Additional Course Information
Classes and Meals
Cooking Classes: The International Cooking School Of Italian Food And Wine conducts cooking courses taught by highly-respected professional Italian chefs and cooking teachers who have taught for many years. All cooking classes are held in working professional kitchens giving exceptional opportunities for behind-the-scenes culinary experiences. You stand right next to Italian chefs and teachers and cook with them! Cooking with excellent-quality fresh ingredients and fresh herbs is important to us, and we assume, is important to you. The dishes we prepare are luscious with the essence of Italian flavor.
Recipes: All of our Italian recipes are original and copyrighted. A binder with well-written recipes, typed in English, is given to each course participant so you have fun cooking with us rather than writing notes. Our recipes include some Italian culinary terminology so you learn the word and associate it with specific technique which you practice during class. Most recipes are written in quantity for 4 servings, sometimes up to 8 servings. (Most recipes can be divided in half or doubled easily giving great flavor. If a different quantity is needed, please let us know during class and we will give you that information.) Mary Beth tests class recipes on both sides of the Atlantic, using local ingredients, to assure success in following the recipes after class.
Cooking Class Meals and Restaurant Meals: Our meals we prepare during class are absolutely wonderful! The dishes you learn in class are coordinated with the dishes you taste in our restaurant meals so by the end of the course, you have a substantial repertorio of La Cucina Italiana. Every class and scheduled restaurant luncheon or dinner is multi-course, pairing Italian wines with the dishes so you learn about regional grape varieties and wine producers. Fresh seasonal ingredients are always used in preparing our authentic recipes and the meals we make together are absolutely delicious!
Meals are included as stated in each course itinerary. Bottled mineral waters, Italian wine, espresso, cappuccino and tea are included in the meals. Please contact the New York office if you prefer a different beverage to drink during these meals; we are happy to serve you the beverage of your choice if possible. It is beneficial to you when you let us know weeks in advance of any personal food allergies or dietary restrictions. Of course, we will do our best to accommodate your requests.
Our Philosophy
Our cooking classes are conducted in professional working kitchens with professional equipment and knives. This is the best way to learn. You are “right there” on-the-spot standing next to Italian chefs. It is amazing how much information is gleaned from studying in a working kitchen, because you are privy to many behind-the-scenes culinary experiences only restaurant staff get to see. This exposure to daily working restaurant life is immensely valuable to you as a cook, regardless if you’re a home cook or a pro. (Unlike some cooking classes located in hotel basements, around someone’s kitchen table or in a classroom which can limit experience and therefore knowledge.)
For example: To learn all stages of making fresh pasta, you must study with a professional pasta chef (sfoglina) using her wooden equipment to achieve the proper texture and moisture content. Counter tops or the kitchen table do not produce outstanding quality that professional wooden pasta boards and rolling pins produce. To learn all stages of making Italian pizza, you must study with a pizza chef (pizzaiolo) in a pizzeria with a wood-burning oven. To learn professional techniques from Michelin-star chefs, you need to be in their kitchens with their staff and their cooking equipment so you understand how they achieve their signature dishes.
Our teaching instructors are acclaimed professional Italian chefs and cooking teachers with decades of experience. They are working full-time, not recently out of culinary school or retired. The reason for this requirement? Your time is valuable. We want you to be exposed to as much as possible during all of our cooking courses; working professional chefs have developed expertise that is current and goes years beyond culinary school.Today most home cooks want to cook “like a chef”. Chefs hone their skills working for many years, learning techniques and tips for making Italian dishes taste even better. In our classes, they teach you these techniques and tips.
Course Transportation
Course Transportation: For our private excursion days conducted during the course, transportation as stated in the itinerary is included and provided for by our private driver in a modern, air-conditioned 17-seat Pullman. Transportation not stated in the course description is not included. Airfare and other forms of transportation to/from Bologna or other departure cities are not included in the course fee.
Non-Cooking Participants
Non-Cooking Participants: We offer a slightly reduced fee for “tasters” joining in restaurant meals, class meals and excursions, but not participating in or observing any hands-on cooking classes. If someone is interested in observing cooking classes, the full course fee is required. For more information on this option, please send an e-mail to: contact@internationalcookingschool.com
Hotel Accommodations
Hotel Accommodations in Bologna: Conveniently located in the city’s Historic Center by Piazza Maggiore, hotels are surrounded with antique shops, designer stores, restaurants and museums. The entire area is spacious with no traffic zones so you leisurely stroll to the market, our classes, shop and visit restaurants, historical sites and museums.
All rooms are based on double occupancy and have modern, private baths with toiletries and hair dryer, color television with video, BBC and CNN, radio, Wi-Fi, in-room safe, refrigerator-bar and air-conditioning. European hotels now offer mostly non-smoking rooms. If you prefer a bath tub or shower, or any other amenity, please inform us with course registration so we can include your request with your hotel reservation.
Single Traveler: If traveling alone, as many of our participants do, the hotel charges a single supplement for your lovely double room. Purposely we reserve double rooms for every participant so you have space to unpack, stretch out and relax. (Single rooms for one person are often “after-thoughts” in hotels, are tiny and situated in poor locations, so we do not reserve them.) We want you to feel comfortable throughout your stay with us.
Hotel Accommodations in other cities such as Alba and Milan are included when we travel during our October Truffle Festival. All hotel accommodations are located in the center of the city conveniently located to stores, historical sites, museums and restaurants.
All hotels included in our courses have modern facilities, restaurants on-site with room service and modern elevators. Hotel reception staff members are courteous and fluent in English, Italian, French, German and some Spanish. Full Italian buffet breakfasts are included daily in each hotel during your stay in our course.
If you prefer to arrange your own accommodations, it is fine and the customized course fee is reduced reflecting the change.
Hotel Transportation Transfers via taxi or private driver: Professional licensed meter taxis are always waiting at Bologna’s International Airport and train station. Bologna’s International Airport is only a 15-minute drive to the hotels and Bologna’s train station is only a 5-minute drive to the hotels. If you prefer a private driver, please arrange airport/train station/other destinations/hotel transfers directly with your hotel. Payment for this service is between you and the hotel, therefore payment should be made directly to the hotel.
Customized Private Courses
We love to help you make your dreams come true by giving you the cooking course or Italian food-and-wine tour you’ve always wanted. Customized hands-on or demonstration cooking classes and tours of 3 days or more can be created just for your family or group, usually with a minimum of 8 participants. Hotel accommodations can be included if you wish.
Please contact us with a detailed e-mail message listing your preferences for dates, class instruction, restaurant dining, private excursions and other topics of interest. We are happy to discuss course options and create a private course or tour just for you. Contact marybethclark@internationalcookingschool.com
Gift Certificates
Throughout the years, many of our clients celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, graduations and other special occasions by joining us in Bologna for our cooking courses. If this is a surprise gift, we will send you a customized letter that you can give to that special person in your life.
Please send an email to: marybethclark@internationalcookingschool.com