Pizza Quest culinary tour in Italy

[lwood]

Hi Peter,
I have a suggestion. PQ should sponsor a culinary tour in Italy. I am currently researching a trip for my wife and I in Italy and there are so many great places to get incredible cooking experiences from Parma to Palermo. Do you have anything like this planned? I'm sure you would have plenty of interest from this forum alone. We will be going in the next 2 years and would definitely be interested in anything you may sponsor like that.

In any event, I would like to solicit any suggestions from the forum members as to places to visit in Italy for cooking or dining experiences....particularly WFO experiences. Found this site near Parma that does their own Parma cheese and Ham all from their 1300's farm. Home Page of Antica Corte

Would love to hear about any special places to visit in Italy. Any restaurants, WFOs, cooking classes, culinary related things from Parma to Palermo. Am planning about a month in Italy and Sicily. My mother is from a small town outside of Palermo near Trapani & Marsala. Would love to get a group going together. Peter you are invited and anyone else interested. Thanks for any suggestions you may have.

[BradPQ]

Re: Pizza Quest culinary tour in Italy

Iwood,

That's a great suggestion! That would make a great webisode series of travel/cooking segments and a great story in general. As we get things going, we'll keep that in mind.

Thanks for your idea. Keep pushing it in this thread and we'll see how it grows!

Brad English

[Neil2]

Re: Pizza Quest culinary tour in Italy

"I would like to solicit any suggestions from the forum members as to places to visit in Italy"

Split, Croatia. Great pizza.

[david s]

Re: Pizza Quest culinary tour in Italy

When in Italy last year we found generally that the food was better if you get away from tourist areas. We had some not so outstanding meals in Rome and Venice, but every time we stayed in smaller rural places the local food was fantasic. We stayed a week in Greve in Chianti at a winery, the local food was great. Also had terrific meals in Positano and Montepetuso (the village behind) There is so much good food in Italy I found I was actually avoiding pizza because I know what good pizza is like and wanted to try other things.

[lwood]

Re: Pizza Quest culinary tour in Italy

Thanks David for the tips, that's been pretty much my experience also. Would love to hear more about your trip. Did you go on a tour?

Thanks Brad for the encouragement, I certainly will continue to push this because we will definitely be going in either spring or fall of 2012. I encourage, anyone even remotely interested in doing something like this, to throw in your 2c worth.

Anyone that has suggestions on great places to go would certainly be appreciated. I am particularly interested in the Parma area and Sicily.

[david s]

Re: Pizza Quest culinary tour in Italy

We did not go on a tour but booked everything ourselves via the net. This takes time, but is fun and you don't pay agents commissions. We did the first 4 weeks of our trip with another couple which was fun and saved us heaps as we got great 2b'room apartments, with full kitchens and shared the car hire.
But Italian trains are also very good,relatively cheap and efficient.

[lwood]

Re: Pizza Quest culinary tour in Italy

Thanks David, I have been doing a lot of research and your right, it's a lot of fun. If you have links to places you really liked, please send.

[david s]

Re: Pizza Quest culinary tour in Italy

We found tripadvisor.com a very useful site.

[lwood]

Re: Pizza Quest culinary tour in Italy

I want to go to Naples and taste a real Margarita Pizza.

[jammyweb]

Re: Pizza Quest culinary tour in Italy

I'm off to Puglia (the heel of Italy) this summer - and am currently looking for local pizza making or italian cookery courses - only 1 or 2 days. I'm lucky enough to have found a villa with a pizza oven - so can make some out there too!

Anyone got any advice on finding cookery courses in that part of Italy?

James

[david s]

Re: Pizza Quest culinary tour in Italy

I want to go to Naples and taste a real Margarita Pizza.

Naples is the one place in Italy I'd avoid. Ugly,dirty and full of thieves. Sorry if I've offended anyone.

[lwood]

Re: Pizza Quest culinary tour in Italy

I haven't used these people yet but they seem to know their way around. They will create a custom tour for you. Italy Cooking Schools I would also like any referrals to any cooking schools or tours in Italy that anyone has experienced.

[lwood]

Re: Pizza Quest culinary tour in Italy

Thanks David

[david s]

Re: Pizza Quest culinary tour in Italy

Now Positano on the other hand is a little slice of heaven. We had a wonderful authentic Italian meal at Montepetuso about 5K behind Positano. For 35 Euro a bus picked us up from our hotel took us to Montepetuso where we had a 5 course meal, several plates to share of excellent food per course, with more than you could eat and as much wine as you anted to drink, music with trad italian band and dancing, then bus back to hotel at Positano. Needless to say we overdid both the eating and drinking. Caught the bus back to Montepetuso the next day and walked back to Positano via the track- spectacular!

Sorry the first pic is an oven in Pompeii It has a flue in the centre of the oven chamber.

[lwood]

Re: Pizza Quest culinary tour in Italy

Looks awesome David, thats the kind of things I would like to share in this thread.

Here is a site I have been looking at for tours => Parma ham tour - prosciutto di Parma tour - gourmet food tours in Parma

Also there are a lot of farm houses, villas, apartments, etc for reasonable prices on extended stays.