Here is a link to the new Academia Barilla press release announcing the new exciting initiative for the promotion of Italian food culture and the Art of Italian Gastronomy in the United States: the partnership with US top culinary center Sur La Table we blogged about yesterday.

The partnership develops within a Sur La Table initiative called A Taste of Italia, with a full calendar dedicated to Italian cuisine, and several initiatives in partnership with Academia Barilla that include food tasting and Italian regional cooking classes in the US, and an Easter 2009 Culinary Tour of Parma, Italy.

We republish the press release here below for all those Italian food lovers who are interested in getting all the details of the Academia Barilla - Sur La Table gourmet series of events.

Academia Barilla partners Sur La Table to celebrate Italian Food Culture in the United States, with a calendar rich of food tasting, Italian regional cooking classes in the US, and an Easter 2009 Tour of Parma, Italy.

Top Italian Culinary Center Academia Barilla partners Sur La Table, the place for Chefs to shop, for a series of initiatives celebrating the Taste of Italia, that include food tasting of Academia Barilla Italian gastronomy specialties across 63 Sur La Table stores in the US, Italian regional cooking classes at 25 Sur La Table locations across the United States, and a 6-days gastronomic and culinary Easter 2009 Tour of Parma, Italy.

PRWEB, September 18, 2008 - Academia Barilla, the world’s premier Italian culinary center dedicated to the art of Italian gastronomy and one of the top 5 luxury cooking school according to Gourmet Magazine, partners Sur La Table, the place for Chef to shop and top US culinary network, for a series of initiatives celebrating the Taste of Italia.

The gourmet initiatives designed by Academia Barilla in partnership with Sur La Table include:
• Food tasting of Academia Barilla Italian gastronomy specialties across 63 Sur La Table stores across the United States
• Italian regional cooking classes at 25 Sur La Table locations across the United States
• 6-days gastronomic and Culinary Tour of Parma, Italy, scheduled for next Easter 2009 (April 5-10).

In-Store Gourmet Product Sampling

For the entire month of September 2009 Sur la Table, who showcases the entire lines of Academia Barilla and Giada De Laurentiis Selected by Academia Barilla gourmet product lines, will organize free gourmet food tasting of Academia Barilla products at 63 Sur La Table stores across the United States.

Sur La Table customers will have the opportunity to learn how to professionally taste the products, what kind of quality to look for, how they can use the products at home, and more gourmet, gastronomy and culinary tips.

Authentic Regional Italian Cuisine – Sur La Table In-Store Gourmet Cooking Classes

Academia Barilla partnered with Sur La Table to introduce four Italian culinary classes celebrating the best of regional Italian cooking, exploring delicious local recipes from four of Italy’s richest culinary regions: Emilia-Romagna, Sicilia, Liguria and Toscana.

Participants to the Academia Barilla cooking classes will use classic recipes and the best artisan Italian ingredients to prepare signature dishes steeped in the traditions of this food-loving nation.

The in-Store cooking classes will be held at 25 Sur La Table locations across Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.

For more information, full class schedule and booking please visit the Sur La Table website, and the Google Map created by Academia Barilla for the Italian Food Lovers blog.

A Taste of Italia – Sur La Table Culinary Easter Tour of Parma, Italy

Academia Barilla and Sur La Table are proud to introduce the ultimate Italian culinary experience, a 6-days culinary and gastronomy tour of Parma, Italy. Scheduled for Easter week (April 5-10, 2009), this culinary tour designed by Academia Barilla exclusively for Sur La Table is a must for those who love the food culture and cuisine of Italy, who will spend 6 days in Italy’s Food Lovers Mecca.

Participants will learn how to prepare traditional Italian Easter and regional menus, working hands-on with local artisanal ingredients and Academia Barilla chefs. The 6-days gastronomic and hands-on cooking tour is designed by Academia Barilla and Sur La Table to allow tour guest to explore the rich culinary and cultural heritage of this 2000-year-old city, linger over meals in courtyard gardens and participate to tour workshops with producers of local artisanal delicacies including Parmigiano Reggiano, Aceto Balsamico, Prosciutto di Parma and Culatello, while exploring castles, historic landmarks and Medieval villages in Italy’s richest culinary area, Emilia-Romagna.

