The Bologna Cooking School presents the sober and elegant style of Italian cooking. It is different from the decorated table prepared for tourists, who have no knowledge of the Italian cooking. The style depends on the composition and presentation of the dishes, the way you serve the wine, the grace and the beauty of the whole, the table and the external context.

The high quality is another aspect which characterizes the expressions of Italian culture like cooking. This quality depends on the recipe, the cook’s ability, the ingredients, the method of cooking, the matching with wine and other elements. Our school is inspired by the high quality restaurants, which usually are not showy. They offer a discreet and friendly service in keeping with the traditional Italian table and their dishes and wines, presented without emphasis, are excellent. The real elegant restaurants are not snobbish. Bologna Cooking School does not approve the restaurants which seem luxurious but then present expensive dishes of poor quality. The high prices depend on the embellishments of the dishes, which want to impress the mass tourism.

Wine

and cooking

are important elements of Italian culture, as are art, architecture, design, fashion and the beauty of the landscape. Bologna’s cooking is the most famous in the world. Here you find a very high quality combined with an elegant style. There are few foreign tourists in Bologna, restaurants are for Italians. Unlike the low and medium quality restaurants, the high quality restaurants in Bologna are less expensive than in other Italian cities. Bologna is a rich city and, according to the statistics, the majority of Italians would like to live here. Bologna is deeply elegant, but its beauty has not been displayed to the tourists. Bologna has a deep interior beauty, which produces the real elegance.

A cook

must learn the technique and develop his/her creativity

In the Bologna Cooking School the students learn high quality cuisine. Moreover, the sober style of the school allows the development of an elegant idea of the table, an elegance without affectation or frills. The quality of the school is high, the style is sober and the prices are moderate.

Prices

are moderate because the school cooperates with a cooking expert association and a group of chef who works because they love cooking. They look for new recipes, they study the culinary tradition, they share information about new techniques on food preparation. Students learn very well, because the cooking school is specialized in teaching to Italian and foreign people.

Staff

and collaborators

Three people manage the school in cooperation with an association of chefs
Mario Scalera manages the team and teaches the cooking techniques. He worked for 10 years as a cook in different restaurants, where he experienced different cooking techniques and different kinds of recipes. Today he is a researcher of the traditional way of cooking. He recovers ancient recipes, that are then elaborated and presented close to our present taste. He has a deep interest in cooking and he is able to transmit it to the students. He is an excellent teacher for amateur and professional cooks.

The cooking abilities are not enough, it is important also to teach cooking ways and techniques enthusiastically
Teachers and chefs are able to understand the needs of the students, adapting his lesson to students’ requests. The school co-operates with some cooks who work permanently in different restaurants and participate in the lessons according to the number of students.

Bologna Cooking School , moreover, co-operates with many restaurants of the city
In order to organize training courses especially for industrial restoration

Some restaurants put their kitchen at students’ disposal for training and work experience
Bologna Cooking School is connected to the cooking and wine culture of the city. Some restaurants put their kitchen at professional students’ disposal, so that they can try the actual creation, learn the use of different utensils, to work in a team and to respond to the different needs of clients, all that with the guide of Bologna Cooking School and the restaurant’s chef. Through the school it is possible to organize work experience at restaurants. The restaurant’s disposal depends on the period and the request, work experience is possible in case of vacant places. The school books for the work experience, but the effective availability, the period and the length depend on the restaurant.

The wine tasting meetings
are held by the teacher of the school, who are wine experts-where the aim is the coupling between wine and food. These meetings are held in a specialist wine bar and the aim is to recognize the different wines. Here the student learn to choose the wine comparing quality and price.

Three prestigious external chefs
hold thematic lessons for the professional students of Bologna cooking school.

The cooking

lessons

The lessons start with the Bologna’s and Emilia-Romagna’s cooking and spread to the various specialities of the other Italian regions (this schedule varies according to the length of the course). The programme balances cooking tradition and technique of North, Middle and South Italy. In the amateur courses students make fresh pasta once a week, in the semi-professional every day. The dishes of semi-professional courses are elaborated and the students must have adequate cooking abilities, even with regard to the coupling of food and wine. The professional courses are very technical and are for cooks or chefs.

