NELLY'S ANTICA SCIAMADDA

Whether you are a professional chef, or a hiker with a passion for cooking or simply a food lover, a culinary vacation is the perfect way to experience  a country or region. It is possible to learn as much about the history and culture of a people from the methods and ingredients used in their cooking as from anything found in a book.

I was born and raised in Italy and I have also lived and taught Italian cooking in California for the last 15 years. I can say that my approach to the way I conceive my cooking tours is unique. Having lived in both countries, I can affirm that my clients experience Italy from an insider’s point of view while having their needs met, and enjoy communication in their language.

Participants learn from me and from some of my friend chefs and restaurateurs the cooking techniques that enable them to reproduce the specialties of the regions we visit. Everything is done by hand, from scratch, and only with the freshest ingredients.

I also offer some basic Italian language instruction to make it possible to communicate, shop, read a menu, and order a meal. Whenever we have a chance, we participate in local seasonal festivals, mixing with local people and staying off the beaten track. Participants return home with lasting memories and with a feeling of belonging to the places we visited.

The four locations I propose for our cooking adventures are very familiar to me. They are well known for their natural beauty, for their interesting cuisine, for their artistic importance, and for the warmth of their people.
Sepino (Molise) is my mother’s native village, as Mombaruzzo (Piemonte) is my father’s. Genova (Liguria) is the place where I grew up and owned my food stores and restaurant (still active) and Rome is where most of my family now resides. I love each of these places and having friends and family in each is a key factor to have a memorable experience.

Please email me for details.

Molise is a narrow strip of hilly terrain situated to the east of Lazio and  south of Abbruzzi and is  bordered by the Maiella mountain range to the west and the Adriatic sea to the east. Its landscape is characterized by mountainous relief, beautiful valleys, and forests where wild pigs and horses still roam undisturbed. Its forested slopes are dotted with castles, medieval hamlets, glorious ancient ruins dating back to the Samnites, the inhabitants of the area who preceded the Romans.
Molise is known to have one of the most uncontaminated nature in all of Europe - so pristine, in fact, that UNESCO has chosen Molise for two of its four Italian biosphere locations.  This beautiful area of Italy, is famous for its genuine hospitality as well as its unique cuisine, wines, olive oils, cheeses (caciocavallo, scamorza, mozzarella), meats, and pasta.

Molise is an undiscovered place very dear to my heart because it’s where my mother was born and most of my mother’s family lives. I spent many summers during my childhood in the village of Sepino. Sepino is famous for its archeological Roman site of Altilia and for its mineral water.

The ancient Saepinum (Altilia) is located at the border with Campania, two hours from Naples, two and a half hours from Rome, 1 hour from the Adriatic Coast. It is one of the gems of Molise. The intact Roman ruins of the ancient town are an archeological site of great interest.

Program includes:

Transportation and touring of the main sites such as:

Altilia archeological site

Campitello Matese - a day in the mountains

Boiano's farmer market and mozzarella factories

Touring of the ancient tratturi (the shepherds green “highways”)

Campobasso and surrounding areas and villages  (Guardiaregia, Isernia etc.)

Accommodations:

6 nights at bed & breakfast La Dimora an ancient palace restored with a grand view of the green hills

Walking distance from the center of the village

Rooms are spacious, clean, new, beautifully furnished and decorated, with private baths. Double occupancy.

All breakfasts and a dinner or lunch each day

4 hands-on cooking classes in which participants will learn the techniques that will enable them to reproduce at home

Molise typical specialties

Optional:

Visit to Pompei

Possibility of special arrangements for longer stay

 

Program does not include:

Airfare to and from USA

Transportation to and from airport of arrival

Lodging before and after tour dates

Personal expenses

 

Liguria is a narrow strip of land in the shape of an arch facing the Mediterranean sea and bordering France to the West, Tuscany to the East, and Piemonte to the North. Its coastline is lined with palm and lemon trees, castles covered in bougainvillea, a variety of fishing villages. Vineyards and olive groves cover the steep, terraced hills that rise up from the coast from which the view is breathtaking.

This tour of Genova and Liguria -  led by me and Larry Peterman, (an Italian speaking, experienced, knowledgeable hiking guide) will give me the opportunity to show off my beloved region and the beautiful city where I grew up - a city not often included in tours therefore not very well known to the average tourist.

