January 12, 2019

I arrived on January 8th.  It was 29 hours door-to-door: Santa Fe to Albuquerque to Dallas to London to Rome to Lamezia Terme to Località Caminia in the town of Stalettì.

The trip was totally uneventful except for a few moments of anxiety near the end.  Although the flight from Rome to Lamezia Terme was full, there were only about 10 of us who checked bags.  Standing around the baggage carousel, one by one the others peeled off.  I was the lone passenger left standing in an empty terminal except for the very concerned airport official who only spoke Italian.  She kept disappearing, apparently to see if there were other bags being unloaded.   Each time, she came back looking more dire.

Finally, my bags appeared.  I was relieved.  So, obviously, was the airport official!

I exited baggage claim prepared to discover that my driver had left, thinking I hadn’t made the flight.  Luckily, he was there and I breathed a sigh of relief.

The ride to the hotel, Baia dell’Est, was just under 45 minutes.  I arrived at 7:20 PM and was met by Mariana, who manages logistics for the Italian Culinary Institute.  She took me to my room, showed me the bottles of water and wine the school had left for me in case I needed reviving after my journey, and told me that she was taking the current group of students, attending a five-day course on making salumi, to dinner at 7:50 if I wanted to join them.

I tore through my suitcases, flinging clothes everywhere, to find the bits I needed to make a coherent outfit.  I jumped in the shower, dressed, and was ready to go at 7:45.  I’m not quite sure how I managed that.

We piled into a mini-bus and went to Il Ghittone, a local pizzeria.  Juan, Mariana’s husband and second-in-command chef at the Institute, said the tradition was to order beer, fried potatoes, and pizza.  Absorbing the flavors of Italy is a big part of the total immersion experience of this three-month culinary expedition, so I was not about to argue with tradition even if beer isn’t one of my favorite beverages.  Fried potatoes and pizza, on the other hand, are a completely different story!

The menu consisted of four pages of Calabrian-style pizza, plus two pages of other stuff that I didn’t bother reviewing.  We were here to eat pizza, after all!  In addition, there was a separate menu of Roman-style pizza which Juan suggested we not order simply because he thought we should taste the hyper-local food.  I was more than happy to oblige, ordering Pizza Calabrese with tomato sauce, mozzarella, schiacciata, ‘nduja, and black olives (with pits).

Schiacciata (meaning “squashed”) is similar to sopressata, but weighed down during curing to make it flat.  ‘Nduja, a spreadable salame that has been a favorite of mine since I discovered it several years ago, can contain up to 50% Calabrian chile peppers!

I also requested pepperoncino, hoping to get the minced, salted, and oil-packed Calabrian peppers that I had on my last visit to Calabria.  The waiter, clearly pleased that someone had asked for pepperoncino, brought two bowls.  They were sliced fresh pepperoncini, however.  Nonetheless, I made a substantial dent in them.

We lingered at the restaurant for more than two hours.  Getting back to the hotel around 10:30, I had no choice but to put everything away since my clothes were strewn on the bed and all around the room from my frantic pre-dinner quest for sartorial appropriateness.  Sleep came at about 12:30 AM.

At 7:30 the next morning, I was at La Tavernetta, the restaurant at Baia dell’Est, for breakfast.  Orlando, the barista, revived me with four double espressos!!!

With my class not scheduled to start until the evening of January 12th, I spent the morning responding to email and other tasks.  I had lunch with the “Salumi Students” at the school.  The afternoon became a jet-lagged blur after the effect of Orlando’s espresso wore off.  I think I napped, but I know I appeared at the school for a simple dinner of chicken, cauliflower with cream sauce, and salad.

Wine!  Did I mention wine?  Bottomless bottles accompany all meals (well, not really breakfast, though I think if one asked, it would appear!).

On January 10th the Salumi Students did an outing to a local mercato in Catanzaro Lido followed by a trip to a kitchen/restaurant supply store.  I was invited to accompany them.  Afterwards, we had lunch at the “Panino Lab” where one designs one’s own sandwich which is then made to order.  I really liked my choice (semolina ciabatta, schiacciata, pecorino fresco, n’duja, and arugula) so much that I can’t wait to go back!

We arrived back at the school at 1:30 and convened in the kitchen at 2:00.  Chef John Nocita, who runs the school, invited me to participate.

Stay tuned for the next installment.