The Italian job: school takes a task of teaching authentic cooking

Nation's Restaurant News, March 1, 2004 by Art Siemering

COLORNO, ITALY -- Alma, a new culinary school here, has lofty plans "to become the world's leading international training center for Italian cuisine."

The school, which began offering classes in January, occupies substantial space in the Palazzo Ducale di Colorno, just outside the food-centered city of Parma, Italy. The palace was built as a fortified castle in the 13th century and later became the residence of the Dukes of Parma and succeeding rulers of the duchy.

Within the palazzo's walls and spacious chambers, a full range of teaching facilities will include a main kitchen, a tiered auditorium and a variety of classrooms, one of which is set aside for pastry and bread. Complementing those features will be a well-stocked library, a video studio and a public restaurant.

The school also boasts a talented and accomplished founding group of staff and administrators.

Alma, in achieving its mission to "train cooks from throughout the world to become true professionals of Italian cuisine," engages respected chefs from all regions of the country under the guidance of its dean, chef Gualtiero Marchesi, whose restaurant was the first in Italy to win three Michelin stars. Many in the local food community credit him with being the leading influence on Italian cuisine during the past 30 years.

The best chefs "must learn to cook the Italian way, which is a far cry from studying recipe books," Marchesi said. At the same time Alma has no intention of writing a code or "bible" of Italian cuisine, he insisted.

Albino Ivardi Galapino, Alma's president, underscored the importance of the dean's agenda.

"Giving professional chefs, and especially those who work abroad, a competitive edge is an enormous responsibility," he said.

And it's a huge challenge when one considers that many in the Italian food establishment think the growing number of inauthentic, so-called Italian restaurants is spreading like a plague around the world.

Alma recently commissioned a worldwide survey by the market research firm Demoskopea to bring that issue into focus. Among the findings: The quality of food at Italian restaurants is good overall but has plenty of room for improvement. Because customers increasingly are demanding better quality and greater respect for true Italian tradition, chefs need to specialize and improve their professional skills.

The owners of imitation Italian restaurants often have very little about them that is Italian. Their recipes--handed down from one generation to the next--have been transformed over time, losing their "traditional soul" in the process.

Most of the ingredients used by those restaurants are not authentic because of higher cost, difficulty of procurement, and a lack of skills and training in using them as intended.

Chefs themselves present a worrisome problem because many are not "aware of--and so are not applying--the right cooking and preparation techniques."

That's where Alma will come in. As its president pointed out, the new school "will give [the chefs] a chance to visit Italy to get to know the raw materials firsthand and to learn from the great masters how to prepare them with excellence in the kitchen."

The centerpiece of Alma's curriculum is an 11-month Advanced Course of Italian Cuisine intended for young chefs with about two years of experience gained anywhere in the world. That course and all others are conducted in both Italian and English languages.

Course content for the first six months focuses on the history of Italian cuisine, characteristics of Italian food products and fundamental recipes in Italian regional cuisines, which will include demonstrations by renowned Italian chefs.

Five additional months will be devoted to work placement at selected Italian restaurants. Students who complete the course will receive a Master of Italian Cuisine certificate.

Alma has prepared a list of hotels and private accommodations in Parma and nearby Colorno, where the school is located, offering special rates. The average cost of six months' residence is estimated at 3,600 euros, or $4,613.39. During the five-month work placement period, host establishments will provide food and accommodations.

Advanced cuisine courses will start twice yearly, in January and September, and are open to a maximum of 40 participants. The registration deadline for the advanced course is 45 days before the start of lessons.

The registration fee of 11,000 euros, or $14,096.40, includes lessons and teaching materials, midday meals from Mondays through Fridays and outside trips to the producers of typical Italian specialties.

The school's other courses include "Seal of Authenticity" preparatory courses. Those classes are designed for Italian restaurants that are located outside of Italy and want to obtain the Seal of Authenticity promoted by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture. There are three five-day modules that address basic techniques, fundamental recipes in Italian cuisine and products of Italian cuisine. They can be attended during consecutive weeks or spread out as desired.