I'm making a habit of these late night posts. I keep waking up at odd times in the morning with no way of falling back asleep. Today I am fighting the urge to nap after school. Must sleep through the night tonight.
Yesterday was my first day at ALMA. Italians are way too funny. The chef uniforms they gave us are borderline too sexy for a school environment. Much more flattering than the over-sized cotton-poly blend uniforms we got at the FCI.
I met chef Bruno. He tries to be strict but I know he is a softie at heart. He said ALMA produces professional cooks who aspire to work in world-class restaurants and if that is not your goal than you are wasting your time and money at ALMA. Well, I'm here for my passion for food and the for the experience. Maybe one day Chef Bruno will understand that.
Here's what I'll be studying at ALMA: history of Italian cuisine and culture, wine, ...
...Okay before I go on I need to elaborate on the wine classes. There is a designated wine tasting room and it's already my favorite room. When chef Bruno showed us the class I commented on this being the room where we get drunk and he happily agreed! This is definitely going to work out.
We have wine classes a few days a week with a personal wine coach. He said he has been tasting wine professionally for over 20 years and wants nothing more than to pass the knowledge along so someone else can find it useful. Thank you and please do pass that knowledge in my direction.
In addition to the history and wine classes, we have Italian language classes. The bulk of our schedule is taken up by kitchen class, naturally, and chef demos. Chefs from all over the country come and show us the signature dishes from their region. And last, but my second favorite part of the curriculum, are the field trips. We take field trips to food production sites all over Italy.
The most disturbing part about being in Italy is the chain smoking. The best part of being in Italy is the eye candy, and it's plentiful.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Benvenuto
It's 6:30 AM, I can't sleep. I blame the jet lag situation. I have to be at ALMA at 9 so I have a few hours to kill. Of course watching the last few episodes of Prison Break would be the perfect solution right now but I realized the hard way that Netflix does not operate in this part of the world. In the past three weeks I've watched almost all 4 seasons of the show. I feel like a parent sending their child to college. I've devoted all this time and I am so close to watching it graduate.
At least this gives me the chance to catch up on Foodgasmico. I openly admit my negligence to this blog but hey, brilliant writing cannot be rushed or faked. I'm here now though, in Italy, feeling inspired and open.
Yesterday, or today, or whatever 6 hours ago was, we met the other people in our class. We all live in the same apartment complex and I am so impressed by this place. It's brand new, clean and spacious. Which was a pleasant surprise from what I was imagining my living situation would be in a small town in Italy.
Needless to say, wine brings people together and luckily the rest of the world speaks English so we can all be friends. As newly acquainted friends, we walked around Colorno and found ALMA. ALMA, the international culinary school of Italian Cuisine. I can say that in Italian too. La scoula internazionale di cucina Italiana. I don't care in what language you put it, when I walked up to this place it took my breath away. A phenomenon that does not frequently happen to me. This place is massive, beautiful and there is a tranquil river gently weaving around the corner.
My camera is still packed but Google can help right about now. This is ALMA, the castle to the right of the A and in front of the beautiful gardens, which I want to turn into wall paper and put all over my future home.
And this brings me to my last topic. What was the first thing I ate in Italy, you ask? A slice of cold pizza, bread, prosciutto, cheese, and nutella. I still haven't decided on how I feel about my first meal but there is one thing I do know, it was delizioso!
I think this was the best decision of my life.
At least this gives me the chance to catch up on Foodgasmico. I openly admit my negligence to this blog but hey, brilliant writing cannot be rushed or faked. I'm here now though, in Italy, feeling inspired and open.
Yesterday, or today, or whatever 6 hours ago was, we met the other people in our class. We all live in the same apartment complex and I am so impressed by this place. It's brand new, clean and spacious. Which was a pleasant surprise from what I was imagining my living situation would be in a small town in Italy.
Needless to say, wine brings people together and luckily the rest of the world speaks English so we can all be friends. As newly acquainted friends, we walked around Colorno and found ALMA. ALMA, the international culinary school of Italian Cuisine. I can say that in Italian too. La scoula internazionale di cucina Italiana. I don't care in what language you put it, when I walked up to this place it took my breath away. A phenomenon that does not frequently happen to me. This place is massive, beautiful and there is a tranquil river gently weaving around the corner.
My camera is still packed but Google can help right about now. This is ALMA, the castle to the right of the A and in front of the beautiful gardens, which I want to turn into wall paper and put all over my future home.
And this brings me to my last topic. What was the first thing I ate in Italy, you ask? A slice of cold pizza, bread, prosciutto, cheese, and nutella. I still haven't decided on how I feel about my first meal but there is one thing I do know, it was delizioso!
I think this was the best decision of my life.
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