Traditional Italian Cooking Workshops

 I would like to thank you for a lovely day, we all enjoyed ourselves and had a wonderful family day with Geoff to celebrate his birthday. I think our children now have a few skills to be proud of, Leo has already practised Garlic Bread!, I shall be buying Chris a pasta machine for Christmas.

You made us all feel very welcome and it was good to meet you. (Elizabeth)

Thank you so much for today we had a really lovely day it was honestly so much fun and it was lovely to meet you and see your amazing home! (Francesca)

Just wanted to say thank you for such a lovely day on Tuesday, Jackie and I both thoroughly enjoyed it and especially eating the finished results!  I am sure you will make a great success of it. Please let me know about making the Italian Panettone at Christmas as I would definitely love to do that. (Sarah)

Thank you so much for today cooking workshop . You gave my friends and I a warm welcome into your lovely home, with scones, cream and a cappuccino overlooking the beautiful reservoir.
Making the ravioli was so much fun, under your careful and patient instructions. It is a real craft shaping the ravioli, but under your tutelage the results were amazing.
We enjoyed a few laughs and a prosecco or two, before dining on our creation, served with a simple sauce which tasted delicious. We even had a bit left over for a doggie bag to take home to the chaps.
A really enjoyable day was had by all and I wouldn’t hesitate recommending you to my friends. (Caroline)

Ciao Carmela. Thank you for a great cooking workshop. We both enjoyed it. (R.)

“It was a delight to book on an Italian Cookery Course with Carmela, a real authentic experience using quality ingredients, a lot of which was home grown and picked just prior to using in her garden overlooking the lake.  This gave a true insight into Italian cuisine, fresh simple produce ooozing Italian flavour. Carmela has a wonderful set up, homely and professional, we felt we were cooking with a friend we had known for years!  She had tips, ideas and was always happy to share information and made us feel very welcome whilst we learned some new skills.   We look forward to returning to try out another marvellous recipe and revisit this idyllic peaceful venue”.(S.)

Had a fabulous day with my daughter and daughter in law for all our birthdays we did an Italian food workshop with the lovely Carmela in her amazing house, she was very knowledgeable and funny, we made focaccia, ricotta, ham and parmesan calzone topped with a tomato sauce, we also made a tomatoey garlic and pesto pizza and bruschetta with a pickled aubergine topping. We then sat at the dining table to eat our calzone which was delicious all washed down with a glass or two of Prosecco, we also brought some dough home which I made a small loaf with absolutely wonderful!!!! (M.)

Thank you Carmela, we really enjoyed our time with you yesterday. The panettone is delicious!  We will definitely be baking another ready for Christmas. Kindest regards (J. and G.)

 Up the country lane by the waters edge

Carmela has but just one pledge

To teach you how to cook the Italian way

3 generations passed down from Naples bay

A homely Italian  kitchen lies in wait

For a very special memorable date

All her secrets she will reveal

How to cook an amazing tasty meal

With garlic, herbs and pasta made by hand

She’ll show you how from a bygone land

Tomatoes sunbathing on the windowsill 

Another glass of wine she will fill

I was really sorry to say goodbye 

But off to my own kitchen now to have a try 

(A Poem from Simone)

 Ravioli by the Reservoir

Reading a menu in a restaurant a few years ago, a friend observed “Life’s too short to stuff a mushroom”, a mantra I have stuck by ever since. In contrast, learning how to make and stuff pasta seems an entirely worthwhile use of time. There are apparently, at least 400 different types of pasta but fewer than 20 types you can stuff. If I could master one type of pasta then presumably I would quite quickly be able to stuff the other 19 and the remaining 380 would just be a question of a bit of cutting and folding: 400 pasta types at my fingertips from one four-hour lesson, life’s not too short for that.

So it was that I enrolled with my daughter at Carmela’s Italian cooking school in her lovely house overlooking Shustoke reservoir to learn Meat Filled ravioli with tomato sauce. Apart from getting to eat what you cook on the day, Carmela treats you to Italian breads, biscuits, cakes and drinks. With her step by step guidance, making the pasta is easy, as is the cooking od the stuffing and sauce. Then the pasta machine comes out and I have a déjà vu moment. Ten years ago I was bought a machine as a gift, tried it once, couldn’t get the thing to work and sent it straight to the charity shop. Now, tutored, the machine behaves and I managed to roll my pasta thinly and make the ravioli. Carmela shows me how to cut and fold, opening up the potential of the other 399 varieties. But it turns out you need skill for this, so while her look like edible origami, mine appear to be made from Lego. My daughter recycles the Lego into proper pasta shapes, we finish the cooking and settle down to enjoy eating it.

Carmela has a wide variety of Italian recipes on her website www.italianlanguage.co.uk that she can teach you to prepare, but not stuffed mushrooms. After all life’s too short.

I Starkey (“Connecting four° community and parish magazine October’November 2019)  

Thank you so much for the wonderful experience this morning.  The welcome was delightful (and the cheesecake yummy!).  I hadn't made pasta before and I have to say I was a bit dubious as I am not keen on getting my hands into the ingredients!  I didn't need to worry though - it was enjoyable and not messy!!  The anti pasta (and prosecco!) was a delightful surprise and the pasta and sauce we made under your clear direction was very tasty.  I look forward to sharing the pasta we didn't cook and took away with my Mum this weekend, as well as an attempt at recreating the sauce. (Mandy 2021)

Thank you very much for today's ravioli workshop! And inviting us to your home. You're a wonderful host and a very patient teacher. We both want to come again in the future. (Shakila & Tim 2021)

Thank you so much for a wonderful day. We had a great time and will definitely be trying to hone in our pasta making skills in the future.And by the way - the muffins were fantastic! You've also inspired me to grow pumpkins next year. (G. 2021)

Today was fun! We did an italian cooking course - love doing something new. I learned how to make gnocchi from scratch! We made gnocchi with mushrooms and then we had the leftovers for dinner, and with the remaining gnocchi left, I mixed it with garlic, bacon and Stilton. So dinner was gnocchi pick and mix. Soooo good! I had such a lovely time! Thank you so much for having me (Jade)