The aim of this course is to help students familiarize themselves with one of the most important, and world-renowned aspects of Italian culture, or rather “La Cucina Italiana.” The uniqueness of this course derives from the combination of a more traditional language approach (grammar and audio/oral activities such as video clips, listening to topic-related cassette tapes, role play activities in class, interviews regarding food topics, etc.), with full immersion, “hands-on” lessons, conducted by the head chef of the Casa Buitoni (Buitoni is a major pasta trademark well known worldwide). Classes will alternate grammar and conversation lessons, led by the IES teacher, with practical cooking lessons led by the Casa Buitoni Chef at the Milan Buitoni headquarters (near the IES Center). The Casa Buitoni center will provide each student with his/her own kitchen/stove/desk, where, following the instruction of the chef, they will prepare and cook various recipes that characterize different geographical regions of Italy.
Prerequisites:
Current enrollment in an intermediate Italian level course
Method of presentation:
Thirty-five hours of IES Grammar / aural / oral lessons will alternate with 18 hours of “infield practice lessons”, where the students will be able to apply and put into practice the knowledge they gained in class. The IES language instructor attends the cooking lessons in order to tie in-class material to the practical sessions.
LANGUAGE OF PRESENTATION: Italian
Required work and form of assessment:
Class participation will be fundamental for grade assessment. Because the class cannot be offered to more than 11 students (due to the Casa Buitoni structure, which consists of 11 cooking “positions / desks”), practice- lesson absences will not be tolerated, as they show disrespect towards those students who did not have the possibility to enroll.
1 unexcused absence will be allowed for the grammar / conversation classes, after which the grade will drop one point for each absence.
Take-home assignments will be required, as will be attendance and active participation at practice lessons
(carefully following the cooking teacher and his instructions, asking questions, responding to his input, etc.).
Grade Breakdown : Cooking lessons active participation (15%), grammar and vocabulary quizzes (10%), class active participation (20%), mid-term (25 %), final (30 %).
content:
The food which characterizes each region of Italy is a direct mirror of the specific geography, history, language, and culture of that area, and the classes held at IES will effectively dovetail with the Casa Buitoni cooking lessons giving students a vocabulary, grammar, and cultural backdrop which will allow them to better understand this history, culture and linguistic development.
There will also be comparisons of Italian-American recipes, an analysis of cultural differences in cooking and table manners, approach to food, and the concept of super-market versus open-market shopping. We will also discuss cooking mottos, idiomatic expressions related to food, and reasons behind the development of different cuisines, ingredients and cooking practices throughout the country.
The recipes will range from the more basic well-known plates such as pesto sauce, gnocchi, lasagne, pizzoccheri, and tiramisu, to regional specialties that recall century old traditions. Recipes will be grouped according to the Italian region where they developed. Thanks to the IES cultural trips (Tuscany, Emilia Romagna, Dolomites, Cinque Terre, etc.), students will have another opportunity to further expand their knowledge.
The grammar concepts reinforced in this class are those related to the understanding of cookbooks, recipes, instructions, table manners, being at restaurants, making reservations, how to correctly shop and find fresh ingredients, etc. Some of these concepts are as follows:
• False reflexive form (colloquial use especially used with food) – Mi mangio una pizza
• Idiomatic use of the adjective bello – Ho fatto una bella indigestione
• Impersonal form in the present – Si prende un cucchiaio di legno
• Impersonal form combined with reflexive pronouns – Attenzione, perché ci si scotta
• Compound forms of verbs – Come avevamo detto in precedenza
• Impersonal form with compound verbs – Ci si è presi una bella sbronza
• Indefinite pronouns and adjectives – Qualche grammo di farina
• Adjectives and past participles agreements – La polenta viene girata
• Imperative form (formal and informal) – Prendi uno scolapasta – Prenda uno scolapasta
• Pronouns combined with the imperative form – Non metteteglielo sopra!
• Ne and Ci pronouns – Ne abbiamo prese due, di uova. Ora, separiamole, dai! proviamoci!
• Passive form, VA and VIENE + past participle. La polenta va girata per 20 minuti, e viene cotta in un pentolone di rame.
• Prepositions (in particular those concerning time and quantities) Montare le uova a neve. Mescolare a
mano.
• Verbs such as Piacere, Riuscire, Servire, Bastare, Mancare, and expressions such as Ci vuole, and Ci metto. – Ci vogliono due ore per preparare questo piatto, ma io ci metto sempre più tempo perché mi piace fare le cose con calma. Non mi deve mai mancare niente.
