Cooking in Campania

Cook at Seliano
. . . with Arthur Schwartz in the Campania region of Italy

Cooking in Italy - a culinary vacation - with Arthur Schwartz, New York City's "Food Maven," on the farm-inn of Baronessa Cecilia in Paestum, is an experience you will never forget. It's not just the memorable times spent in the kitchen, and at table together with people of like minds. On excursion days, you'll get a taste of Naples, the view from Ravello, and walk through the medieval streets of Salerno. You'll visit a winery in the green hills of Avellino, dine in an elegant country restaurant, and watch mozzarella di bufala being made from the milk of water buffalo right outside the kitchen door. You'll get to know a cast of characters that includes Cecilia's two adult sons, Ettore and Massimino, and their wives, Veronica and Barbara, as well as Eugenia, Gerardina, Veliana, and Anna, the local women who help in class and cook some meals. You become part of the family.

Every season in Italy has its delights, and at Cook at Seliano, set on Cecilia's elegant agriturismo, the classes and menus reflect that. Almost all the fruit and vegetables are grown on Cecilia's farm. The milk for the mozzarella and ricotta you'll eat and cook with come from her herd of water buffalo.

"For six sun-filled days, we experienced Naples at Table in its fullest glory. A dream-come-true vacation to live on a working farm, cook (and drink!!) scrumptious locally grown dishes, and enjoy the smiles, laughter, and music of new friends. Cecilia is a gracious, warm and hospitable host, along with her wonderful attentive staff. Our dear Arturo filled our minds with knowledge and folklore as we filled our senses with the tastes of Campania. We loved it." ~ Marianne Vastola

. . . with Arthur Schwartz and Baronessa Cecilia Bellelli

CLASSES

All classes are hands-on and very basic, covering the most popular dishes of the Neapolitan and, in general, Southern Italian repertoire. No prior cooking skills are needed. There will be some demonstrations by Arthur Schwartz and Baronessa Bellelli, so participants can take home as many useful recipes as possible. Maximum group size is 12.

"Seliano is beautiful. The Baroness and her sons welcomed us like family. Arthur's energy is contagious. I never learned so much about food nor had so much fun creating it. I can't wait to go back." ~ Myra Binstock

"Cook At Seliano is an exceptionally unique experience that should not be missed. It takes place on a highly integrated working farm that grows various foods and raises water buffalos. The buffalos are milked daily to make authentic buffalo mozzarella, a process that we were able to watch. Arthur Schwartz, an authority on Campania, as well as on all aspects of food, gives you lessons in preparing fabulous Neapolitan meals, visits to the surrounding area, and a trip to the Greek ruins of Paestum. Arthur has the unique gift of being able to engage a group of people, who do not know each other, to work effectively as a team. My husband and I hope we will be able to participate in a second week in this wonderful and informative venture in the near future." ~ Frances & Rolf Stenberg

"Cooking in the same kitchen with Arthur was a real treat. We have never had such fun, laughs, and learned so much in one week . . . a real culinary adventure! Besides the cooking together, our group took interesting day trips, shopped, and enjoyed super meals at special locals . . . not to mention the feasts at Arthur's friends' homes." ~ Michael & Roberta McNally

"I was thrilled to be a part of the first session of cooking at Seliano - I loved the cooking, the eating, the sight-seeing, and I especially treasure the laughter and friendship of our group. I hope to be able to attend another session soon." ~ Rosanne Minskow

"Cook at Seliano over-delivered on my expectations of what I thought cooking school would be. I walked in loving to eat and walked out loving to cook." ~ Tony Vastola

Where is Paestum and what is it?

Paestum is about a half hour south of the Amalfi Coast on the "beaches of Salerno" where the Allies landed in 1943. Not a municipality, it is an archeological zone within the town limits of Capaccio-Scalo, a summer resort community. It is also the heart of mozzarella di bufala country.

The ancient Greek name for Paestum is Poseidonia, named after Poseidon, the god of the sea. Paestum is its Latin name. Founded by the Greeks, then later abandoned by the Romans, it wasn't excavated until the 1920s, when Mussolini drained the swamps around it. It is famous for its three Fifth and Sixth Century B.C. Greek temples, considered among the most perfectly preserved in the world. They are less than two miles from Tenuta Seliano. Across the road from the temples is a small museum housing one of the only examples in existence of Greek painting, the Tomb of the Diver. Seliano's own archeologist, Bob Harned, explains it all.

