I am a self-taught home cook, originally from the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta where I first learnt to cook helping my mother in the kitchen. After a traveling life which took me to Paris, Lisbon, Cairo, London and Barcelona, I came to Bologna in 1996 and it was pretty much love at first sight.
In 1999 I decided to stay here and to set up my Cook Italy cooking school here in Bologna, to have a go at making what gives me most pleasure – cooking – my work. This was my way of staying on in this beautiful historic city, and Bologna, considered to be the food capital of Italy, is the perfect city for food lovers like me. It has worked and I am still here, very much enjoying running my classes and meeting a great many interesting people.
I love food, and cooking and there is nothing I like more than feeding people.
Except perhaps teaching people to cook great Italian food!
Carmelita Caruana
About my classes
My original and still my best offer is the Market-To-Table class, a market tour followed by home cooking in my air-conditioned home kitchen making prettily plated, traditional Italian home food. I am bang in the heart of the historic centre with everything at walking distance, and my apartment has a great view!
My classes are hands-on because I really want you to be able to make the dishes when you get back home so that you have a long lasting souvenir of your time with me and of Bologna. And in my home because all travellers can visit restaurants and hotels but entering into a local’s home, seeing what lies behind the huge Bologna doors, is more intimate and special. And since I offer traditional Italian home cooking, a home kitchen, not unlike yours, is where we cook.
I like to share with you the gastronomic and social history of the dishes we make, so the class is not just about recipes. I teach all the classes personally and I do my utmost to give you a fun day to remember and a great culinary experience.
I have chosen to keep my classes small and personal, and I take only very small groups so you get individual attention. I enjoy what I do enormously and have taught beginners, experienced cooks, professional chefs and families with children – all are welcome! And many of my guests have come back a second and sometimes even a third time.
I hope you too will join me – not just a local but a food expert local – and come discover this lovely city and its food with me as your guide.