Register soon for this amazing experience - space is limited and selling out fast; due to the popularity of this trip, only a few spots are left. For more info and online booking please visit the Sur La Table website. Also call the US toll free number 866-392-3302 or email academiabarilla@surlatable.com to learn more about the gastronomy trip.

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We took the boilerplate off the press release for this blog post as our Italian Food Lovers readership surely knows Academia Barilla - for those who still need Academia Barilla’s Press Office contacts, here they are:

In the USA: Stephanie Sette: Tel. +1 847-405-7564; ssette@barilla-usa.com
In Italy: Ilaria Rossi: Tel. +39 0521-2621; i.rossi@barilla.it
Barilla Press Office (Italy): Marco Magli; Tel. +39 0521-2621; m.magli@barilla.it

Today we want to announce a great initiative that we’ll announce soon also in official form: the partnership between Academia Barilla and US top culinary center Sur La Table for a series of culinary events in the United States and Italy. 

The partnership is part of a Sur La Table initiative called A Taste of Italia, a full calendar dedicated to Italian cuisine, and initiatives in partnership with Academia Barilla that include food tasting and Italian regional cooking classes in the United States, and an Easter 2009 Culinary Tour of Parma, Italy. 

Sur La Table, the place for Chefs to shop, has been working with the Academia Barilla US Team to design all the exclusive gourmet initiatives for A Taste of Italia, that include food tasting of Academia Barilla Italian gastronomy specialties across 63 Sur La Table stores across the United States, Italian regional cooking classes at 25 Sur La Table locations across the United States, and a 6-days gastronomic and Culinary Tour of Parma, Italy, scheduled for next Easter 2009 (April 5-10).

In-Store Gourmet Product Sampling

For the entire month of September 2009 Sur la Table, who showcases the entire lines of Academia Barilla and Giada De Laurentiis Selected by Academia Barilla gourmet product lines, offers free gourmet food tasting of Academia Barilla products at 63 Sur La Table stores across the United States.

Authentic Regional Italian Cuisine – In-Store Gourmet Cooking Classes

Sur La Table and Academia Barilla introduce four Italian culinary classes celebrating the best of regional Italian cooking, exploring local recipes from four of Italy’s richest culinary regions: Emilia-Romagna, Sicilia, Liguria and Toscana.

Participants to the cooking classes will use classic recipes and the best artisan Italian ingredients to prepare signature dishes steeped in the traditions of this food-loving nation.

The in-Store cooking classes will be held at 25 Sur La Table locations across Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.

More information, full class schedule and booking are available at the Sur La Table website, awhile we created a Google Map with all the Sur La Table locations where you can sign in for the Authentic Regional Italian Cuisine classes.

To interact with a larger Google Map please follow this link

A Taste of Italia – Sur La Table Culinary Easter Tour of Parma, Italy

Academia Barilla and Sur La Table are proud to introduce the ultimate Italian culinary experience, a 6-days culinary and gastronomy tour of Parma, Italy.

Scheduled for Easter week (April 5-10, 2009), this culinary tour designed by Academia Barilla exclusively for Sur La Table is a must for those who love the food culture and cuisine of Italy, who will spend 6 days in Italy’s Food Lovers Mecca.

Participants will learn how to prepare traditional Italian Easter and regional menus, working hands-on with local artisanal ingredients and Academia Barilla chefs. The 6-days gastronomic and hands-on cooking tour is designed by Academia Barilla and Sur La Table to allow tour guest to explore the rich culinary and cultural heritage of this 2000-year-old city, linger over meals in courtyard gardens and participate to tour workshops with producers of local artisanal delicacies including Parmigiano Reggiano, Aceto Balsamico, Prosciutto di Parma and Culatello, while exploring castles, historic landmarks and Medieval villages in Italy’s richest culinary area, Emilia-Romagna.

Register soon for this unique ultimate Italian culinary experience - space is limited and selling out fast; due to the popularity of this trip, only a few spots are left.

