A Recipe for a Wonderful Day Cooking
The Olive Press Kitchen was pleased to host writer Joanne Marino Bartram of Two Parts Italy at Il Mulino for what she described as a “wonderful day of cooking!” With her permission, we are pleased to repost this article here for you to enjoy. To see her original post and view all of her amazing photos, click here. The Olive Press Kitchen (formerly the Extra Virgin Cooking Class By Joanne Marino Bartram Here is a recipe for a wonderful day of cooking in Italy: Start with Chef Giuseppe Mazzocchi (he makes the magic happen). You’ll meet Giuseppe, along with your small group of classmates, for a bit of shopping at Montecatini’s market. Here you’ll find fresh herbs, veggies, and just the right beans for soup. It’s a great way to start the day and learn about local ingredients. Next, spend the day at the historic molino (mill) where Giuseppe’s grandparents lived and worked. The mill property is over 600 years old and sits alongside a stream whose waters once powered the mill equipment. Inside the old mill you’ll find a professional kitchen with lots of workspace. Here, under the chef’s guidance, you will prepare and cook authentic Italian dishes. If the day is chilly, there will be a fire burning in the kitchen’s large fireplace. Could there be a better atmosphere for cooking? I think not! To make the atmosphere even better, enjoy some Prosecco while prepping ingredients and take a break to sample some regional olive oils and cheeses. Later, when all the work is done, you’ll share a fabulous lunch with your classmates in the beautiful dining room, the spot which once housed the olive press. Today it is a rustic yet elegant space with a table large enough for all to gather. Giuseppe will select wines that pair perfectly with the food you’ve prepared. A member of the Italian Sommelier Association, he knows his wines and happily shares that knowledge during the meal. The Olive Press Kitchen Backstory Some of you may have done a class with Giuseppe at Extra Virgin Cooking when it was located inside the historic center of Lucca. Those classes were wonderful and inspired me to write an earlier blog post (from April 2022). With completion of the mill renovations, all of the classes moved out to Il Molino last summer. New location and a new name—The Olive Press Kitchen. I was excited to experience the new location when, with a couple of friends, I signed up for a class this past October. The cooking school is in the hills outside of Montecatini. Montecatini can be reached by train along the Florence – Lucca line. Coming from either Lucca or Florence, it is about 30 minutes to the Montecatini Centro stop. Once there, Giuseppe will meet you and it is just a short walk to the market. Classes include round trip transportation between Montecatini and Il Molino. My Wonderful Day of Cooking My October class took place on a chilly, rainy day so we enjoyed the fireplace while we prepared our first course, a Zuppa Frantoiana. This is a typical fall soup of vegetables and beans drizzled with the season’s fresh pressed olive oil. We also prepared a beef based ragu to go with Gnudi, a light as a cloud ricotta and spinach dumpling. Shaping the gnudi takes practice and we all had fun learning the technique (but even more fun eating them at lunch). Fall is funghi (mushroom) season, so we also made a risotto with several types of mushrooms, including porcinis. Last, we made a wonderful classic Italian dessert – zabaglione. Rich with egg yolk, sugar, marsala wine, and whipped cream, it was topped with fresh berries. A perfect way to end our meal. Everything about classes with The Olive Press Kitchen is special. From Giuseppe’s care and teaching, to the gorgeous setting, to the small group of students, to the shared meal of authentic foods and wines. For anyone interested in food, cooking, or just good eating, a day spent at the mill cooking with Giuseppe is a fabulous experience. Classes are scheduled 3 days per week, 9 am to about 2:30 pm. All classes are in English.
