Abbott’s Preparation Week 22

Abbott’s Preparation Week 22

This week is the official start of my culinary school journey, which has already proven to be very exciting and interesting.

Monday was orientation day where I met my classmates as well as the interpreter, Giovani (Gio for short), who would be accompanying us to our classes. Gio then took us on a small tour of Florence to show us the Central Market and the train station both of which we will be using each week, then took us to a restaurant, owned by a friend of the school, for lunch. 

Tuesday we had off because it was a local holiday, but I made good use of my time and went to Piazzale de Michelangelo, which afforded a beautiful view of the city and where you can see his statue of David (not the original unfortunately, just a copy). I then hiked a little further up to reach the Balistica of San Miniato al Monte, a beautiful church where Benedictine monks practice their faith, learn theology and bibliology, and chant in Latin and Gregorian. After that I went to one of the Leonardo da Vinci museums in town (there’s actually two very close to each other), which was cool because it showcased all of his super interesting inventions that were revolutionary for their time. 

Wednesday was our first official day of school and started out with an Italian lesson, then we went to the train station to take the train to the town of Lastra a Singa where the kitchen we will cook in is located. Since there are only three of us in the class plus the translator and teacher, we are working out of the chef’s personal home and kitchen, which is a really nice rustic style kitchen with almost all the modern amenities of a restaurant kitchen. He went over all the dishes we were going to make for the day, then sent us each to do our own individual tasks. We ended up making a grilled ribeye steak along with some grilled vegetables, Tuscany beans and a Tuscan pasta dish made from strips of flour tortillas (which we made like crepes from scratch) with pesto on top. 

Thursday and Friday were much the same except we made different dishes and there was no Italian class Friday morning. So Thursday we made roast veal, pomodoro, which is chunks of bread in tomato sauce (which actually makes for a very nice taste and consistency), and biscotti, which are tasty Italian cookies that have almonds and orange zest in them. 

Friday we made more veal but from lower down on the animal's leg (and it was small steaks instead of an entire roast), bruccetta, risotto, gnocchi (which has to have been my favorite dish so far) and tiramisu. 

It was a lot of dishes in total but broken down by the chef beforehand and us being able to help each other out really makes it easier. 

Saturday and Sunday I’ll have off so I’ll definitely be making good use of that time. This week Saturday I took a day trip to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower (campanile), Cathedral and Baptistery, as well as to Lucca (which is the town with the longest intact wall in Europe) to see all the towers the city has and also walk along the wall. They were both beautiful but the cathedral and baptistery at Pisa felt very special. Finally, today I took things a bit slower, just working on some of my various projects and doing my laundry for the week. 

All in all, I’ve really enjoyed cooking and learning this week, and am glad to be here soaking in this experience. Until next time,

• Abbott Springston