For more info and online booking please visit the Sur La Table website. You can also call the US toll free number 866-392-3302 or email academiabarilla@surlatable.com to learn more about this amazing gastronomy trip to Italy.

This is part 4, and the last post in our series of virtual gastronomy tour articles that follow the program of the 6-day Academia Barilla VIP gastronomy tour to Emilia-Romagna, guided and organized by Academia Barilla Culinary School Alumni Frank DiMaria.

Thursday, September 25, is day five in the VIP gastronomy tour. After breakfast, the tour guests will enjoy an amazing half day gourmet tour to the largest city and capital of Emilia Romagna: Bologna.

Bologna’s historic centre, Europe’s second largest (after Venice) according to Wikipedia, contains a wealth of important Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque artistic monuments.

Gastronomy tour guide Frank DiMaria will lead the tour guests to the discovery of ancient culinary traditions, starting with a guided tour at the Medieval market where tour participants will explore the history, art and traditions of Bologna.

Among the highlights of the Bologna tour, the visit to a traditional bakery and pasta maker to learn about the history of tortellini and tagliatelle, and to one of the most traditional Salsamenterias, to discover secrets in the history of mortadella-making, from the third century BC up to modern times.

More culinary explorations of Bologna will reveal other secrets, such as those learnt during the visit to a traditional chocolate maker who actually invented solid chocolate, and those revealed by a lunch at a typical Bolognese downtown osteria, where to enjoy the fun-loving side and the love for food of the oldest university city in the western world, before returning to Parma for a group dinner and special end-of-tour event at the Academia Barilla Culinary Center.

Tour details may be subject to variations, so we suggest to read our blog post with complete program and tour details and to get in touch with Frank DiMaria for latest news and updates on this Academia Barilla VIP gastronomy tour.

Reach Frank on the phone by calling +1 847 965-0672 or +1 847 417-7587, or via email at frankdimaria@comcast.net.

Note: pictures in this blog post have been found on Google Images.

See you in Parma soon!

Day three of the Academia Barilla VIP gastronomy tour to Emilia-Romagna, Parma and the Italian Food Valley, organized and guided by Chicago’s Academia Barilla Culinary School Alumni Frank DiMaria, is gourmet day, and of course we continue our virtual discovery of the Italian Food Valley, and we take you to the places of the gastronomy tour to show you around.

As from the VIP gastronomy tour program, the first highlight of day three is the visit to a local Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese artisanal producer right outside Parma. Here is a note by Frank DiMaria about the guided visit:

Visiting a “Caseificio” is like going back in time. Parmigiano-Reggiano actually has very old origins and today, like 8 centuries ago, Parmigiano-Reggiano is still made following the same traditional and genuine method. The “King of the cheeses” is made from the best milk, from the fire, and from the ability of the “cheese masters” experienced hands..

Next stop of the gastronomy tour will be a guided visit to Prosciutto di Parma producer, another unmissable Parma food culture discovery for Italian food lovers!

Along the way, there will be a “pictures time” at the romantic Castle of Torrechiara, one of the most spectacular Medieval castles as well as the one with the greatest number of visitors in the province of Parma, that houses musical events in summer.

Lunchtime in the Parma countryside, how good is that?

After the food producers Frank DiMaria will lead the tour guests to a local Parma winery and wine cellar, remember to “taste” responsibly, or you won’t make it through the rest of the day! 

After the visit to the wine cellar the group will proceed for lunch to a nearby Casale (countryside mansion), that includes a rich tasting session with typical local food products as antipasto.

Immediately after lunch the gastronomy tour will leave the Parma area to enter the province of Modena for the visit to the Ferrari Museum. The Galleria Ferrari is divided into four areas, each capable of satisfying the expectations of competition fans and those passionate about classic cars with Formula 1 and Ferrari memorabilia, themed exhibitions, technological innovations and photographic shows.

While in the Modena area, the gastronomic tour couldn’t have missed the visit to an authentic Acetaia of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena.

We visited a couple of acetaias for you at the beginning of last year and you can find several info, pictures and videos on our blog on the history of Balsamic, its aging process and traditions in balsamic vinegar making. We also published a blog post with plenty of pictures from the Acetaia, enjoy!

