Chef Giuliano Hazan Returns to Italy to Open a Cooking School
For the last 30 years, the Hazan family name has been synonymous with fine Italian cooking. When Marcella Hazan, author of five best-selling cookbooks, including "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking," closed her culinary school in Venice in the fall of 1998, her followers were heartbroken. But now, in fair Verona, Marcella's son, Giuliano Hazan, has decided to offer his own culinary courses, beginning in September.
"It has always been my dream to open a school in Italy," said Giuliano Hazan. "When my parents had a school, I was active and helped them for 11 years. Since then, I have taught in America, but there is nothing like teaching Italian cooking in Italy."
Hazan, author of "Every Night Italian" and "The Classic Pasta Cookbook," will teach students how to cook Italian food, making dishes such as homemade pasta and risotto using local ingredients like culatello, a cured ham more prized than prosciutto.
During the seven-day program, students will stay at Villa Giona, a Renaissance estate in the Verona countryside. Only 12 students are allowed in each course, which includes four evening classes with Hazan.
"In the day, we will tour places like a rice mill that makes risotto, olive presses for extra-virgin olive oil, and even a Parmigiano-Reggiano factory, with field trips in the Veneto," said Hazan. "It is our intention to introduce people to Italian food in its culture."
Hazan is making his dream a reality with the help of the Allegrini family of winemakers, who will supply the wine to accompany the multicourse dinners prepared by the students. Marilisa Allegrini, the family's "ambassador," will present the wines, which are mostly from her native Valpolicella (though not all will be from the Allegrini winery).
For more information on the course, call (941) 365-5217, or point your Web browser to www.GiulianoHazan.com.
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