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My Idea of Heaven
Cooking School with Giuliano Hazan
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Some Recipes From the School
(For information about Giuliano's current activities and Italian cooking lessons please check his web at http://www.giulianohazan.com )
It's only fair that I start out by making it perfectly clear that I was invited as a guest to attend the week-long cooking school held by Giuliano Hazan, son of Marcella and Victor, at the Hotel Cipriani in Venice. I was also a guest of the hotel for the week, invited by manager Natale Rusconi, a friend going back many years to when he was manager of the Grand Hotel in Rome. That said, I hope my readers will find this report interesting, and understand that as a newly-born publication on a shoestring there is no way that at this moment "Wine & Food" could have paid for me to attend the course.
Naturally I was happy to accept the invitation as I have known Giuliano's parents for over twenty years and I was curious to meet their son. I had seen a copy of his book about pasta ("The Classic Pasta Cookbook") translated into Italian and found it one of the most beautiful and enticing cookbooks I had ever seen. Giuliano later explained to me that the concept and layout is typical of the publisher, Dorling Kindersley Inc. , and I told him I found the idea of laying out and photographing the ingredients used makes it easy to tell at a glance if you have what's needed on hand.
Here's the program that was given to me when I arrived at the Hotel Cipriani:
COOKING WITH GIULIANO HAZAN AT THE CIPRIANI HOTEL VENICE, OCTOBER 1995
- SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21:
- Optional early arrival. Dinner is offered by the Cipriani at the hotel restaurant.
- SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22:
- 7:30 PM:
Welcome reception and banquet at the Cipriani featuring Venetian specialties prepared by Chef Renato Piccolotto.
- MONDAY, OCTOBER 23:
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10:30 AM:
Meet in the lobby for departure to Victor and Marcella Hazan's apartment atop the 16th century Palazzo Contarini. Aperitivi at home with the Hazans.
12:30 PM:
Lunch at Fiaschetteria Toscana. Despite the name it has been an authentically Venetian restaurant for decades. Our meal will feature typical Venetian fish dishes.
6:00 PM:
Class session # 1 in the Sala Palladio. Each lesson will last approximately 3 1/2 to 4 hours ending with a sit-down dinner of the dishes demonstrated in class.
- TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24:
- 9:00 AM:
Meet in the hotel lobby to leave for a guided tour of the famous Rialto market.
6:00 PM:
Class session #2.
- WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25:
- 12:00 PM:
Lunch at Ristorante Da Fiore for lunch. Patricia Wells included Da Fiore in her famous list of the ten best restaurants in the world.
6:00 PM:
Class session # 3
- THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26:
- 6:00 PM:
Class session # 4
- FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27:
- 10:30 AM:
Meet in lobby of the hotel for departure to the island of Torcello. On our arrival we will visit the charming small island and its beautiful cathedral. Lunch will be at Ristorante Ponte del Diavolo featuring the specialties of chef-owner Alfonso Corrado.
6:00 PM:
Class session # 5
- SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28:
- 10:00 AM:
Class session # 6.
7:30 PM:
Farewell cocktail followed by a gala dinner prepared by Chef Renato Piccolotto. Cipriani Cooking School Diplomas will be awarded.
Before launching into a description of the cooking school, just a few words about the hotel. The Cipriani is located on the Giudecca island in the lagoon of Venice, a five-minute ride by the hotel's motorboat which shuttles to Piazza San Marco 24 hours a day on command. A uniformed "doorman" greets you as you step on the dock, and you pass a lush garden on your way to the door. The staff is welcoming and highly efficient, but what absolutely blew me away was when I opened the door to my bathroom. Lined it dark pink marble, the wide sink illuminated by the lamps next to the enormous mirror, it was like finding Christmas in October. Carefully arranged on a snowy-white folded towel on the rim of the bathtup lay a large pink rose sculpted from soap, wrapped in cellophane and tied with a large green bow, and next to it several cellophane bags tied with green bows containing pink bath capsules.
Marching across the recessed shelf above the sink were gold-topped bottles of: suntan lotion, shampoo, conditioner, bath lotion in two flavours, and moisturizer. There was a little jar of gel for the hair, a paper folder containing orange stick and emery board, a jar full of cotton balls, another jar containing bath salts, an octagonal-shaped green box holding a large bath-size piece of scented soap. a plastic tube contining three small heart-shaped soaps in pink, lavender, and turquoise, and a slender green glass vase contiaining two stalks of cymbidium orchids. The chrome towel warmer held large white bath towels as well as linen face towels, and there were two terry-cloth robes (available for purchase) hanging on the back of the door. I had always admired the soap dishes at the Cipriani and once the concierge gave me two of them which I still use at home, made of chrome strips tipped in rubber so the soap drains properly. You pay a lot to stay at the Cipriani, but these little details that count make it worth it. One last note: the Cipriani is the only hotel in Venice to boast a heated swimming pool, and I took advantage of it up to the last day of my stay, October 30. Last but not least, ceramic jars on the desk hold two kinds of candies including the chocolate giandiua which are blended with hazlenuts.
