If there's one thing I knew about Rome before coming, it was this: Rome is a mecca for foodies. And, for the most part, this has proven true - we've had so much excellent pasta and pizza while we've been here. Too much pizza, in fact - and yes, such a thing is actually possible!
As a chef, though, I wanted to do more than just eat. Finding a cooking class is easy, finding a class that works with locally sourced ingredients and uses traditional cooking methods is far more challenging. Luckily we stumbled upon Convivio.
They are a small family run business (just Australian expat Sally and her Italian husband Guido), and they run private (or very small group) hands-on cooking classes, rather than just demonstration, and best of all they do all this from their olive grove-adjacent home in the medieval city of Toffia just outside of Rome.
We arrived in the Sabina region a little later than planned when our reliable Italian train broke down just after leaving the station. After a long wait we were on the road again (or rails) and Sally was really great about us arriving a good hour late. We drove away from the station and towards the many hilltop villages dotting the horizon.
On the way she gave us a quick rundown of the history of the area during 10th-12th century and background on Mediterranean olive groves and growing olives.
When we got into town, Sally took us by her herb garden, hidden away in the labyrinth of cobblestone alleyways. Here we were able to sample Italian herbs such as rosemary, parsley, marjoram, bay leaf and some regional varieties such as roman mint.
With a decent supply of herbs in tow, we headed off to Sally's home to meet our chef for the day, her husband Guido. This is where we found out that our already pretty awesome cooking class was actually a one-on-two private lesson!This was extra awesome, since most cooking classes (including ones I did in Thailand) cater to larger groups of more casual at-home cooks - being just us and Guido (and in all fairness, Tash was more photographer than cook) meant that I was able to ask some more industry-specific questions.
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| Pictured: Guido - Italian super-chef! |
Our menu for the day was freshly made fettuccine with a traditional ragu sauce, and a chocolate and cherry ricotta tart for dessert.
Once we were in the kitchen, we wasted no time on making the pasta - mixing the dough, rolling it out and cutting it into noodles, then chopping veges and frying off meat for the sauce.
The course is very hands-on, with Guido getting us stuck in kneading dough and stirring sauces. Even Tash - dear, cooking-averse Tash who, let's be fair to her, can burn water - got in on it.
Everything, and I mean everything, was made fresh the traditional Italian way, mixing doughs on a big wooden board, chopping veges and opening tins of tomatoes by hand. ...okay, so almost everything was made fresh.The pasta in particular was made entirely by hand, rolling it thin with a huge rolling pin and slicing it using a knife, with not a machine in sight.
The best thing about the food we cooked, for me, is how fresh it was. Virtually every ingredient that Guido uses is freshly produced by local suppliers - as we were rolling and chopping and stirring, he talked with us about the different cheeses and meats and oils that come from the Sabina region.
We also got to sample some local olive oil and pecorino cheese, and I can say without a word of hyperbole that I'll be having dreams about both of those for days to come.
As the sauce simmered and the tart baked, we talked at length to Sally and Guido - swapping travel stories, learning about life in the Italian countryside, and hearing about more serious goings-on in Italy and Europe. Once we moved through into the cantina, it was time for the main event - eating our wonderful creations.
The meal was excellent, with plenty of wine and conversation flowing, and we were genuinely saddened when it was time for us to head back to the train station - although taking half of the tart home with us helped to soften the blow!
Our day in Toffia was amazing. We only partook in the half day cooking class - however if you are coming to Rome and are interested in something more intensive, they also have an olive grove tour, local wine tour as well as multi-day programs. To find out more check them out at Convivio Rome!
If you'd like to read more of our 5 days in Rome, click here!
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