The vocabulary used in this course will cover all necessary food-conversion terms, such as weight, liquid measurements, etc.; restaurant-related expressions; ingredients; kitchen tools; verbs related to preparing meals, food-related adjectives, idiomatic forms, etc., and will be analyzed while working on recipes and related material chosen by both instructors. Particular emphasis will be given to the etymology of those words whose significance still shows the tie between current and old traditions; - i.e.: The word for Apple, in current Italian is Mela; it was Malum in Latin; but Malum also recalls the Romance term for evil (Male, in Italian), which is why the religious tradition associates the forbidden fruit mentioned in the Bible with an apple - . We will also analyze the iconography of those foods (i.e. bread; fish; egg; flour; olive oil; cherry; etc.) helping students understand the history and depth of meaning of these terms. Through the study of major art traditions such as Last Supper scenes; hagian iconography, etc., students will learn how the symbolic meanings of food remain significant today.
Recommended readings:
AAVV. Medioevo. De Agostini Periodici. Milano 2001.
AAVV. Buitoni. A scuola di cucina. Mondatori, Milano, 2001.
AAVV. Le Cordon Bleu. L’alta cucina a casa vostra. Ed. Kohnemann, Koln. Trad. Italiana Elena Montrasio.
Calmanti, Chiara and Piero Calmanti. Appuntamento a …. Folklore, Tradizioni, Storia, Gastronomia delle regioni italiane. Ed. Guerra, Perugia 2000.
Cattabiani, Alfredo. Santi d’Italia. BUR, Milano 1999.
Da Varagine, Iacopo. Leggenda Aurea.
Flandrin, J.L. and M. Montanari. Storia dell’alimentazione. Laterza, Bari 2002.
Godetti della Salda, A. Ricette regionali italiane. Solares, Milano, 1999.
Guida Touring 2002. Artigianato, sapori e tradizioni d’Italia.
Hall, James. Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols. Harper and Row, New York, 1979.
Ignone, Anna. Primi piani sugli italiani. Ed. Guerra, Perugia 2002.
Montanari, M. La fame e l’abbondanza. Storia dell’alimentazione in Europa. Laterza, Bari 2000.
Pinzani, Maurizio and Riccardo Piancastelli. L’italiano in cucina. Ricette originali della cucina italiana con note linguistiche e esercizi. Ed. Progetto Lingua, Firanze 2000.
Pognon, Edmond. La vita quotidiana nell’anno mille. BUR, Milano, 1989.
The aim of this course is to help students familiarize themselves with one of the most important, and world-renowned aspects of Italian culture, or rather “La Cucina Italiana.” The uniqueness of this course derives from the combination of a more traditional language approach (grammar and audio/oral activities such as video clips, listening to topic-related cassette tapes, role play activities in class, interviews regarding food topics, etc.), with full immersion, “hands-on” lessons, conducted by the head chef of the Casa Buitoni (Buitoni is a major pasta trademark well known worldwide). Classes will alternate grammar and conversation lessons, led by the IES teacher, with practical cooking lessons led by the Casa Buitoni Chef at the Milan Buitoni headquarters (near the IES Center). The Casa Buitoni center will provide each student with his/her own kitchen/stove/desk, where, following the instruction of the chef, they will prepare and cook various recipes that characterize different geographical regions of Italy.
Current enrollment in an intermediate Italian level course
Thirty-five hours of IES Grammar / aural / oral lessons will alternate with 18 hours of “infield practice lessons”, where the students will be able to apply and put into practice the knowledge they gained in class. The IES language instructor attends the cooking lessons in order to tie in-class material to the practical sessions.
LANGUAGE OF PRESENTATION: Italian
Class participation will be fundamental for grade assessment. Because the class cannot be offered to more than 11 students (due to the Casa Buitoni structure, which consists of 11 cooking “positions / desks”), practice- lesson absences will not be tolerated, as they show disrespect towards those students who did not have the possibility to enroll.
1 unexcused absence will be allowed for the grammar / conversation classes, after which the grade will drop one point for each absence.
Take-home assignments will be required, as will be attendance and active participation at practice lessons
(carefully following the cooking teacher and his instructions, asking questions, responding to his input, etc.).
Grade Breakdown : Cooking lessons active participation (15%), grammar and vocabulary quizzes (10%), class active participation (20%), mid-term (25 %), final (30 %).
The food which characterizes each region of Italy is a direct mirror of the specific geography, history, language, and culture of that area, and the classes held at IES will effectively dovetail with the Casa Buitoni cooking lessons giving students a vocabulary, grammar, and cultural backdrop which will allow them to better understand this history, culture and linguistic development.
