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!

Academia Barilla gets featured again as a must-do when traveling in Italy from Italian cooking website Cooking in Italy, who dedicates a full page to the culinary classes and cooking courses offered at the Academia Barilla Culinary School in Parma, Italy.

As reported by Cooking in Italy:

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 stores, observe the cultural street life, and enjoy the wonderful shops, cafes and restaurants that Parma boasts. Instructed by top professional Italian chefs, countless food enthusiasts have been amazed by the prized elements and variety in our program.

We offer full hands-on training, group or individual classes, professional tasting techniques and instruction, authentic menus with specialty recipes and English-Italian translation in our modern, state-of-the art facilities.

Ditto! Still waiting?

Get in touch with Academia Barilla to organize your culinary learning vacation at the Academia Barilla Culinary School.
You can call toll free in the United States at +1 866 772.2233, in Italy at +39 0521 264060, or by email at academiabarillaculinary@barilla-usa.com.

See you in Parma this summer! By the way, if you are planning a culinary tour of Italy, we suggest you read the travel advisory tips offered by Cooking in Italy on their website on “Choosing the right cooking holiday” - among which the latest tip, that goes “Plan as far ahead as possible. Many of the more popular cooking holidays book up quickly!”

Ditto, again!