My goal is to offer a unique experience of Genova through walking, hiking, cooking, dining with friends, and touring. Participants will have the opportunity to browse through markets, watch how farinata is made (in my former food shop Antica Sciamadda), appreciate the real Genovese pesto and focaccia, taste Genovese fabulous gnocchi al pesto and learn how to reproduce them at home, walk the narrow passageways of the ancient city’s medieval quarter, hike from Portofino's promontory down to the coast and tour the port of Genova by ferry boat, and even taste dolcetto wine and some specialties from Liguria’s neighbor region Piemonte.

Program includes:

Transportation and touring of the main sites such as:

Touring, walking and hiking through several villages along the East Ligurian coast: Pieve Ligure, Recco, Camogli, Portofino. Mostly transportation will be by train, boat, coach bus (cost included)

Visits to markets (Mercato Orientale),  typical food shops (pasta fresca, farinata), gelaterie, coffee shops, chocolate factories, museums, fairs

Tour of the port of Genova by ferry boat and visit to Lanterna (lighthouse), several Genovese picturesque neighborhoods (Castelletto, reachable by cable car, Boccadasse, a tiny fishing village inside Genova, famous for gelato and grappa).

Accommodations:

Accommodations: 6 nights in bed & breakfast in a Genovese historical building
in the heart of the ancient city, double occupancy

All breakfasts and dinners

3 hands-on cooking classes in which participants will learn the techniques
that will enable them to reproduce at home  Ligurian typical specialties

Optional:

Visit to Acqui Terme - in the wine country - an hour train ride. Acqui is famous for its hot springs, dolcetto wine, cheeses, truffles, delicious Acquesi, rum soaked cookies

Possibility of special arrangements for longer stay

 

Program does not include:

Airfare to and from USA

Transportation to and from airport of arrival

Lodging before and after tour dates

Personal expenses

Learn to create dinner and life from scratch. Create the possibility of abundance in life while exploring new and traditional culinary techniques, the Italian countryside and new ways of life.

I am teaming up with my friend and colleague Julia Dederer, a renowned public speaker, who has lead transformational seminars for 30 years and is currently on the faculty of the Global Woman Leadership Network based in Santa Clara University.*

We believe there is an Italian and a chef in every person. Being Italian is a way of being. This adventure is for those who, not only love food and exploration, but are also filled with curiosity and passion about personal growth and development.

For seven days you will tour, visit, browse, cook, experiment with Italian language, meet people and engage in conversations and inquiries that will powerfully expand your appetite for life and your capacity to satisfy it.

While I will introduce you to the beauty of the yet undiscovered, pristine Molise region in central/south Italy, and show you how to pick and blend ingredients and create meals that will satisfy your palate and your soul, Julia will conduct, through conversation, an exploration of your experience and train you in how to savor the moment.

You will come home with an experience of new horizons open to you and a sense of being part of an extended Italian family. You will be able to reproduce the flavor of Italian regional specialties in your home and to generate and bring the inclusiveness and sense of culture and tradition back to your world.

*Julia and I support and are active in several organizations:

• The Hunger Project
• The Pachamama Alliance
• Landmark Education
• Global Women Leadership Network

Program includes:

Accommodations in a beautiful B&B

Touring

All breakfasts and dinners

Cooking classes,  tuition.

Program does not include:

Airfare to and from USA

Personal expenses

Cost of program: $ 3,950 

Program includes:

Transportation and touring of the main sites such as:

Nizza Monferrato  - market, antiques - wineries

Acqui Terme - thermal waters

Canelli - Castle, Moscato wineries, reenactment of Canelli’s siege

Roccaverano - cheese factories

Accommodations:

6 nights in Agriturismo, a beautifully renovated farm house  located amid vineyards and walking distance from the center of the village. Double occupancy

All breakfasts and dinners

4 hands-on cooking classes in which participants will learn the techniques
that will enable them to reproduce at home  Ligurian typical specialties

Optional:

Visit to Genova on the Ligurian coastd

Possibility of special arrangements for longer stay

Program does not include:

Airfare to and from USA

Transportation to and from airport of arrival

Lodging before and after tour dates

Personal expenses