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Jacopo
Tendi is a cooking professional since 1990 when, after Classical
Highschool degree, he decided to follow his family cooking tradition (his
grandparents had a trattoria) and attained a Degree on Cooking at the
Istituto Professionale per il Turismo of Florence. He started working in
some of the finest restaurant in Florence and Tuscany, Cammillo,
Vescovino, Mammarosa. He spent one year working in Lausanne (CH) for the
gastronomic restaurant, L’Age D’Or. Back to Florence he completed his
university studies getting
his degree on Political Sciences. In
the year 2000 he was asked by Salvatore Ferragamo to give cooking classes
for his guests in his Estate “Il Borro”. He found this a challenge and
discovered a passion to teach italian cooking. He started running an
Italian Cooking Course at Syracuse University in Florence and giving
private cooking classes in an elegant apartment in the center of Florence.
He now hold cooking classes also in his country house where he lives with
Anna and their two children, Agnese and Riccardo. The
daily teaching experience supports Jacopo’s belive that good cooking can
be an easy and joyful experience that everybody can do. His hands-on
classes transmits, in a familiar and unpretentious athmosphere, the
down-to-earth character of italian cooking and the strong, vibrant and
naturally genuine flavors of tuscan food. Jacopo also cooks as private chef for dinners and special events.
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Anna Bigi got her Degree in Chemistry at the University of Florence. After some years spent in research work on Organic and Medical Chemistry, she then turned to teach Mathematics and Science in Secondary School. Passioned pastry maker since young, she went deep into her passion on cooking following Jacopo and learning from him. Anna’s scientific background and skills carry her to share some of the scientific reasons of cooking tips.
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What press says about us... |
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Trip Report N.838 October 2005 by Mary Miller from N.Y.C The afternoon was pleasant but, the mood of the group was not. Months before, 15 of us had decided to try a cooking class. The 7 remaining were going to join us for the dinner we cooked. The day and time arrived and I had the EXTREMELY strong sense that all were regretting this idea, and reluctantly we took off to class. The ride was one of the prettiest of our vacation and our destination, Trecento, was a lovely and very small town. The streets were so narrow, that, in a few spots, traffic could only go one way. I had chosen this cooking school from a Slowtrav list. I spent quite a good deal of time researching cooking schools. The one or two special ones were too expensive for my group. Those that were left seemed quite similar so, after weighing all the options, in the end I decided to go with geography and selected the one closest to the villa. NOTE TO FUTURE TRAVELERS::: A cooking class in Italy includes drinking copious amounts of wine, and enjoying more wine with dinner, unless you have designated drivers pick the class closest to your house. We pulled up in front of a farmhouse that was rustic to say the VERY least. The door opened and a young woman walked out and in perfect English introduced herself as Anna, and welcomed us to the class. We hesitantly entered the building. Anna pointed out that the room on the right was where we would have dinner. The room resembled a stark root cellar and I was getting more nervous with each passing moment. We climbed the stairs and entered their quaint living room. A very basic room, particularly compared to our luxurious villa. We were then led into a kitchen. Honestly my reaction was "OH NO what have I gotten us into?" The kitchen was small, and the only thing in it that resembled our idea of a cooking school was a beautiful new stove. The rest of the kitchen contained a tiny sink, a refrigerator smaller than any I have ever seen, mismatched cupboards and a small wooden table in the center with the food we are going to cook. The only kitchen I can compare it to is the inadequate one in my daughter's college apartment (without the empty beer cans.) I looked at the food on the table and thought that it would never be enough for 22 people. Panic was setting in. Anna, and her husband Jacopo handed out recipes and explained that we would go over them before we started cooking. Jacopo began by clarifying the recipes in a slow monotone, illustrating each step in tedious detail. He was losing the attention of the group and quickly. Anna followed him, going over, the 2 dessert recipes, again explaining every detail, as if we had never been in a kitchen before. Four hours of this and there would be a revolt. We were told to pick one of the recipes to work on and we would divide up. I knew we had to get this show going ...so I spoke up instantly, volunteering for biscotti. One by one the group divided and went to work. It was slow and hesitant at first but began to pick up speed. I was trying to change the prevailing mood and started joking about which course would be the tastiest. The speed was starting to build. We were free to move from station to station and we did. The quiet became noisy. The hesitant became enthusiastic. The chatter became laughter and we were off and running. The first of many bottles of wine appeared and Anna told us it was wine that came from her neighbor's farm next door and the wine became tastier. The kitchen that had seemed woefully inadequate for "cooking school" turned into a Tuscan family's home, into which we had been invited. It was warm and they were welcoming. It just got better and better the more we cooked. Three hours passed quickly and the non-cooks were arriving for dinner. They walked up the stairs, a little reluctantly, as had we, and encountered a group of their friends, a utensil in one hand, a glass of wine in the other having the time of their lives. Anna and Jacopo then instructed us that we had completed our work, and if we went downstairs, they would finish and dinner would be served. The root cellar we passed as we arrived, had magically transformed into an inviting dining room. Anna brought the first course, 3 different bruschettas. We compared notes, discussed which was the favorite, passed them around and ate every piece. This was followed by gnocchi, salad (which we had picked in the garden),ravioli, naked ravioli, chicken cacciatore, biscotti and tiramisu. We were begging Anna and Jacopo to join us and eventually, after all the courses had been served, they did. They moved from table to table answering questions, posing for pictures and telling us about the cooking school that they used to have in Florence. Jacopo said he had to leave Florence and move to the country because it was, "time to grow my children!". The dinner was the best we had in the entire trip, and we cooked it ourselves!!! I could have stayed at that table for hours listening and learning from Anna and Jacopo. We didn't stay late, knowing that the steep curving ride home would be a challenge. This was a day that began poorly and yet of all we did, and everywhere we went in Tuscany..... this day was priceless. I will never forget standing in that farmhouse, with my friends and this delightful young couple, experiencing the culture that is Italy. It was a day that try as I might, I can not put into words. It was an experience beyond "measure." |
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21 July 2003 by Anne Fitzgerald
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....Food was on the agenda once more for a cookery class in a private apartment overlooking the city. Here chefs Anna and Jacopo Tendi showed us how to create some Tuscan classics including the best crostini we had tasted on the trip and a rich flavoured rabbit dish. The Tuscans do relish their meat, but this is not a dish for those who, like one of our party, once cherished a pet bunny. However, potato, flour and cheese were the inoffensive ingredients used to create gnocchi, which, chopped and rolled by me, were very tasty with a tomato sauce...
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Sunday 23, July, 2003 By Lynn Barber ...Thence to a private apartment where a beautiful couple called Anna and Jacopo are to give us a cookery lesson. The foodies all go into ecstasies when Jacobo tells them he is going to teach them how to make bruschetta and Tuscan rabbit with herbs. This is my cue for another siesta, while they get busy chopping (I plan to die without ever learning to cook), and when I wake there is a lovely meal on the table. Perfect! They cook; I eat; everyone is happy....
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Thursday, April 20th 2006 Utho and Rosemarie Creusen Dear
Anna! Dear Jacopo! Being
back to Ingolstadt, we would like to write to you, how fantastic your
cookingclass was. We enjoyed every second. We learned a lot about Italian
cooking. But first of all we liked,how you led the course. We felt like old
friends in your private home. Thank you for having us in such a nice
atmosphere. Greetings
and feel free to contact us, when you come to Munich. Utho
and Rosemarie
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