The ANNOTICO Report

Chef Biagio Longo's "Mami Camilla" near Sorrento, in the quaint town of
Sant'Agnello, is only one of many Cooking schools in Italy. A beautiful
vacation idea.

The flavors of Southern Italy are the subject at a relaxed hotel and
cooking school near Sorrento

Detroit Free Press
By Elio Leturia
Staff Writer
June 14, 2005

1965. A little boy sneaks into the kitchen to see how the dessert he had
invented is doing in the oven. Someone had turned the oven off. Quietly,
checking to make sure nobody is around, he stands on a stool and turns the
oven back on.

Students Brian Merel, 24, of Chicago (on an internship for his Cooking and
Hospitality Institute of Chicago degree) and Betsy Laskowski, 33, of
Philadelphia (a teacher in Budapest) watch as chef Biagio Longo makes pasta.

The red "on" light makes him smile. He sneaks out of the room; when he
returns a few minutes later, the light is off again. He turns it back on,
hoping no one else would interrupt his baking.

In his mind he can hear his father's voice: "Boys don't enter the kitchen.
.... Cooking is for women!"

When the little boy returns to the kitchen, he takes the hot dish out of
the oven. He rushes off to his bedroom and closes the door. He eats the
cinnamony treat.

Not bad for a 5-year-old.

Four decades later, the little boy is an adult who loves to cook. He
decides to take a cooking class in Italy. It sounds exciting: three days at
Mami Camilla, a hotel and cooking school in romantic Sorrento, between
Naples and the Amalfi Coast. Authentic Southern Italian cuisine. Hedonistic
thoughts invade his mind -- hearty sauces, pastas al dente, creamy desserts.

Chef Biagio Longo, 52, a tall and sturdy man with hands big enough to
easily knead 4 pounds of fresh pasta, welcomes the four students he has
this week.

One is from Denver, another from Chicago, another a Philadelphian who lives
in Budapest, and me, a Detroiter from Peru who secretly baked sweet treats
as a kid. Wearing white aprons we gather around the big marble island in
the center of a no-frills kitchen.

"We are going to make a whole menu each class, all from scratch," he
explains in his accented English.

That day, the menu is Neapolitan pizza, Braciola al sugo, lasagna and, for
dessert, brisedo, a lemon custardy pie.

"What about tiramis™?" a student asks with anticipation.

"That would be tomorrow," the chef responds, smiling.

"Pizza Napoletana is light," Biagio explains while making a hole in the
flour. "We do not use yeast usually. We leave the flour out for 5 days and
then 24 hours in the fridge. That's the secret."

This is homey, real, down-to earth food -- a hands-on cooking experience.

The four students are given different tasks while Biagio explains each dish
and its preparation. There is time for questions, jokes and making mistakes.

Time is not an issue with Biagio. "Italian cuisine is simple, earthy and
tasty," he adds. "I have worked all over the world but, still, my favorite
dish is spaghetti with garlic and olive oil."

Biagio knew he would be a chef at an early age. He grew up surrounded by
the fresh and hearty flavors of his mother's cooking. Right after high
school, at age 17, he moved from his native Lecce, in Italy's southern
province of Puglia, to Sorrento, where he enrolled in the Sorrento Culinary
Cooking School.

>From local restaurants and hotel kitchens, Biagio crossed the Alps and
offered a passion for cooking in renowned hotels in cities like Brussels,
Dusseldorf, and London. "That's how I learned English: working in London. I
learned English in the streets," he says. He also worked on elegant cruise
ships, had his own restaurants and traveled around the world.

Thirty-four years ago, he married Camilla, a vivacious and beautiful young
lady. "We went to school together," he proudly says. For many years, Biagio
would travel, work abroad, then come back home for a while.

But it wasn't easy to be away from the family.

Camilla had been hosting foreign students at their house, then two years
ago she came up with an idea: "Why don't you start a school here, right at
home? This could be a hotel and a cooking school."

