As a final post after the series dedicated to the Academia Barilla VIP gourmet tour organized by Academia Barilla Culinary School Alumni Frank DiMaria, we want to publish an email we received from Frank when we got all the info for his VIP gourmet tour to Parma and Bologna, Italy.

We publish this email to share Frank’s passion for Italian cooking, Italian gastronomy, and Italian food culture in general. No more words, here we go:

Ciao a tutti,

Our 2007 trip to Parma Italy and Academia Barilla was a huge success, because of that we have decided to do it again this year. This may become an annual event!  

For those of you who are not familiar with the tour, I have joined with Academia Barilla, the world’s premier culinary center dedicated to the art of Italian gastronomy, to personally escort you for 6 days and 5 nights in Parma, Italy’s Food Valley, for the ultimate culinary experience. Parma, a secret treasure tucked away in the heart of the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, is one of Europe’s greatest food capitals.  

I have joined with Academia Barilla to offer a full emersion culinary experience in the breathtaking region of Emilia-Romagna. Academia Barilla offers 2 hands-on cooking classes in their state-of-the-art kitchens, and an opportunity to learn from the top local chefs.  

You will experience regional delicacies, authentic menus, exclusive tastings, one-of-a kind culinary tours to regional Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Prosciutto di Parma, Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, olive oil and wine producers to learn the intricacies and traditions of true Italian foods.

You will also be able to explore authentic Italian markets and gourmet shops, observe the cultural street life, and enjoy the wonderful shops, cafés and restaurants that Parma boasts.  

You won’t want to miss this culinary adventure!

A presto,
Frank DiMaria

If you need more detailed info or need to book your exclusive VIP gourmet tour to Parma, see all details at our previous blog post, and get in touch with Frank DiMaria by calling +1 847 965-0672 or +1 847 417 7587. You can also email Frank at frankdimaria@comcast.net to reserve your space!

See you in Parma!

Experience the ultimate Italian travel experience in the heart of Parma and Emilia-Romagna, Italy’s Food Valley, with Academia Barilla and the VIP gourmet tour organized by Academia Barilla Culinary School Alumni Frank DiMaria we announced with a previous post.

The VIP gastronomy tour dates are September 21-26, 2008, and the gourmet guided tour to Emilia-Romagna includes:

Culinary Hands-on Experience
Exclusive tasting sessions
Regional delicacies
Authentic menus
Specialty recipes
English-Italian translation
5-Star hotel accommodations
All meals included
Castle and winery visits
World class facilities
Individualized instruction
Courses from Italy’s top local Chefs
One-of-a-kind gourmet and culinary tours
Daily transportation and transfers
Tuition and course materials

Culinary travel highlights include:

The cultural street life, authentic markets, food stores, retail shops, restaurants and cafés of Parma and surrounding areas of Emilia-Romagna

Two hands-on culinary courses at the Academia Barilla Culinary Center
The spectacular historic Torrechiara Castle and medieval town nestled in the countryside of Emilia-Romagna

Gourmet tours to award-winning Parmigiano-Reggiano and Prosciutto di Parma producers, where we will witness the production, authenticity and quality of traditional Italian products

Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar tastings with professional, expert techniques on how to taste these regional delicacies

An excursion to a winery in the Emilia-Romagna region for a tasting and lesson on discovering the intricacies and flavors of different wines

An excursion to the Ferrari Museum in Imola to experience first hand the history of an Italian icon

Gelato and sorbetto tasting in local area cafés

The exclusive group price for this luxury VIP guided tour is $2,900 per person, airfare excluded. For more detailed information about the VIP tour features, cost and booking please call Frank DiMaria at +1 847 965-0672 or +1 847 417-7587, or email Frank at frankdimaria@comcast.net.

We will be blogging more over the next few weeks about this VIP gastronomy tour to Emilia-Romagna, getting into details of each activity and destination to feed you with more Italian food culture and some desire to come cook with us in Parma!

Academia Barilla Italian Culinary Specialist Costantino Cicchelli is back in Atlanta, Georgia, to share his extensive Italian gourmet knowledge with Academia Barilla partners Cook’s Warehouse in Decantur, GA for a gourmet class dedicated to “The Art of Italian Gastronomy“.

Live the life of Italian luxury through your sense of smell, sight and taste with a native Italian as your guide. Separate fact from myth as you learn how extra virgin olive oil is produced and what makes a great one. Experience the best of the best featuring extra virgin olive oils, balsamic vinegars, pecorino, Parmigiano Reggiano, Salame di Parma, and Prosciutto di Parma. Taste olive oil like the professionals by sampling 3 DOP extra virgin olive oils from different regions of Italy and learn which types of foods are complimented by each. Understand how balsamic vinegars are produced and aged, and taste the differences.

The discussion and tasting of cheeses focuses on sheep’s milk pecorino and cow’s milk Parmigiano Reggiano. Italian meats like salame and Prosciutto di Parma are cured in a natural way that enhances their flavors. When you taste these authentic products, you’ll be able to select and buy with confidence (which you can also do at our online store if you cannot make it to the Ducantur class).

