Bless our JW Network of Classified Advertisers for this suggestion. It was Karen Herbst of The International Kitchen that arranged for my Tuscan cooking class with Silvia Maccari (right in her Florence home). Cooking is not one of my strong points but because of Silvia, who enjoys sharing her love of life, good food, expertise and meeting people, this was definitely one of the highlights of my trip to Florence.

Our day started with a tour of San Lorenzo Market -- my teacher greeting her favorite merchants and choosing only the freshest ingredients to be used for our class. Then on to her kitchen where Silvia handed me an apron and we began our hands-on cooking class. While preparing our five-course meal, I learned simple cooking techniques and shared lots of interesting girl talk and travellers' tales.

It was a lovely sunny morning -- Silvia kept the doors to the small balcony off her kitchen open -- when the recipe required it, she stepped out to snip fresh basil growing in outdoor clay pots. Our class menu included: pie with cheese, onions & olives, risotto with shrimps & vegetables, stuffed veal chops, tomatoes with porchini mushrooms & leek stuffing, as well as biscotti and vin santo to close the meal. Julia Child once said that the sign of a good cook is that she can have all dishes ready at just about the same time. Silvia was right on with everything including the risotto which only has a five-minute window for perfect consistency.

Now my teacher morphed from a Tuscan chef to a fine Italian host. Her dining room table was beautifully set with simple white porcelain dishes and red napkins on a vibrant orange-red Indian cover. A pot of yellow flowers sat in the center along with three bottles of wine -- white, red, and dessert.

Silvia, who speaks excellent English, learned to cook from her Florentine grandmother who passed on a wealth of family recipes. I am grateful to both of these women for the gorgeous meal I enjoyed. Once the main course was on the table, Silvia joined me. This was no ordinary meal and no ordinary classroom. It was a true immersion into the Italian culture. I was welcomed into another woman's kitchen where she shared her expertise and her company. While other travel experiences may fade, I know that this one will not. Bravo Silvia and thanks, again, to The International Kitchen for making this adventure possible.

She travels and learns to cook...

The companies listed below are all members of our network of Journeywoman classified advertisers. For those readers interested in a cooking holiday, we thought it was appropriate to offer these ads as a place to begin your 'travel & learn' research. Bon appetit everybody!

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