As a final post after the series dedicated to the Academia Barilla VIP gourmet tour organized by Academia Barilla Culinary School Alumni Frank DiMaria, we want to publish an email we received from Frank when we got all the info for his VIP gourmet tour to Parma and Bologna, Italy.

We publish this email to share Frank’s passion for Italian cooking, Italian gastronomy, and Italian food culture in general. No more words, here we go:

Ciao a tutti,

Our 2007 trip to Parma Italy and Academia Barilla was a huge success, because of that we have decided to do it again this year. This may become an annual event!  

For those of you who are not familiar with the tour, I have joined with Academia Barilla, the world’s premier culinary center dedicated to the art of Italian gastronomy, to personally escort you for 6 days and 5 nights in Parma, Italy’s Food Valley, for the ultimate culinary experience. Parma, a secret treasure tucked away in the heart of the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, is one of Europe’s greatest food capitals.  

I have joined with Academia Barilla to offer a full emersion culinary experience in the breathtaking region of Emilia-Romagna. Academia Barilla offers 2 hands-on cooking classes in their state-of-the-art kitchens, and an opportunity to learn from the top local chefs.  

You will experience regional delicacies, authentic menus, exclusive tastings, one-of-a kind culinary tours to regional Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Prosciutto di Parma, Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, olive oil and wine producers to learn the intricacies and traditions of true Italian foods.

You will also be able to explore authentic Italian markets and gourmet shops, observe the cultural street life, and enjoy the wonderful shops, cafés and restaurants that Parma boasts.  

You won’t want to miss this culinary adventure!

A presto,
Frank DiMaria

If you need more detailed info or need to book your exclusive VIP gourmet tour to Parma, see all details at our previous blog post, and get in touch with Frank DiMaria by calling +1 847 965-0672 or +1 847 417 7587. You can also email Frank at frankdimaria@comcast.net to reserve your space!

See you in Parma!

Here is the full program of the 6-day Academia Barilla VIP gastronomy tour of Parma, Bologna and Emilia-Romagna organized and guided by Academia Barilla Culinary Center Alumni Frank DiMaria.

Remember that tour dates are September 21-26, so you better call soon for your reservations. For more info and booking call Frank DiMaria at +1 847 965-0672 or +1 847 417-7587, or email him at frankdimaria@comcast.net.

Day one - Sunday, September 21

Arrival in Milano Malpensa. Pick up with private bus and transfer to Parma
Check in at Grand Hotel de la Ville (5-star) and relaxing time

06:00 PM - Evening welcoming “aperitivo” at the lounge bar of the hotel

07:15 PM - Group dinner in an authentic local well-known Parma Pizzeria

Day two - Monday, September 22

09:30 AM - After breakfast, welcoming to Academia Barilla
Tour of the culinary center
Morning cooking session
Lunch of what we cooked together

04:30 PM - Walking guided tour of the city centre of the town

07:30 PM - The tour will be concluded in a delightful local restaurant

Day three - Tuesday, September 23

08:30 AM - After breakfast, departure for a visit to a Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese producer

To follow, visit to a Prosciutto di Parma producer
Along the way, pictures’ time at the romantic Castle of Torrechiara

12:30 PM - Visit to a wine cellar, tasting of typical products and lunch

02:30 PM - Transfer to the province of Modena for the visit to the Ferrari Museum

06:00 PM - Visit to an authentic Acetaia of Balsamic Vinegar

08:00 PM - Dinner at one of the best restaurant of the area, famous for the use of traditional balsamic vinegar

Day four - Wednesday, September 24

09:00 AM - After breakfast, walking trip to the local outdoor market

To follow: cooking session at the Academia Barilla Culinary Center with concentration on the products viewed on the gourmet tour

01.30 PM - Lunch at Academia Barilla

Afternoon and evening: free time to relax, individual visits and shopping.
Dinner on your own (not included)

Day five - Thursday, September 25

08:30 AM - After breakfast, departure for an amazing half day gourmet tour to the largest city of Emilia Romagna: Bologna (08:30 AM - 02:30 PM)

Guided tour round the medieval market in Downtown Bologna
Visit to traditional bakery and pasta makers
Visit to mortadella producers and traditional chocolate makers
Lunch in a typical Bolognese osteria

Afternoon: visit to the Ferrari Museum
Evening: farewell group dinner and event at the Academia Barilla Culinary Center

Day six - Friday, September 26

Pick up from the Hotel and transfer to the Airport.

Note: the program may be subject to some modifications - just stay tuned with Frank DiMaria at the contacts above for latest news and updates on this Academia Barilla VIP gastronomy tour.

Experience the ultimate Italian travel experience in the heart of Parma and Emilia-Romagna, Italy’s Food Valley, with Academia Barilla and the VIP gourmet tour organized by Academia Barilla Culinary School Alumni Frank DiMaria we announced with a previous post.

