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MANILA, Philippines - Who is the American-Italian cook book author and educator best known for teaching Italian cooking classes in a restored Renaissance villa outside Verona?
Although born in the United States in 1958, he spent much of his childhood in Italy, and got his first taste of teaching as a teenager working at his mother Marcella’s School of Classic Italian cooking in Bologna.
There, he committed himself to mastering the simple, genuine flavors of Italian cuisine, and has for more than three decades taught hands-on and demonstration-style courses at cooking schools in Europe and the United States.
He began his writing career in 1993 with The Classic Pasta Cookbook, an international best-seller with 500,000 copies in print. Nominated for the coveted James Beard Award, it has been translated into 12 languages. The New York Times says that the book offers just about everything you want to know about pasta and how to prepare it from the Italian perspective.”
In 2000, he introduced Every Night Italian, a collection of 120 recipes that take no more than 45 minutes to prepare. The book was named the Best Italian Cookbook in the English Language at the World Cookbook Awards.
His third book, How to Cook Italian, includes 225 recipes and teaches cooks how to create authentic Italian cuisine at home — including sections on kitchen equipment, pantry essentials, and basic Italian cooking techniques. Jacques Pepin called the book “a must for lovers of good cooking.”
In his newest book, Thirty Minute Pasta: 100 Quick and Easy Recipes, he shows how to create an inspired Italian meal without spending hours in the kitchen. His repertoire of hearty soups, fresh vegetarian dishes, and meat and seafood sauces can be prepared in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta.
His theater training made him a natural for teaching cooking. From 1995 to 1999, he led multi-day courses at the legendary Hotel Cipriani in Venice. A particularly memorable class was the one he taught with his mother and acclaimed chef Nobu Matsuhisa.
In the United States, his recent cooking school appearances include Sur La Table, Ramekins, and Central Market.
In 2000, he and his wife Lael inaugurated a cooking school of their own. Each spring and fall, the couple — along with partner Marilisa Allegrini of the famed Allegrini Winery in Valpolicella — offer culinary and travel enthusiasts a true taste of Italy at Villa Giona, a restored Renaissance villa outside Verona.
Their week-long courses promise “total immersion in Italian food, wine, and life” and draw professional and amateur chefs from all over the world. After daily excursions, he leads a five-hour class during which participants prepare a traditional Italian meal.
The group then enjoys the meal — and a number of perfectly paired wines — and gather together around a large table in typical Italian fashion.
He and Marilisa have also launched A&H Selections to identify and import “made in Italy” food specialties including premium extra virgin olive oil made from prized Ogliarola olives grown in Apulia, and red wine vinegar made in the Valpolicella area near Verona.
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Last week’s question: Who is the Brazilian architect whose many notable works include public buildings designed for the city of Brasilia, the United Nations Headquarters in New York, and the iconic Rio chair?
Answer: Oscar Niemeyer
Winner: Leah Yap of Quezon City
Text your answer to 0926-3508061 with your name and address. One winner will be chosen through a raffle of texts with the correct answer. The winner will receive P2,000 worth of SM gift certificates for use at Our Home, SM Department Store, or SM Supermarket. They can claim their prize at Our Home in SM Megamall. Bring photocopies of two valid IDs and a clipping of the Design Quiz issue in which you appear as winner.