Four dishes every day
Everyday students cook pasta, a main course, a side dish and a dessert. There are different kinds of dishes and if you cook an elaborate main course (for example tortellini) you then prepare an easy side dish. Every week students learn four kind of pasta, main course, side dish and dessert, coupling them with the wines and preparing four complete dinners. Every dish offers many variations, so that in one week a student learns to cook 16 basic dishes plus variations (about 64 different dishes in a week).

Seminars

The programme provides a general cooking course designed to teach the basic skills necessary to prepare authentic Italian dishes. Students, together with the teacher, prepare a complete menu:pasta, main course, side dish, dessert and wine. Seminars are held three times a week - Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursdays - from 7 to 10.30 p.m.
After cooking, the students and teacher enjoy the meal they have cooked in a convivial atmosphere, tasting wines and liqueurs, talking with the chef and his assistant throughout the evening

If there are not enough participants in the same period to form a standard class (8-12 people), the secretary’s office will contact the student, who is free to choose either

1) To attend a smaller class, with higher results, at an higher price

People per group
8-12 people
7 people
6 people
5 people

Price Euro
Euro 30
Euro 35
Euro 37
Euro 44

People per group
4 people
3 people
2 people
1 people

Price Euro
Euro 48
Euro 59
Euro 78
Euro 152

2) To move the course in another period
3) To cancel the course, that will be totally refunded
If there are not enough participants in the same period to form a standard class (3-6 people), the secretary's office will contact the student, who is free to choose either:

Amateur

Courses
Amateur courses are designed to teach students the methods of Italian cooking and help students to uncover the secrets of Italian cuisine. Subjects concern cooking tradition in Italy in general with particular focus on bolognese and regional cuisine. They're arranged by courses (starters, pasta, main courses, side dishes and dessert) or by theme (pasta, meat, vegetables, wines). Each meeting lasts three hours. During the half an hour after the end of the lesson you can eat the food you prepared during the course. Sometimes it is possible to have lunch or dinner with the chef and other participants for more than one hour, but it depends on the availability of the participants and the cooking experts.

Lesson timetable:
09:00 - 12:30
14:00 - 18:30
19:00 - 22:30

You can choose five days a week or four or three days a week. Two other meetings are devoted to ways of choosing and buying ingredients with a visit to the local market and to the kitchens of some prestigious restaurants. This course is organized in 5 levels:
1. Beginners' course: for those with no experience in cooking at all
2. Basic course: for those who can cook, but have no experience in Italian cooking
3. Italian, Bolognese and Regional Cooking course: for those already familiar with Italian cuisine and who have experience in cooking Italian dishes
4. In-depth course: for those already competent in Italian cooking and who already know several different recipes
5. Specialized course

1-2 people per class 5 Meetings (per week) 4 Meetings (per week) 3 Meetings (per week) 2 Meetings (per week) 1 Meeting (per week)	Euro 625 Euro 550 Euro 450 Euro 325 Euro 175

Small group 3-6 people 5 Meetings (per week) 4 Meetings (per week) 3 Meetings (per week) 2 Meetings (per week) 1 Meeting (per week	*() Euro 350 Euro 308 Euro 252 Euro 182** Euro 98

If there are not enough participants in the same period to form a standard class (3-6 people), the secretary's office will contact the student, who is free to choose either:

1) Attend a smaller class (1-2 people) instead of the standard group by getting the 33% discount
e.g.:
instead of 5 meetings 3-6 people at 350 Euro
5 meetings 1-2 persons 419 Euro (33% discount)

instead of 4 meetings 3-6 people 308 Euro
4 meetings 1-2 people 369 Euro (33% discount)

instead of 3 meetings 3-6 people 252 Euro
3 meetings 1-2 people 302 Euro (33% discount)

instead of 2 meetings 3-6 people 182 Euro
2 meetings 1-2 people 218 Euro (33% discount)

instead of 1 meeting 3-6 people 98 Euro
1 meeting 1-2 people 117 Euro (33% discount)