The dinner on Sunday evening provided an opportunity to meet Giuliano and get to know the other students, which included a woman from Australia who owns a mega-restaurant in Sydney open 24 hours a day 365 days a year, a mother and daughter who live on a horse ranch in Montana, two retired schoolteachers from Minnesota, a businesswoman from California, and a young woman from South Africa whose parents gave her the trip as her 21st birthday present. The menu featured risotto with white truffles, and although the truffles, bigger than walnuts, cost at least $80 each, the risotto was not up to par, and even the food and beverage manager agreed with me. Of course risotto is difficult to make for more than six people at a time, and should be served at the very moment it is done, which is not always possible.
The schedule was arranged so that days were free to explore Venice and eat lunch with the group at famous restaurants on several designated days as well as visit the market with Giuliano, with lessons beginning at 6pm and ending with eating the dinner whose preparation was demonstrated during the lesson. During the break halfway through the lesson several wine producers were invited to give a brief talk and tasting of their wine, as well as a representative of the Associazione Parmigiano Reggiano who told all about this typical Italian cheese. It may have been my daily swim, or the endless walking around Venice, or the mediterranean diet, but I didn't gain one ounce during my week in Venice, despite all the temptations!
The classes were held in a large room with glass picture windows on two sides overlooking the lagoon. School chairs with arm rests for taking notes were arranged in front of a platform holding a long covered table with places for gas burners, chopping boards, ingredients, place for making pasta, and so on, and a long mirror hung behind at an angle so as to see the preparations from another angle. Giuliano's lessons are not hands-on, but you can get up and take a close look at what he's doing if you like. He also believes in giving out the recipes AFTER the class so you take notes and concentrate more on what he's demonstrating.
He started out by explaining what it's like to cook Italian food, and that he would be talking about the principles, the flavours, and giving tips and techniques. "Cuisine is like a language, it has an idiom," he said. The first dish he prepared, pasta with red radicchio included a demonstration of making egg pasta. "First rule: do not expose the pasta to cold. Use a wooden board, or formica, but NEVER marble. You can't use exact measurements because how much flour you use depends on the size of the eggs, but it's close to 3/4 cup flour per egg. Egg pasta in the Emilia-Romagna region typically uses unbleached flour, in Tuscany they add olive oil, in Piedmont they only use the yolks of the eggs." Giuliano made a hole in the pile of flour on the counter, added the eggs, mixed the eggs with a fork to blend the yolk and whites, and then started incorporating flour from the inside wall of the flour. When the mass reached a consistency he could handle he began to knead it by hand, explaining that doing it by hand as opposed to a machine gives it a different texture and consistency.
"If you have to stop for some reason," explained Giuliano, "Don't leave the pasta to dry out, cover it with Saran Wrap." To clean up bits of flour and egg and add them to the lump he used a wide metal spatula about four inches long, three inches high, with a plastic handle across the top. After cleaning and drying the counter of bits that were left he began to stretch the dough. "You have to push it down and away from you, then holding it with the fingers of your left hand fold it over, put one hand over the other and again push it down and away from you. Give a quarter turn each time. This should take from five to eight minutes, you want the dough to feel smooth, if it gets sticky add a little flour. Pasta made with three eggs should serve four or five people. When it feels nice and smooth wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest for at least fifteen to twenty minutes, so the gluten can relax. Whatever you do, DON'T PUT IT IN THE REFRIGERATOR! Pasta hates cold. Moisture and cold ruin it."
While the pasta was resting Giuliano started the sauce, giving a little top for slicing and chopping round or curved vegetables. "First cut off the top of the radicchio or endive but leave the root for the moment, using a good knife cut in half lengthwise and then place the flat side down, that way you can hold it better. Slice the vegetable lengthwise, up to the root, and if you need it chopped rather than in strips turn it and slice across, otherwise just cut off the root part." He explained that the pancetta (bacon, usually not sliced) you buy in Venice is different from that in the rest of Italy. "Remember that salt draws out moisture so don't add salt at the beginning unless you want to reduce the sauce. Also, don't salt the water when boiling white vegetables, but do salt it for green vegetables because it keeps them green."
As the sauce was cooking Giuliano took up the pasta, unwrapped it, and used the machine to grind out the wide strips of fettucini. Since they only take a few minutes to cook he put them aside until everything else was ready and turned his attention to the chicken. "Olives with pits are the best. Remove the stems and put them in a food processor along with the anchovies. Don't panic about the anchovies, they are often used in dishes but you don't really taste them, they give a richness to the dish. We brown the chicken in olive oil to give it flavour, think of it as an ingredient. Be careful, the breast meat will dry out if cooked for twoo long. Put the chicken in with the skin side down and while browning don't crowd the chicken, and don't salt it until after browning."
