Last Weeks in Italia!

So........ my culinary stage in Italy is starting to come to a close.  This week I start to work in the Pizzeria, and 2 saturdays from now I am done!  It has gone by so fast, and has been an incredible experience.  I can't thank the chef enough for what he has taught me, and where he has taken me!

I also asked the chef if it was ok for me to take pictures of the restaurant.  Of course he said yes, so I will explain them to you now.  This picture is a special award given to the chef about being one of the top restaurants in Italia.  This plate is in the entrance way to the restaurant.

This picture here is of the original wheels that used to make flour.  This building used to be a flour mill, and the chef has preserved most of the original things.  the wheels are over 500 years old, and in Italian these are called Molin's (hence the name of the restaurant.

This is a picture of the original machine that used to grind the rice (also 500 years old!!!)

This week was pretty laid back with both the restaurants closed.  The Chef put on a cooking school for 5 days for some people in the Val Di Fiemme.  Ale and I prepared the food for each of the nights.  It was a lot of fun for me to teach people how to make different things (even if I don't speak the best Italian......they still understood me!!!)

These are some pictures from today (yes today May 8th) of my hike up the mountain behind Cavalese.  The Northern region of Italia is a beautiful place, and everyone should come here (at least once!!).

Formaggi!!!!!!

Today has been awesome so far!  This morning I slept in (which was very nice if I might add) and I went with my sous chef to see the production of goat cheese!  We took a chance that they were open because today is Labor Day for Italy.

This is a local place (so the production is limited since it is small) and they make all different kinds of cheese from the goats milk.  When we arrived, they took us to the barn where they house the goats for production.  All of the goats where white as could be, and had super long beards under their chin!  Also, all of the goats were extremely calm and very happy.  To me, that is a distinct factor in production of milk.  Like California says (kind of), happy goats make the best milk. 

After the barn, we went to the room with the big machine that takes the milk from the goats.  They get the goats in the line up by scattering corn on the path, which gets them to move into the space.  Once they are in, I’m sure you can figure out the rest!

We then made our way into the other building where they actually make the cheese!  When we  walked in we heard music playing but didn’t see anyone.  We said, “Hello, Hello” and finally we heard a big burly response.  We walked into the back to find (this bear of a man) the guy making the cheese.  When we arrived he was making the ricotta cheese from the leftover milk (which is amazing if I might add).   He talked to us and explained some things about the cheese.  One interesting fact, the goat milk does not need an acid to make ricotta.  All you have to do is heat it to 90 degrees Celsius and it will start to curd (I think this is only with their goat milk because it is unpasteurized). 

The next 2 pictures are the fresh cheese (made today) and will be aged for 15 days. The picture following is the fresh Ricotta cheese (INCREDIBLE!!!!!)  It truly doesn't get much better than this!

When we finished watching him make the cheese, he took us to the other room so we could then taste all the cheeses……….AMAZING!  We tasted 3 different kinds of cheese.  Two of the cheeses were soft, and the other was a little bit firmer.  The cheese on the right was the softest cheese, and had the texture of brie.  The cheese in the middle is a soft cheese that has been aged for 15 days to take out some of the moisture.  Finally the cheese on the right (my favorite) is a cheese that has been aged for 4 months.  All of these cheeses where amazing but my favorite is the last.  

Again, I have had another amazing day in Cavalese!

Trento Book Release

This past Thursday, the whole staff went to Trento with the Chef.  He is in a new

book about Chef’s from the mountains and how they are modernizing cuisine.  About three weeks ago we had a food photographer come to the restaurant to take pictures of Chef’s signature dishes.  These pictures were put in the new book.

There were two other chefs at the event that where showcased.  these are some pictures of their dishes...

Thursday was, for me, the official start of the spring up here in the mountains.  It was 27 degrees Celsius (which is 80 Fahrenheit) down in the valley.  All the apple trees have blossoms, and the grape vines are starting to grow.  It was a spectacular day to be outside!

The event was for 50 people, mostly journalists from the Trentino Alto-Adige region.  Chef made his signature Lamb dish with Lichen, Jerusalem Artichoke, and Crosne (this is like a baby turnip).

  There were camera’s all over the kitchen so that the journalists could watch the chef prepare the dish.  Once the chef finished his preparation, we then all helped to make exact replicas of the dish for the journalists.  It was a great event to be a part of, and another amazing experience in Italy!