2) to mantain the same price (or a convenient one) and reduce the number of the meetings:
e.g. :
instead of 5 meetings 3-6 people 350 Euro
4 meetings 1-2 people 369 Euro (33% discount)

instead of 4 meetings 3-6 people 308 Euro
3 meetings 1-2 people 302 Euro (33% discount)

instead of 3 incontri 3-6 people 252 Euro
2 incontri 1-2 people 218 Euro (33% discount)

instead of 2 incontri 3-6 people 182 Euro
1 meeting 1-2 people 117 Euro (33% discount)

instead of 1 meeting 3-6 people 98 Euro
1 meeting 1-2 people 117 Euro (33% discount)

Semi

professional Courses
Semi-professional courses develop abilities in order to become a cook and have a good knowledge of how to combine food and wine. It provides students with a wide overview of recipes - which can be interpreted according to individual style - and the techniques of preparing different Italian dishes. One acquires a deep background knowledge of the Italian culinary art according to tradition. Three levels:

1. First Level – general. Overview of different kind and ways of cooking, different traditions

2. Second Level – in-depth. Further exploration of general Italian cooking, based on starters, pasta, main courses, side dishes, dessert, bread-making and the ways to compose, decorate, serve and present the dishes

3. Third Level – specialized. Every week has a theme.

Students learn and try the variations on the thematic dishes: the preparation, the flavouring, the presentation, the composition, the ingredients. They learn, moreover, the presentation of these dishes in the best Italian restaurants, so that they can choose some aspects of every model and build their own cooking style.

One people per class 5 Meetings (per week) 4 Meetings (per week) 3 Meetings (per week) 2 Meetings (per week) 1 Meeting (per week)	Euro 937 Euro 824 Euro 663 Euro 486 Euro 261
Small Group 2-4 people per class 5 Meetings (per week) 4 Meetings (per week) 3 Meetings (per week) 2 Meetings (per week) 1 Meeting (per week)	Euro 525 Euro 462 Euro 381 Euro 279 Euro 139

Professional

Courses for Cooks and Chefs
These courses are designed for professional cooks or chefs. They're held by the school and chefs working in prestigious high quality restaurants, with teaching experience in professional cuisine. These courses are organized in cooperation with the chef's association and with some restaurants of the city

One people per class 5 Meetings (per week) 4 Meetings (per week) 3 Meetings (per week) 2 Meetings (per week) 1 Meeting (per week)	Euro 1139 Euro 1020 Euro 843 Euro 604 Euro 339
Small Group 2-4 people per class 5 Meetings (per week) 4 Meetings (per week) 3 Meetings (per week) 2 Meetings (per week) 1 Meeting (per week)	Euro 750 Euro 660 Euro 543 Euro 398 Euro 217

Wine

Tasting Course
The wine course is held in a wine bar. Here an oenologist (wine expert) introduces the art of wine recognizing wine and coupling with dishes. You will be presented with the different kinds of grapes. They are used in the wine making (this process is called “uvaggio”), grape cultivation, processing and storing. Participants learn to recognize the various wine typologies (name, place of origin, year and quality) and to choose the wine comparing it to the price. High quality wine is quite expensive, but the price does not correspond always with the real value. It is possible for example, to recognize excellent wine with a good price, but also the opposite. Every course proposes three different wine typologies, two bottles of every type, for a total of six tasting.

5 Meetings (per week)
4 Meetings (per week)
3 Meetings (per week)
2 Meetings (per week)
1 Meeting (per week)

2-4 people per class
Euro 330
Euro 292
Euro 219
Euro 162
Euro 90

1-2 people per class
Euro 589
Euro 424
Euro 286
Euro 208
Euro 114

The cooking teachers speak also a little English. In order to communicate during the lesson it is enough to know a basic English or Italian
A translation service is also available.