Giuliano's father, Victor Hazan, appeared during the break to give a brief lecture about wine, stressing above all that in white wine you should look for the flavour of flower and fruit, wheras in red you should seek the flavour of fruit and spice. Many of the points in his lecture can be found in his Introduction to Italian Wine in WINE & FOOD.
Explaining that cooked fennel (finocchio) tastes very different from raw fennel, losing most of its anise-taste, Giuliano then showed how to make a quick and easy vegetable dish, gratinéed fennel with parmesan cheese. After boiling the fennel slices for about 5-10 minutes they are placed on shallow baking dishes, seasoned, and baked for 10-15 minutes, making a tasty addition to any meal.
For any cook getting all the dishes of the meal to finish cooking at the same time seems to be the hardest part, but Giuliano managed beautifully, and his pupils couldn't wait to sit down at the table and dig in. I noticed that Giuliano and his assistant were always in danger of burning their fingers when the were lighting the gas burners with their cigarette lighters, so one day I presented him (on behalf of the class) with a battery-driven fire starter. To my amazement, Giuliano, like his mother Marcella, is a chain smoker.
In each of the following classes Giuliano always began with the dessert, and we learned to make the Italian classics, Tiramisu' and Zuppa Inglese (which is neither soup nor english) as well as Carrot Almond Cake and marinated black and white grapes. "Italians usually finish a meal with fresh fruit, and if it's Sunday or a special occasion they go to a pastry shop to buy fancy desserts," explained Giuliano.
During the other lessons he often gave useful tips such as:
- Always use a sharp knife. (He showed how to sharpen a knife but that's difficult to describe in words)
- Hold the knife right next to the blade, and when slicing vegetables pull the knife through in an even motion.
- Add the garlic later to most dishes so it doesn't burn
- Green and red peppers should usually be peeled, like a potato. A peeler with a wide blade and handle is easier to use, as you drag the peeler down the side use a sawing motion to left and right to make the job easier. Use the same back and forth motion for peeling a tomato after pricking the skin to get started. This is better than dipping them in boiling water, they stay raw, and you can use the peels to make little roses.
- Always chop dried herbs a bit to release the flavour, but never chop any herbs ahead of time, only at the last minute.
- Use a lot of water to cook pasta, at least 4 quarts per pound. Add the salt when the water is boiling, figure about 1 tablespoon salt to 1 gallon. If you are in the mountains it takes longer to cook the pasta. NEVER RINSE PASTA.
- Two good pasta brands you can find in the US are Martelli (in a yellow package) and Rustichella. De Cecco and Barilla, both make good pasta, and have recently entered the US market.
- Flavored olive oils don't make any sense. Olive oil does not last forever and is damaged by heat and light so don't keep the bottle near the stove.
- Meat is always more tender if you cut across the grain before cooking.
- Green peppers have a tarter flavour than red or yellow peppers.
- When cleaning an artichoke pull each leav down until it breaks off and throw away leaving the tender part. Rub the cut part with lemon so it does not turn brown. Don't throw away the stem, it can be very tender, just trim it.
- When dressing a salad be generous with the oil and stingy with vinegar.
- With fresh clams throw away any that are already open, the closed ones are the freshest.
- To keep parmesan cheese fresh ALWAYS wrap it tightly with plastic or aluminum foil. If it gets dry by accident cover it with a damp cloth to which you've added a little white vinegar. It will last at least a month in the refrigerator, longer if frozen. ALWAYS GRATE THE CHEESE AT THE LAST MOMENT.
Although I've lived in Rome on and off for 27 years I learned a lot of things I didn't know about Italian food and cooking as well as interesting things about the wines. There's always something new to discover. Obviously being able to spend a week in these surroundings with such qualified people is a real privilege and I was grateful for the opportunity. Attending the class is not cheap, but considering what one would spend for a vacation in a luxury hotel with plenty of time outside the classroom available for sightseeing and shopping it's not out of line, either. And if I could really have my druthers, it wouldn't be a bad idea to finish off such a week in Venice with a trip to London on the Orient Express, run by the same company that owns the Cipriani. I was lucky enough to take two trips, one to Budapest and one to London, on that train several years ago, but you'll have to wait for our next web, TRAVEL & FUN, to read about that!
The session I attended cost about $3,500 per person (depending on the room) for seven nights at the Hotel Cipriani and included three meals a day including a wonderful breakfast buffet and all taxes. (Air fare not included) Classes are usually offered in October, sometimes in April. The schedule for 1999 is not yet available but will be added to this article as soon as possible. Giuliano told me that a class is planned for fall of 1999 and I hope to be able to attend! Julia Child was featured during the classes held a week before the ones I attended.
Information in the USA: Leading Hotels of the World: 800-223-6800 Hotel Cipriani, Giudecca 10, 30133 Venice, Tel: 39-41-5207744, Fax: 41-5207745
Web: http://www.hotelcipriani.it
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