2016 ITALY Sant'Agata sui Due Golfi 51 - Late Night, Early Depart for Cooking

Arrived back to the hotel as 00:15 last night. Departure from Villa Ketty was 08:30 this morning. As tired as we were, we looked forward to the day's activities.

We finished packing, ate a quick but fab breakfast, loaded (should I say stuffed) the van, said our good-byes to the hosts, and headed out.

We had a 1-hour drive through the mountains of the Sorrentine peninsula (photo is an unknown mountain town).  The village of Sant'Agata sui Due Golfi was our destination. We did not see much of it, except its biggest attraction for us... Ristorante Don Alfonso 1890.

It is owned by the Iacarino family--Alfonso, Mario, Livia, and Ernesto. The complex includes an organic farm (5 kilometers away), cooking school, food research lab, ristorante, 1,000-year old wine cellar, boutique hotel (nine suites), swimming pool, gardens, and their family home. What a spread!

We were directed to the cooking school building for our lesson. Chef Nicola (left) greeted us. He had several assistants. It was quite different than the experience last year at Badia a Coltibuono in Gaiole Chianti in northern Italy. There we all worked around one huge table and more hands-on.

This time we did some chopping, dough-rolling, veggie stacking, and a bit more. But much of the learning resulted from demonstrations. The facility here was smaller. There was a well-stocked pantry of shelves at the back. Right in front of us was the work area and then a high counter, which we stood behind.

In front of the counter were two dining tables. There was a colorful ceramic tile fireplace and lots of art.

Right off the bat we knew we were in for something special. A lot of awards displayed.

First suited up in chef jackets. How fun is that?

We were eager to get started.

We listened to some quick explanations and knife skill tips, and then chef dove into potato gnocchi making. He boiled the potato in their jackets, then peeled the skins and put the flesh through a ricer while still hot.

After cooling, he combined the dough into a ball while adding salt and flour. When done he rolled the dough into rope-like pieces and then cut them into ½ inch lengths.

After the demo, we were each given dough to roll and cut.

He cooked them in boiling water til they rose to the surface.

In the meantime, he made a fabulous tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes, garlic, basil, and a scamorza cheese.

Continuing on we prepared eggplant Parmesan, but this was a "tower" version. We sliced and chef fried eggplant rounds. We sliced mozzarella and stacked that with the eggplant, along with a pinch of basil and some tomato sauce. Then into the oven for a 10-minute baking.

Our last course was red snapper in bread crust and spring veggie sauce. We started with a whole fish.

Chef taught us how to handle and fillet the fish. He quickly sautéed the it to start the cooking process.

 He made a puree of herbs, zucchini, and breadcrumbs.

To ensure smoothness, he pressed through a sieve.

He rolled the mixture between two sheets of wax paper, then cut to size and placed on the red snapper.

He baked them for a short while and gave a finishing torch for a little color. He added a little more of the sauce before plating.

Voile!