The VIP gastronomy tour dates are September 21-26, 2008, and the gourmet guided tour to Emilia-Romagna includes:

Culinary Hands-on Experience
Exclusive tasting sessions
Regional delicacies
Authentic menus
Specialty recipes
English-Italian translation
5-Star hotel accommodations
All meals included
Castle and winery visits
World class facilities
Individualized instruction
Courses from Italy’s top local Chefs
One-of-a-kind gourmet and culinary tours
Daily transportation and transfers
Tuition and course materials

Culinary travel highlights include:

The cultural street life, authentic markets, food stores, retail shops, restaurants and cafés of Parma and surrounding areas of Emilia-Romagna

Two hands-on culinary courses at the Academia Barilla Culinary Center
The spectacular historic Torrechiara Castle and medieval town nestled in the countryside of Emilia-Romagna

Gourmet tours to award-winning Parmigiano-Reggiano and Prosciutto di Parma producers, where we will witness the production, authenticity and quality of traditional Italian products

Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar tastings with professional, expert techniques on how to taste these regional delicacies

An excursion to a winery in the Emilia-Romagna region for a tasting and lesson on discovering the intricacies and flavors of different wines

An excursion to the Ferrari Museum in Imola to experience first hand the history of an Italian icon

Gelato and sorbetto tasting in local area cafés

The exclusive group price for this luxury VIP guided tour is $2,900 per person, airfare excluded. For more detailed information about the VIP tour features, cost and booking please call Frank DiMaria at +1 847 965-0672 or +1 847 417-7587, or email Frank at frankdimaria@comcast.net.

We will be blogging more over the next few weeks about this VIP gastronomy tour to Emilia-Romagna, getting into details of each activity and destination to feed you with more Italian food culture and some desire to come cook with us in Parma!

We have been blogging a lot in the past about Academia Barilla’s gourmet and gastronomy tours in Parma and Emilia-Romagna, as well as the several initiatives from the Academia Barilla Culinary Center such as the culinary learning vacations that conjugate the pleasure of discovering Italian culture and food tradition with the ultimate experience of learning how to cook with top Italian Chefs.

We also blogged several times about other Academia Barilla initiatives that put together Italian food and culture - and no, we don’t mean “just” Italian food culture, but actually gourmet food plus Italian culture, such as in the gourmet cultural tours proposed by Academia Barilla to discover historic and artistic landmarks, contemporary art or classic opera.

Talking about which, we can anticipate that also for this year Academia Barilla will offer gourmet luxury packages to enjoy the Festival Verdi 2008, dedicated to the Italian Opera Maestro Giuseppe Verdi. We’ll blog about it soon, stay tuned!

We are not the only one blogging about the Academia Barilla gourmet, cultural and culinary tours to Italy. The Academia Barilla Culinary Center in Parma, Italy, is listed as a top culinary destination by several Italian food websites and directories, such as ChicagoTribune.com, Cooking In Italy, Alta Cucina and GreatEveryDayWines.com, among others. Not to mention of course Gourmet Magazine, who recently ranked the Academia Barilla Culinary Center among the world’s best cooking schools, among the top 5 in the world in the Luxury category. 

If you want to get more info and details about the cultural, culinary and gastronomic tours of Academia Barilla please get in touch with Academia Barilla in Parma at +39 0521 264060 (toll-free number from Italy 800 376-116), or in the United States at the US toll-free number 1-866-772-2233.

We also already talked about our VIP tours, too, as in the recent case of Lynn Novo’s VIP gourmet tour to Parma, organized by Chef and food entrepreneur Lynn Novo from Atlanta, Georgia.

The Academia Barilla VIP tours are luxury guided cultural and culinary tours designed by Academia Barilla and managed by Academia Barilla Culinary School Alumni such as Lynn Novo or Frank DiMaria, who is organizing a new VIP tour from Chicago, Illinois.

Over the next few weeks we will publish a series of blog posts that will help recreate the experience, albeit in a virtual way, proposed by the Academia Barilla VIP tour organized and guided by Frank DiMaria. For the moment, we anticipate that there will be a lot of cooking, but also visits to local artisan food producers, Medieval castles, the Ferrari Museum, and guided tours to the historic and monument beauties of the cities of Parma and Bologna.

Stay tuned for the next blog posts. If you want to book or get more info on this specific Academia Barilla VIP tour, please call Frank DiMaria at all +1 847-965-0672 or email frankdimaria@comcast.net to reserve your space!

Of course we are very proud of this, so a blog post is due. Last week Mimi Murphy of Gourmet Magazine listed the Academia Barilla Culinary School in Parma, Italy among the “world’s best cooking schools”!

Gourmet Magazine, who categorizes cooking schools around the world according to characteristics such as “Adventure”, “Healthy” or “Relaxed” in its Gourmet’s Guide to the World’s Best Cooking Schools, actually ranks Academia Barilla among the top 5 cooking schools in the world in the category “Luxury“. Because, as reported by Gourmet magazine:

“What brings the act of cooking to life? For some, it means stepping into a world within a world. Each experience, whether sumptuous (a French château) or simple (a palm-fringed Indian island), should have a certain glamour about it, a certain sense of style.”

The article published by Gourmet Magazine about our Culinary School is very nice, with comments from author Mimi Murphy such as:

“I picked up some over-the-top flourishes, like a “recipe” for a parmesan wafer: spread grated cheese on wax paper, microwave for 20 to 30 seconds (let cool for a few more), then drape around the bottom of a glass to form a cup”. (from: What I learned)

Or also:

“How easy it was to customize a class—via email—based on what I actually liked”. (from: Biggest surprise)

Please visit the link that follows if you want to read the full article on Gourmet Magazine, which includes an exclusive recipe for a Cream of Artichoke Soup with Porcini (the recipe Mimi Murphy learned and cooked at the Academia Barilla Culinary School).

Thank you Mimi and Gourmet Magazine for the wonderful article!