The London Experience

Myself in London , picture by Alice Dunhill

February 14th  I excitedly packed my suitcase with just a few clothes leaving plenty of room for lots of Italian goodies such as Parmesan and Pecorino cheese, Smoked Pancetta, super local Extra Virgin Olive Oil cold press from my Umbrian green hills and headed for the airport .I was off to start  my London adventure, a two week cooking workshop all about Italian cuisine .My first worry was about being stopped at the airport with all these delicacies and my second was that I would be walking around London with my clothes smelling of parmesan etc.etc. I think I am right in saying it would not have been very pleasant to say the least !!!!!!!!!

Fortunately everything went well and so the London experience got off to a good start.

This continued because as soon as I walked into Lorna`s wonderful kitchen I knew this was the perfect location for our cooking workshop.. Bright and full of character ,expertly equipped, I felt at  home straight away.

Lorna and myself in the London kitchen, picture by Alice Dunhill

The next day we set off with a shopping list and did a thorough search for the best products to be used during the courses. I have to say I was really very impressed with  the variety of ingredients that you can find in London and the quality and prices are not so different from here in Italy.

The two weeks flew by , every day I met some wonderful people , all keen and happy to learn about Italian cuisine .They all loved the simple Italian philosophy of using just a few but good quality ingredients ..
Lorna and I thoroughly enjoyed sharing our  hospitality and professionalism with all the people who joined in our workshops .To share with them all the good food made during the classes accompanied by good Italian wine was a lovely relaxing way to end each day.
Here are some photos I took with my phone . I apologize for the non- professionalism of these photos , but Nick Cornish the official photographer of Sagraincasa was not with me in London (somebody had to feed Hilda the goat and the chickens )so I did the best I could and hope you will enjoy seeing how it all progressed.

All the positive feedback we received really  touched my heart , so many wonderful kind words and compliments came via email day after day. In fact it was so successful we decided to repeat this experience next November and  already have people asking to book , no matter what `s going to be cooked and even though an exact date hasn`t yet been decided , they just want to be on the waiting list!HOW AMAZING IS THAT???????

It was a wonderful experience for me and what makes me even happier is it’s the start of a FANTASTIC collaboration with my friend Lorna. Working with her was both a pleasure and an honer.

Clearly I was not locked in the kitchen everyday for two weeks , in fact I did manage to do some ‘personal shopping in my favorite stores too.  Unfortunately when I realized that in a single day off I managed to buy 5  beautiful summer dresses, I had to admit it would be less dangerous for me to stay in the kitchen and perhaps just go for a run in the park if there was some free time!!!!! an option Nick totally agreed with. However he was very proud of all my hard work and the outcome of this new venture and some wonderful flowers were waiting for me in the house along with an excellent Prosecco to start the evening and a lovely dinner while the fire crackled in the fireplace .Home sweet home .