Not all Italian food tastes the same. Venetian chef Enrica Rocca knows this well. Born and raised in the City of Water, Rocca knows its insides, so much so that she runs two cooking schools dedicated entirely to the Venetian cuisine: one in the city itself and a second one in London.
With an emphasis on local ingredients, Rocca admits that she never eats in Italian restaurants outside of Italy. “I enjoy discovering the local specialties,” she told Suitcase Magazine. “I also know how difficult it is to replicate any cuisine outside of its original country. A cuisine is built around the local ingredients, so exporting a culinary culture is really difficult.”
Her school in Venice, housed in the family palazzo, offers her student a chance to spend the day as a local—discovering the freshest local seafood at Rialto Market before returning to Rocca’s kitchen to enjoy a day of warmth, humor, local Veneto wines and delicious food.
“It is all about the quality of the ingredients, which is why it is so important to eat local,” stressed the Italian chef. “Good ingredients are expensive in today’s world, so eating well represents a big sacrifice, but it’s well worth it for our health and happiness.”
When 2020 is over and done with, we might just sign up for her cooking school…
