication is universal and somehow we understand each other. He is feeling good! We gather our fresh basil, a variety of tomatoes and head on to our kitchen.

Giuseppi guides us around to a street with a palazzo. He describes it as a nobleman’s house from back in the grand time of Lucca . There are inner courtyards that are not visible from the street… like a secret garden. This house has been converted into 12 apartments… we are all a little surprised when he unlocks the door and leads us into his apartment. This is where the magic happens!

Well the beauty and elegance of the the apartment are as delicious as the anticipated meal.

The dining room,set with a fall theme, leaves and mini pumpkins on a rustic white plates with a copper charger, rests in a room with high barreled ceilings and an exquisite grey palate with accents of gold. The decor is precise, each piece filling the space beautifully. The kitchen is timeless. While modern in many of its accessories, it is classic in its design.

Marble counters, stunning pendant lights, furniture pieces that serve as cabinets. A beautiful plate shelf to hold the dishes, becomes an element of style. The kitchen is also extremely efficient in its layout and work stations. We are a buzz with excitement. We are treated to a glass of Prosecco while we find our way around and chef Giuseppi returns in uniform and ready to lead us through our culinary experience.

The food prep is a dance wonderfully choreographed by our chef. (In truth he had prepped well for us to keep things moving, but we had much to do under his tutelage.

We had something for each part of our meal going. Mixing the spinach and ricotta for the gnudi with a hint (that surprised us all ) of nutmeg, cooking the butternut squash for the risotto,

cooking the garlic and shallots for the zucchini, or steaming the cream and milk with the rice flour for the custard, chopping tomatoes or basil, toasting the rice for risotto, all a series of steps and all a feast for the senses. We divide the work and

band together as groups do, finding a rhythm to our banter and our work. Open the wine for our lunch, bring in our small dishes to plate the salad and ramekin with the zucchini eggs cheese. What a pop of colors and flavors! We work in assembly line fashion to plate and serve, dine, repeat… time to finish off the butternut squash and hazelnut risotto and the gnudi) which had us giggly and grimacing as we tried to master the technique. Plate and eat-oooh sooo good.

No great meal is complete without a scrumptious dessert. We had prepared a creamy custard of lemon/ vanilla served with a mix of juicy fresh berries. End with an espresso with a cube of raw sugar from the elegant multi-tiered server, deep breathe of utter satisfaction. Such a wonderful day.

As we have spent our day in a wonderful experience, we decide to end our day with a hike up the Giungi tower at sunset..perfetto!