"Time is precious. Don't allow another day to go by without going to Paestum with Arthur Schwartz. Breathtaking, fragrant, romantic, soul altering and an experience only few can imagine. Let your dreams come true as ours did." ~ Shelley and Ken Obletz

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Sample Dishes

The following are just a small sample of dishes you will learn to prepare in the three half-day, hands-on cooking classes. Dishes will vary each season, as obviously the produce does. In general, there is an emphasis on the products of the immediate agricultural area and the produce of the Tenuta Seliano itself: mozzarella di bufala, ricotta, and other cheeses and dairy products, fruits and vegetables, goat, buffalo meat, and, naturally, pasta. During the three half-day sessions, every individual will have an opportunity to take a turn at deep frying, grilling, making tomato sauce and ragu, making his own liqueur to take home, preparing and cooking vegetables, pasta dishes, and desserts.

• Sugo di Pomodoro (Quick Tomato Sauce)
• Ragu al Bracciole (Meat Sauce with Beef Rolls)
• Paccheri (large pasta tubes) with Tomato Sauce and Ricotta
• Spaghetti di Ettore (spaghetti with roasted peppers and fried eggs)
• Fusilli (homemade tubular pasta)
• Ravioli (with ricotta, Neapolitan style)
• Capretto or Agnello Origanato (kid or lamb baked with herbs)
• Polpette Napolitane (Neapolitan meatballs)
• Timballo (pastry drum filled with meat, pasta, peas, two sauces)
• Lasagne di Carciofi (artichoke lasagne)
• Zucchini, Melanzane e Zucca alla Griglia (grilled zucchini, eggplant and pumpkin)
• Zucchini a Fiammifero (matchstick fried zucchini)
• Carciofi Indorate e Fritti (batter-fried artichokes)
• Pizza e Calzone
• Minestra Maritata (soup of mixed greens)
• Minestrone (mixed vegetable soup)
• Semifreddo di Strega (frozen Strega liquor cream dessert)
• Crostata (enclosed pastry filled with seasonal fruit and custard)
• Zuppa Tartara (Neapolitan tiramisu with ricotta cream)
• Torta Caprese (flourless chocolate-almond torte)
• Zabaglione (Marsala wine foam)
• Graffe (a kind of zeppole)
• Limoncello (lemon liqueur that you get to take home)

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Arthur Schwartz

For more than 30 years, Arthur Schwartz, was a newspaper food editor, columnist and restaurant critic. For nearly 13 years, he was the host of the nationally syndicated "Food Talk," the first and still most commercially successful radio food program in the US. He is the author of six cookbooks, including the best-selling "Naples At Table: Cooking in Campania," considered a definitive work even by Neapolitans, and the award-winning "Arthur Schwartz's New York City Food: An opinionated history with legendary recipes." He lectures extensively at museums, libraries, and for benefit and community audiences. He teaches cooking at many venues in metropolitan New York City, and, for the last five years, at his own school, Cook at Seliano, in Paestum, based at Baronessa Cecilia's two neighboring farms, Tenuta Seliano and Masseria Eliseo.

Baronessa Cecilia Bellelli Baratta

Baronessa Cecilia Bellelli Baratta inherited her farm estates more than thirty years ago, from her husband, whose Eighteenth Century ancestor was given the title Barone because he was a horse breeder to the King of Naples. Cecilia continues to breed and train Persano show horses in addition to water buffalo. Educated in both France and Italy, and fluent in English, Cecilia's own family was prominent in the local food packing and export business. Her two agriturismi, the word Italians use for working farm-inns, are highly recommended by Rick Steves, Karen Brown and many other guidebooks. She and the farms have been featured on Italian television, and on the Food Network in the United States.

"I am amazed at how several weeks later our experiences at Seliano are such a part of our references and conversations . . . it was truly a life enriching experience . . . powerful and wonderful. Although we found out that it is often couples who access this experience, I would highly recommend it as a family experience. I know of parents, especially Moms with sons, who are searching for "acceptable" things to do with sons. Cooking is an event that is accessible and fun. I would highly recommend it for other families. It seems the teens did as well or better as the adults! Thank you so much for an amazing trip." ~ Ruth & Whitney Mitchell

Cecilia is a collector and all her rooms are very comfortable and elegantly appointed with vintage furniture and accessories. All have private, modern bathrooms and air-conditioning. Groups sleep at Tenuta Seliano, with its rose gardens, swimming pool, gazebo for outdoor dining, and large dining hall. The groups cook at Masseria Eliseo, down the road, where there are more elegant guest rooms, plus a large modern kitchen and another antique-filled dining hall where groups can enjoy lunches and lounging. Outside the kitchen door at Eliseo is where the buffalo roam. Cecilia is one of Campania's leading breeders of water buffalo. The estate also boasts a garden labyrinth designed by New Yorker Diana Carulli, who designed the labyrinths painted on Manhattan's Union Square.

FOR AVAILABLE DATES AND PRICES PLEASE EMAIL ARTHUR <click here>