Inspiring a Longer and Healthier Life through the Mediterranean Cuisine and Lifestyle

Stile Mediterraneo Cooking School will be organizing the following events in the US.

There will be cooking classes, olive oil tastings, wine pairings to promote Puglia’s Mediterranean cuisine and its benefits for health and wellbeing.

BOSTON

May 21 Taste of Italy event at Harvard Business School

PORTLAND

Mediterranean Cooking events with Michelle Dietz, founder of Sea Change Cooking.

May 22  Olive oil tasting event, Falmouth

Women’s Networking Event with Echelon Circles to Benefit Dress for Success

May 23 – May 24 Mediterranean Cooking & Olive oil tasting Lincolnville

Cooking classes and wine pairings at Cellardoor vineyard

May 25-May 26 Mediterranean Cooking, South Portland

2 Day Series at Southern Maine Community College

NEW YORK

May 27-28 private events

Given the success of our Christmas cooking classes and tour in Matera last week, we are pleased to announce another SPECIAL tour in Matera on April 17-21, 2012.

Matera is a Unesco heritage town located in Basilicata, a region at the border with Puglia, just 2 hour drive from Lecce. Matera became very famous after the Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ movie. The old town is called Sassi which means stones, because the houses are carved out of the rock. Originally only the facade of these dwellings was built up to set up a door or a [...] Continue Reading…

There is no other day of the week, that I love as much as Sunday.

It’s the day when Marika does not have to go to the hospital (for work! of course) so she can make all her delicious Italian recipes and dishes. She usually wakes up early, goes on a bike ride and then in a couple of hours she is able to arrange a 5-course meal for the traditional Italian Sunday meal we have with the whole family.

When we were young our Grandmother used to cook the Sunday meal. Until a few months ago it was our Mother’s turn. Now [...] Continue Reading…

If you ever come to Puglia and Southern Italy you will certainly notice that there are many people and women in particular who live up to 100 years and in very healthy conditions.
Certainly the slow and relaxed Mediterranean lifestyle has a big influence on this: everybody goes back home for lunch, eats with the family and takes a little nap before going back to work at 5pm.

However, the Mediterranean-style diet is one of the main reasons why women and people in general, live so long. One of the most important features of the Mediterranean diet and cuisine is that people eat a combination [...] Continue Reading…

We are so excited to find out that our extra virgin olive oil tasting tours in Lecce got featured in the May Sunday Times Travel Magazine.
I and Marika love telling our guests about the benefits of extra virgin olive oil for the heart and health in general. We love teaching them how to taste extra virgin olive oil and how to use it in order to preserve all its benefits. We love preparing dishes and pairing them with the right olive oils. We love when our guests go back home and tell us how picky and expert on [...] Continue Reading…

We have been receiving lots of requests from our guests attending our cooking classes, culinary and wine tours in Puglia, about best places to visit while on vacation in Puglia and best things to do in each town.

We are happy to share an itinerary that could be helpful to travellers coming for a one week / 10-day vacation in Puglia.

First of all, please note that we think the most important reason why you should come to Puglia is its food, olive oil and wines. For sure you will love Puglia, if you love simple, fresh and delicious Italian food and [...] Continue Reading…

What I and Marika like the most about making our own bread at home is all the nice memories that it brings back.

There is nothing better than the flavors all around our house when we bake the bread in the oven. It reminds us of our childhood when our Grandmother would make the bread for all her grandchildren. She would call us when the bread was still in the oven and bring us together around her kitchen table: we would eat that delicious and warm bread with just extra virgin olive oil and fresh tomatoes. Nothing else. It was the best bread ever, made with lots of love.

Nowadays, [...] Continue Reading…

It is obviously spring on our terrace, which is almost becoming as big as a garden. Marika planted even more herbs than last year (in addition to the many flowers, geranium and….the big lemon tree which already has one big lemon!). I think we now have them all.

Just name one and we have it: from bay laurel, sage, rosemary, parsley, LOTS of mint, to thyme and basil. At our parents’ garden we have: capers, chilly peppers, oregano, wild fennel and rucola (rocket).

Our guests who already attended our cooking classes in Puglia know how I and Marika love adding all the different herbs to our dishes…..even to [...] Continue Reading…

I and Marika are very pleased to let you know that we decided to add Italian language classes to the Stile Mediterraneo School’s programs in Lecce Puglia. This is a unique chance to learn Italian and cook healthy and tasty Italian food.

Food and wine from Puglia and Southern Italy will always be our focus: during our programs our guests will have a chance to study the beautiful Italian language while learning about the Italian food and wines. Programs include: conversations, lots of practice with local people, visits to best markets, wineries and producers, a cooking class…and lots of eating! You will meet [...] Continue Reading…

In Puglia we don’t define ourserselves as vegetarian people, but we certainly eat lots of vegetables, legumes and dishes which would be perfect for vegetarians.

This may be due to the fact that in Puglia we produce lots of vegetables (in fact we are also known as the garden of Italy); or to the fact that, having a sunny and warm weather for most of the year, we prefer eating simple and fresh dishes, not rich in proteins and fats.

Lots of our dishes do not include any meat at all, but just cheese, eggs and vegetables: from eggplant balls (similar to meat balls, but [...] Continue Reading…