They had the land and the house. Biagio had the knowledge and experience.
They had four great children: Agostino, then 30, Giuseppe, 27, Odilia, 22,
and Laura, 14.

Giuseppe developed the business and manages the hotel and school. Agostino
promotes it. Odilia and Laura assist their father. On any given day, you
may see Odilia making a tiramis™ and pouring wine for guests or Laura
setting the tables in the main dining room. And Mami Camilla is typically
making sure that everything goes smoothly while her husband leads the
classes and works his magic in the kitchen.

The cooking class is going well. Students slice fresh pasta, chop garlic,
cut blood oranges, stir the pot of simmering red sauce. The students marvel
at how easy Biagio makes the cooking look.

"To make a lasagna, you place a layer of the pasta we just made, add the
mozzarella, the meatballs, the bÈchamel sauce, the sliced eggs, the
Parmigiano and the tomato sauce. Then you repeat the process all over
again."

"And the ricotta cheese?" a student asks.

"No, lasagna doesn't take ricotta," Biagio responds. "But I understand food
can be adapted to people's preferences. I like to make people try my food
and compare it to their versions and taste the difference."

Four hours go by. The students laugh, sip wine and take notes. Hotel guests
begin to arrive in the adjoining ample dining room. Biagio has already
found out how many guests in the hotel are coming for dinner. The feast is
about to begin.

A four-course meal is included for every student. For the guests, 15 euros
-- less than $20-- gives them a seat for an authentic Italian dining
experience and all the wine they want to drink. It looks like a scene from
a movie. Americans, Australians, British and Japanese are among the regular
visitors. "In general," the chef says, "people come here to relax, learn,
eat and have fun."

Salute Biagio!

And Salute, Dad! Thanks for changing your thoughts about men in the kitchen.

Contact ELIO LETURIA at 313-223-4429 or leturia@freepress.com

http://www.freep.com/features/
food/italy14e_20050614.htm

MAMI CAMILLA
Via Cocumella, 4 --80065, Sant' Agnello di Sorrento, Naples, Italy,
39-081-8770677

Mami Camilla offers various culinary vacations and cooking classes, the
first three named after the women in the family.

Courses
Odilia. 12-hour basic group class, 3 days a week, 12 dishes; 328 euros
(US$400)
Laura. 20-hour general group class, 5 days a week, 20 dishes; 433 euros
(US$529)
Camilla. 30-hour intensive group class, 6 days a week, 28 dishes; 583 euros
(US$712)
 

All the courses include 6 dinners, attendance certificate, recipe book and
apron. Classes can be extended to several weeks, according to your needs.
 

Single classes
One-on-one. Individual class; 240 euros (US$293)
Two-on-one. 2 students; 210 euros (US$257) per person
Group class; 100 euros (US$122) per person

Each four-hour class includes a dinner. You can take as many classes as you
want.
 

For details on cooking classes and accommodations visit,
www.mamicamilla.com.
 

CULINARY VACATIONS SERIES
Part 2: Today, Free Press designer Elio Leturia takes a cooking class on
the southern coast of Italy.

Part 1: Last week, staff writer Patricia Anstett shared a taste of New
Orleans. Read her story and sample the recipes at www.freep.com/features/
food/neworleans7e _20050607.htm.

ACCOMMODATIONS
Prices vary depending on the season.
There are 23 available rooms.

Single: 40-60 euros (US$49-73)
Double: 50-80-90 euros (US$61-98-110)
Triple: 75-90-105 euros (US$91-110-128)
Quadruple: 90-110-120-130 euros (US$110-134-147-159)

Rates are per room per night. All prices include breakfast.

Cooking students get a special rate. The longer you stay, the cheaper it
gets.

For details on cooking classes and accommodations visit,
www.mamicamilla.com.

And this time, his father -- who now has not only entered the kitchen, but
cooked in it -- is not a deterrent.

Mami Camilla opened two years ago. Next to Sorrento, in the quaint town of
Sant'Agnello, almost an acre of fertile land plays host to a hotel and
cooking school just one block from the blue Mediterranean Sea.