Of course the in-person, guided experience is more intense than reading a blog post, and Frank DiMaria will help you discover first hand all the century-old secrets of the production, aging and tasting of the Modena elisir.

A note from Frank about the Traditional Balsamic of Modena’s production process:

When time means preciousness! This is a real Jewel for all gourmets; unique from all other vinegar based condiments because it is produced directly from grape juice.

Traditionally, white and sugary grapes are used, locally harvested. The grapes are crushed and the “must” is then slowly boiled in open vats over fire. The liquid is then placed in wooden barrels and through an oxidation process over several years it is transformed into vinegar.

It has fluid and syrup like consistency, offers full and rich flavour and a distinct sharp and unmistakable but pleasantly acid fragrance with a dark brown color, yet full of warm light.

Wow, such an intense gourmet day, and it is not over yet! After discovering the secrets of Balsamic Vinegar, Frank DiMaria will take the VIP tour guest for dinner at one of the best gourmet restaurant of the area, famous for the use of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar in culinary creations.

Tour program details may be subject to variations - see the program and tour details on our blog but please verify directly with Frank DiMaria for latest news and updates on this Academia Barilla VIP gastronomy tour.

You can reach Frank by calling +1 847 965-0672 or +1 847 417-7587, or emailing him at frankdimaria@comcast.net.

Next blog post for this Academia Barilla VIP gastronomy virtual tour: let’s visit Bologna, the capital of Emilia-Romagna!

Second episode of our “virtual gastronomic tour” that follows the agenda of the Academia Barilla Gastronomic VIP Tour to Emilia-Romagna organized and guided by Academia Barilla Culinary School Alumni Frank DiMaria.

After exploring Parma’s locations and initiatives included in the gastronomic tour with a previous post, today we will discover all the learning, teamworking and fun moments the tour guest will enjoy at the Academia Barilla Culinary Center.

Located right in front of the 5-star hotel where the tour guest will stay in Parma, the Academia Barilla Culinary Center will be like a second home in Parma for the VIP tour participants.

On Monday, September 22, day two of the VIP gastronomic tour, the first learning and fun moment at Academia Barilla is guaranteed. After breakfast, tour guests will be welcomed to Academia Barilla with a guided tour of the Culinary Center and the first hands-on cooking session in the morning, that ends with a group lunch based on the gourmet dishes cooked together.

Two days later, after discovering Parma, the Italian Food Valley with all its century-old food culture secrets (artisan food production, Medieval castles, the culinary culture and food specialties of Modena and Bologna) and right after a morning walking trip to the local outdoor market, a second hands-on cooking class at the Academia will focus on a menu that includes all the traditional gastronomy products discovered during the entire VIP gastronomic tour.

The group lunch in Academia Barilla that follows will be prepared by the tour participants, more food fun after the food learning!

Academia Barilla will be stage for a “farewell event” with group dinner also on the evening of day five of the 6-day VIP gastronomic tour, with a gourmet dinner menu prepared by the Chefs of the Academia Barilla Culinary Center the tour guest have known in the previous days.

We cannot really synthesize in a blog post the experience of learning how to cook, how to taste traditional food products and enjoying top gourmet food at Academia Barilla, you really have to experience it directly.

In case you missed an article we published a couple of weeks ago, did you know that Gourmet magazine just listed the Academia Barilla Culinary Center in Parma among the world’s best cooking school, ranking our Culinary Center among the top 5 schools in the world for the category “Luxury cooking schools“?

Also, there may be the chance you will be interviewed for our blog about your experience at Academia Barilla and with the VIP gastronomy tour, as we will be there too! You could end up also being a testimonial for our Italian Food Lovers blog! See you soon in Parma at the Academia Barilla Culinary Center!

Remember that the tour program may be subject to variations - check out the program and tour details published here and just stay tuned with Frank DiMaria for latest news and updates on this Academia Barilla VIP gastronomy tour. For more info and booking call Frank at +1 847 965-0672 or +1 847 417-7587, or email him at frankdimaria@comcast.net.

Next blog post for this series: artisan food producers, a Medieval castle and the Ferrari Museum!