There will also be comparisons of Italian-American recipes, an analysis of cultural differences in cooking and table manners, approach to food, and the concept of super-market versus open-market shopping. We will also discuss cooking mottos, idiomatic expressions related to food, and reasons behind the development of different cuisines, ingredients and cooking practices throughout the country.
The recipes will range from the more basic well-known plates such as pesto sauce, gnocchi, lasagne, pizzoccheri, and tiramisu, to regional specialties that recall century old traditions. Recipes will be grouped according to the Italian region where they developed. Thanks to the IES cultural trips (Tuscany, Emilia Romagna, Dolomites, Cinque Terre, etc.), students will have another opportunity to further expand their knowledge.
The grammar concepts reinforced in this class are those related to the understanding of cookbooks, recipes, instructions, table manners, being at restaurants, making reservations, how to correctly shop and find fresh ingredients, etc. Some of these concepts are as follows:
• False reflexive form (colloquial use especially used with food) – Mi mangio una pizza
• Idiomatic use of the adjective bello – Ho fatto una bella indigestione
• Impersonal form in the present – Si prende un cucchiaio di legno
• Impersonal form combined with reflexive pronouns – Attenzione, perché ci si scotta
• Compound forms of verbs – Come avevamo detto in precedenza
• Impersonal form with compound verbs – Ci si è presi una bella sbronza
• Indefinite pronouns and adjectives – Qualche grammo di farina
• Adjectives and past participles agreements – La polenta viene girata
• Imperative form (formal and informal) – Prendi uno scolapasta – Prenda uno scolapasta
• Pronouns combined with the imperative form – Non metteteglielo sopra!
• Ne and Ci pronouns – Ne abbiamo prese due, di uova. Ora, separiamole, dai! proviamoci!
• Passive form, VA and VIENE + past participle. La polenta va girata per 20 minuti, e viene cotta in un pentolone di rame.
• Prepositions (in particular those concerning time and quantities) Montare le uova a neve. Mescolare a
mano.
• Verbs such as Piacere, Riuscire, Servire, Bastare, Mancare, and expressions such as Ci vuole, and Ci metto. – Ci vogliono due ore per preparare questo piatto, ma io ci metto sempre più tempo perché mi piace fare le cose con calma. Non mi deve mai mancare niente.
The vocabulary used in this course will cover all necessary food-conversion terms, such as weight, liquid measurements, etc.; restaurant-related expressions; ingredients; kitchen tools; verbs related to preparing meals, food-related adjectives, idiomatic forms, etc., and will be analyzed while working on recipes and related material chosen by both instructors. Particular emphasis will be given to the etymology of those words whose significance still shows the tie between current and old traditions; - i.e.: The word for Apple, in current Italian is Mela; it was Malum in Latin; but Malum also recalls the Romance term for evil (Male, in Italian), which is why the religious tradition associates the forbidden fruit mentioned in the Bible with an apple - . We will also analyze the iconography of those foods (i.e. bread; fish; egg; flour; olive oil; cherry; etc.) helping students understand the history and depth of meaning of these terms. Through the study of major art traditions such as Last Supper scenes; hagian iconography, etc., students will learn how the symbolic meanings of food remain significant today.
AAVV. Medioevo. De Agostini Periodici. Milano 2001.
AAVV. Buitoni. A scuola di cucina. Mondatori, Milano, 2001.
AAVV. Le Cordon Bleu. L’alta cucina a casa vostra. Ed. Kohnemann, Koln. Trad. Italiana Elena Montrasio.
Calmanti, Chiara and Piero Calmanti. Appuntamento a …. Folklore, Tradizioni, Storia, Gastronomia delle regioni italiane. Ed. Guerra, Perugia 2000.
Cattabiani, Alfredo. Santi d’Italia. BUR, Milano 1999.
Da Varagine, Iacopo. Leggenda Aurea.
Flandrin, J.L. and M. Montanari. Storia dell’alimentazione. Laterza, Bari 2002.
Godetti della Salda, A. Ricette regionali italiane. Solares, Milano, 1999.
Guida Touring 2002. Artigianato, sapori e tradizioni d’Italia.
Hall, James. Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols. Harper and Row, New York, 1979.
Ignone, Anna. Primi piani sugli italiani. Ed. Guerra, Perugia 2002.
Montanari, M. La fame e l’abbondanza. Storia dell’alimentazione in Europa. Laterza, Bari 2000.
Pinzani, Maurizio and Riccardo Piancastelli. L’italiano in cucina. Ricette originali della cucina italiana con note linguistiche e esercizi. Ed. Progetto Lingua, Firanze 2000.
Pognon, Edmond. La vita quotidiana nell’anno mille. BUR, Milano, 1989.