It’s amazing the amount of folks
that you mean blogging and networking around the world. That is
one of the reasons why I love what I do and part of what keeps me going. It’s time to introduce one of those folks I “met”,
in a virtual sense, awhile back.
Silvestro Silvestori currently
lives in Puglia and runs a food and wine school called the Awaiting Table. He is a
food aficionado and Italian sommelier that lives to share his passion with the
students that visit him and others around the world through his contributions
for Wine & Spirits Magazine and others.
His passion screams out through this interview and if this doesn’t make
you consider southern Italy when it comes to the food and wine I don’t know
what will.
Here’s my interview with Silvestro. I hope you enjoy it!
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Have you always lived in Puglia? If not, what drove you to
settle down in Puglia?
I lived about 16 years in the US, 15 years in
other parts of Italy including Sicilia, Emilia Romagna, Umbria, Trentino, etc and
now a little over 15 years in Puglia. My mother's side is from Puglia, so
moving here was only really a change of address, from Northern Italy to
here. I've always felt more pugliese than Italian.
When did The Awaiting Table open and why did you choose to open the school?
We opened The Awaiting Table in 2003, in the
historic centre of Lecce, and later in 2008 started our courses at our castle
location. I had visited a few friends with food and wine schools in various
cities of Italy, and while all wonderful people, I was surprised
how rudimentary their courses were. They taught pan-Italian food and
they didn't have any formal wine training. Their kitchens were also isolated
out in the countryside, so, their students would be 14 Americans, or 17
Australians, etc, standing around trying to have an Italian experience. That's
why 100 % of our staff is local, we are always located in the historic centres
of cities and we work with students from so many different countries.
What is the focus of The Awaiting
Table? It seems you primarily teach culinary classes, but can you tell me
about your wines classes you teach?
We teach several subjects. First off, we
teach about the food and wine of the Salento or Southern Puglia, which is
arguable some of the best food and wine in all of Italy. What isn't arguable,
is that it's the healthiest. The diet here is actually protected by UNESCO.
It's Italy's soul food. It's also helpful to remember that Puglia is Italy's
number one domestic travel destination. If you want to know where the crazy
foodies go to eat, the answer is here. It's Italy's best kept secret.
I also close the school for two months each
year to bicycle Southern Italian wine country, visiting wineries and
cooking with every older woman that doesn't shoo me out of the kitchen. Our
wine course teaches about the wine (and some of the food) of all of
Southern Italy, Sicilia, Calabria, Basilicata and Puglia. This also happens to
be the same ground I cover for Wine & Spirits magazine (all wine content,
photographs and recipes for the same 4 regions).
We also have an olive oil course and our
tomato sauce course, which obviously corresponds with those seasons.
(We have videos on our youtube channel for how to make both). Last year we
launched our Bici / Cucina / Vino course at the castle, which divides up
the week with bicycling, cooking, eating, drinking and learning. And this year,
we've started a food photography course as well.
Are all the dishes Puglian based as well as
the wines or southern Italy in general?
All of the wine at our Salento- based courses
comes from within 50 kilometres of the school and have originated here as grape
varietals for at least 300 years. We don't serve wines where the wine producers
have sourced the fruit elsewhere. Our Southern Italian wine-based courses
feature wines from the 4 southern Italian regions,
all autochthonous as well. The sourcing mirrors my annual bicycle
trip (for the last 9 years in a row).
What are your favorites when it comes to the
wines of Puglia and why?
This is Europe so 95% of wine consumed is
local. I do favor the grape negroamaro,
which probably won't surprise anyone. But the local investment in metodo
classico rosato based on negroamaro has been impressive and I'd challenge any rosè champagne to give you a
better return on your Euro spent. The Salento is the cradle of Italian rosè and
I drink 3 or 4 times more pink than white. And while primitivo remains strong
outside of Italy- as the great, break away hit- it's negroamaro that is really
the foundation. I drink it professionally and never tire of it.
Are you a lover of wines outside of
Puglia? If so, which ones and why?
I don't hide this: Southern Italy is the
most compelling and dynamic wine region of Italy today, and maybe even the
world. What's happening in Cirò is 2,500 years in the making and I'm startled
each time I visit there. Etna and Vulture remain my absolute favorite
wine regions, for both the volcanic effect on the soil and because both have extraordinary transparent,
autochthonous varietals (carricante, nerello mascalese and aglianico). I've
also recently developed a new crush on the whites that used to make up what the
world calls 'Marsala'. Salty, minerally, it's like you skip the glass and start
licking the rocks directly. Castel del Monte in Central Puglia also deserves a
lot more attention. Those producers have been staying up nights as well. Anyone
that doesn't agree with me about the dynamism of Southern Italian
wine right now hasn't likely visited. It's my life's study.
Where do most of your students come from around the world?
We have had students from 48 different
countries. Many come from Northern Europe. About 60% are native English
speakers. We also have students from Australia, Canada, USA and New Zealand. Scandinavia has been increasing
in record numbers. Recently, also, Uruguay and
the Philippines. Northern Italy comes down mostly in the summer. Our
students tend to be very well-travelled, highly educated and prefer to relax
while doing.
We aren't all motivated in the same way. I
don't think it's so much that 'fear' is the brakes for many, but that
'adventure' isn't their primary motivator.
It's helpful to remember that those that
spend their holiday /vacation on cruise ships love them. There is no shame in that. Nor in California
chardonnay, etc. Consume what you love. Our goal as a school has never
been trying to talk anyone out of going where all the other tourists go, but
rather to offer something stellar to those that seek something else. Same thing
with wine. Wine isn't a recipe, like, say, as beer is. It can't be replicated
the same way, year and year. It reflects the climate (which is weather
multiplied by time), the soil, the local culture, etc. When you start to see
wine as a vessel that represents all of these things, maybe, say, the way a
sailboat represents man AND nature working together, it seems one of the most
immediate and fascinating subjects on earth. If that appeals, we have a school
to help you go deeper. If not, we hope you have a great trip and that you
really enjoy your next bottle of wine, no matter what it is.
All pictures compliments of Silvestro Silvestori.
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