Our cookery

OUR CLASSES IN ESSEX

All classes are friendly and informal, and are designed to make you relax. The school is set in a 6 acre tranquil garden, providing a stunning green landscape.

As you step through the door, you will be greeted with a fresh cup of coffee and a freshly baked cake or biscuit. Classes start at 9:30am: a reasonable time even if you have to drop children off at school.

If you are coming from London by train, it couldn't be easier - the journey from Liverpool Street lasts only 30 minutes, with trains every 15 minutes. You are in Billericay before you have even read the morning paper, and we are only 1 mile from Billericay train station. A Taste-Italia representative will collect you from the station.

Our principal cooks Caterina di Riccardi from Venice and Mario Puzzi from Florence will then guide you through the day's recipes in a pre-class instruction session.

A typical day's menu, based on Italian home cooking, might include:

• Bread-making: foccacia, ciabatta
• Handmade pasta: ravioli, lasagne and tagliatelle
• Making tagliatelle, perhaps with a fresh asparagus sauce straight from our own garden
• The perfect risotto: learn the secret way to create this wonderful dish
• Main course: fish or meat alla Toscana - seasonal classics
• Fresh vegetable salad with handmade seasoning of oils, herbs and wine vinegar
• A classic tomato sauce - once made, with you forever
• Handmade ice cream with zest of fresh lemon

There is also a late morning break, with a glass of wine and filled Umbrian Testo bread; far better than any pizza.

The Lunch

As you have toiled hard over a hot stove, you now come to the highlight of the day. The class lunch is a chance to sit with your fellow students whilst enjoying a nice glass of Italian wine and having your creations served to you. It's civilised and the perfect end to a creative learning day. Classes generally finish at approximately 3:30pm.