Save the date (and the location): The Cook’s Warehouse and
Sherlock’s Wine Merchant in Decatur next Thursday, June 12, from 7 PM to 9 PM.
Admission is 55$. The address to the class location is 180 W. Ponce de Leon Avenue
Decatur, GA 30030, a Google Map is provided here below for your driving convenience.

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Five Chef assistants will be in the kitchen 45 minutes before class
to assist all participants with the preparation work, so try to get to the class a bit in advance.

Call
Simone Stevenson
at
The Cook’s Warehouse & Sherlock’s Wine Merchant
for more info at +1 (404) 377-4005 (Store)
or visit Cook’s Warehouse website for more info and a full schedule of culinary classes.

Meet Lynn Novo, a true Italian food lover and a Chef who has studied culinary arts at schools around the world - including most recentlyl at the Academia Barilla Culinary School in Parma, Italy, where she spent some time studying with a group of students from the American Personal and Private Chef Association.

Lynn Novo is a chef, kitchen manager, and recipe developer. She owns Comfort Sisters, an Atlanta, Georgia based meal service company that plans customized meals and prepares from-scratch home-cooked food for busy executives. Lynn teaches cooking classes that feature food and wine pairings and authentic Italian cuisine, and actively promotes the use of Italian regional, artisanal food products.

She is the chef for the very popular “Wine Makes the Meal” series of classes at The Cook’s Warehouse in Atlanta, where you can also find the full range of Academia Barilla’s gourmet specialty products. As Special Events Coordinator for The Cook’s Warehouse and Sherlock’s Wine Merchant Store in Decatur GA, Lynn manages the showroom kitchen for special events such as the Decatur Book Festival and has assisted celebrity chefs including Scott Peacock, Virginia Willis, Marvin Woods, and Shirley Corriher.

Beside of running all these activities, Lynn is also the host and guide of VIP gourmet trips to the Academia Barilla Culinary School in Parma - her next gourmet trip to Italy is scheduled for next September 21-26, 2008. If you live in the US SouthWest and want to join Lynn’s group for a guided culinary trip to Italy, we advice that you get in touch with her as soon as possible, as space is limited, and reservations are running out!

In this post are some pictures of Lynn with some fellow travelers at her latest passage from Parma, engaging in a culinary session, but also enjoying the results of the cooking.

Do you want to get in touch with Lynn Novo? Just call +1 (678) 693-4133, or try to catch up with her in person tracking her calendar of events at the Cook’s Warehouse in Atlanta, where she proposes her exploration of the food of Emilia-Romagna, the heartland of Italy.

This evening, Thursday April 24 from 7pm to 9pm, Lynn will be the host of a gourmet event in Decatur, during which she will share with participants recipes highlights, her Italian cooking experience, and her deep knowledge on food ingredients of the region.

Lynn’s Emilia-Romagna-inspired menu includes both Parmigiano-Reggiano with Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale (Parmigiano Cheese with aged Balsamic Vinegar) and Funghi Marinati (Marinated Mushrooms) with Salame di Finocchio (Sausage with fennel) as antipasti.

Then, Lynn follows not with one but with two pasta dishes: Tagliatelle al Prosciutto (Egg Pasta with Prosciutto di Parma and Cheese) and Maltagliati alla Bolognese, which features a Bolognese style Meat Ragu.

Space is limited (capacity: 25), so call Lynn Novo now to secure your reservation! The address is 180 West Ponce de Leon Avenue, 30030 Decatur, GA. Driving directions? Google Map here below for your convenience.

Experience Italy with Lynn Novo, in Atlanta with Lynn’s signature foods, or in Parma at the Academia Barilla Culinary School!

Say buongiorno again to Chef Matteo Carboni of the Academia Barilla Culinary School, who’s back on Italian food Lovers to introduce the Ingredient of the Month for the month of March ending today: the sunny, Mediterranean eggplant (aubergine for our readers in the UK and Australia).

Today Chef Matteo Carboni will show not only how to cut an eggplant in thin slices, but also how to make a perfect and easy finger food dish in few minutes, with the help of few other ingredients: extra virgin olive oil (Academia Barilla’s Monti Iblei, of course), grated Pecorino cheese (try Academia Barilla’s Pecorinos from Tuscany or Sardinia for an authentic Italian flavor) and Prosciutto di Parma.

Add chives as final touch for presentation, and a arucula salad on a side, and you have the perfect antipasto.

Check out the video recipe!

Chef Carboni first slices the eggplants, then spread some extra virgin olive oil on both sides of each slice before grilling them for two minutes max on a pre-heated grill.

While the eggplant slices are still hot off the grill, Chef Carboni sprinkles some grated Pecorino cheeses, then pairs the slice with a slice of Prosciutto di Parma, and carefully roll them together, using chives to secure each roll, adding a final touch of flavor and presentation.

CHEF TIPS:

Serve it with an arucula salad (rocket salad) on a side, adding just some Italian extra virgin olive oil and Balsamic Must of Modena aged 8 years, like the one you can find at the Academia Barilla online store.