2016 ITALY Sant'Agata sui Due Golfi 53 - Pretty in Pink Meal

I would not have imagined a 2-Michelin star restaurant theme to be pink and white, but Don Alfonso pulls it off with absolutely no problem. Not girly at all, but modern, bright, and fresh. It was fantastically elegant, even 20s and 30s music playing softly in the background.

We were escorted to our seats. A big table next to a gorgeous white intricately carved fireplace. Chairs upholstered in pinks and white. Fresh flowers everywhere. Calming, organic, beautiful. The red wine fit in well! Here is our waiter / sommelier again.

More pink. There were pink accent walls. Pink and white dinnerware. Art and antiques scattered around.

Little touches. The ladies received small stools to store our purses. And if anyone stepped away for a moment, their napkin was neatly folded and placed on their chair arm.

We did not know how we were going to fit another bit into our tummies, but once the food started coming, we were once again starved. Taste and presentation were the utmost. Again, I cannot say what each item is, but truly loved every single course. Bread, heart of every meal. 

 This was a light salmon and veggie crisp.

Meat bite ??

 Hummm. My notes say yellow fin tuna ??

Veggie spread. Once again we saw unique shaped bowls and plates, I'm sure made just for this establishment.

Pasta with truffle shavings and fried onion rings.

Linguine with zucchini.

Palate cleanser--flavored shave ice and organic limoncello. We got this "cleanser" a few times. This might have been the prickly pear version.

One of several sweets, named lemon five-ways and included candied lemon slices. This was a favorite of mine and I don't usually even like lemon.

The finale dessert was the coup d'etat. A plate arrived at the table with what looked like ice in a bowl under the platter. Our sommelier poured a blue liquid into a cavity in the center of the platter and the dish exploded into "smoke" which swirled around the sweets. Everyone's jaw dropped. Truly magical.

I have to give a shout out to our waiter / sommelier. Oh, I wish I could remember his name. Not only was he a flawless server / sommelier, but he kept us in stitches. He wore a tux and a leather apron from waist almost to the floor. He said this is the style of innkeepers in olden days. Just one of his little extras was occasionally and unobtrusively sweeping our crumbs onto a silver tray.

He kept teasing me about our matching haircuts. I have to admit, he was somewhat right with our spiky tops. FYI - I am not rudely checking my phone in this pix (which didn't even work in Italy), but jotting a few notes in Reminder.

Grand Chef Ernesto checked in on us. Of course, we had nothing but compliments.

Livia saw us out the front door and invited us to the wine cellar next door.

2016 ITALY Sant'Agata sui Due Golfi 52 - Eating Spoils of our Labor and More

Next we sat down to eat the food we had just prepared. Oh, boy! Delish!

Wine-pairing, of course. And we would see this fab fellow later.

A little espresso to pick us up.

We reluctantly relinquished our chef jackets in exchange for a certificate of completion in Mediterranean Cuisine for Pasta and Fish. It was presented very elegantly on "papyrus" paper and suitable for framing.

We also received an eight page explanation of the Mediterranean diet, a two page write-up on food hygiene and safety, and a copy of all the recipes we prepared today. As a gift bonus we each took home a small jar of their dried oregano. Quite a package! An aside: We kept one jar and gave the other to Kendall, our chef nephew in Lansing.

Proud graduates.

We were then invited to lounge in the lovely courtyard / veranda while we waited for the next event. Cool dude Giuseppe enjoyed the open air there while we had "slaved" in the kitchen.

Family member Livia gave us a tour. She said there are over 5,500 handmade Italian ceramic tiles here. We had admired several versions already. More to come inside the restaurant, kitchen, even bathrooms.

All kinds of fabulous art everywhere. Don't let this photo deceive you. This planter is HUGH. See the piece behind G in above photo.

There was a tiled outdoor bar-be-que and fireplace.

A swim pool and green grass area. Too bad we did not have swim suits.

Private seating areas here and there.

Herb garden.

 Herbs for our lessons l had just been picked from there.

After a breather, Head Chef Ernesto invited us through the restaurant kitchen and into the formal dining area. The sign says "artists' entry" -- food artists, in this case.

We saw this at a prep station!! Of course, this was not an entree or anything, but stunning display.

The kitchen and prep areas were beautifully decorated with more bright tiles. Everyone looked happy to be here.

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!