Culinary & Wine Programs

Southern Visions offers a variety of gastronomic experiences for every kind of food and wine  lover. Full immersion culinary trips are based at La Cucina at Gelso Bianco, our brand new cooking school set in a beautifully restored Pugliese farmhouse.

Please visit our new culinary school website, www.lacucinagelsobianco.com

7 Day Premiere Culinary Immersion

This program includes 6 nights at Gelso Bianco and 5 intensive cooking classes with Chef Laura Giordano. You will shop at the local markets, visit artisanal food, wine and olive oil  producers and be guided on walking tours of the region’s most characteristic towns. The week includes three fabulous meals a day and plenty of time to lounge by the pool and in the garden.

7 Day Guest Chef Program

Spend a week under the leadership of a celebrated international chef. Our guest chefs will bring with them years of professional experience as executive chefs and restaurant owners as well as their own creativity and style to add to the cuisine of Puglia. You will learn directly from the masters in the field with the backdrop of Italy’s heel and the freshest ingredients available.  Some programs will be held at Gelso Bianco (Justin Melnick & Viktorija Todorovska), others at Masseria Le Taverne near the sea (Amy Riolo & Jody Adams) while Judy Witts Francini’s program is based at individual trulli houses in the heart of Alberobello.

Justin Melnick at Masseria Gelso Bianco

May 6 – 12, 2012

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Tomasso Trattoria & Enoteca Executive Chef, Justin Melnick is a rising star whose inspirations come from his work with top chefs, extensive travel in Italy, and a devotion to cooking with fresh, local, organic products and sustainably raised animals. Justin is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and has trained at respected Boston restaurants including The Butcher Shop (Barbara Lynch) and Olives (Todd English). At Tommaso Trattoria Justin brings together a wealth of experience and passion for regional Italian cuisine. Puglia welcomes him with open arms.

Viktorija Todorovska at Masseria Gelso Bianco

May 20 – 26, 2012

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Viktorija Todorovska, author of the newly released Puglian Cookbook will return once again to the heel of the boot to share her intimate knowledge of the culinary landscape of our region. Guests will spend a spring week learning from Viktorija as they visit with her favorite local food producers and create many of the recipes that were the inspiration for her book.

Amy Riolo at Masseria Le Taverne

June 9 – 16

Amy Riolo is an internationally recognized expert known for fusing the worlds of cuisine, culture, and history in her work. An award – winning author, popular lecturer, food historian, food writer, culinary consultant and cooking instructor she was dubbed the “Cook to the Kings” by a Cairo newspaper in 2008.

Her knowledge of the Italian, French, Spanish, and Arabic languages has enabled her to interpret many cultures and cuisines with intimacy and ease. Her goal is to teach her philosophy of cooking and dining with both pleasure and health in mind. She regularly teaches cooking classes at Sur la Table in Arlington, Virginia, CulinAerie in Washington DC Open Kitchen in Falls Church, VA. Her recent publications include The Mediterranean Diabetes Cookbook, (American Diabetes Association) which won the 2011 Nautilus Book Award.

Judy Witts Francini at Trulli e Puglia

June 23 – 29

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Judy Witts Francini, is a member of the Italian Personal Chef Association, the International Association of Culinary Professionals, a member of Slow Food International, and a student of cooking for over 30 years. Judy has made her home in Florence since 1984. While she has an intimate relationship with the culinary landscape of Tuscany, she has enjoyed extensive travel and exploration into other southern Italian regions like Sicily and Puglia.

Chef in Bici with Jody Adams at Masseria Le Taverne

SEPTEMBER 16 – 22

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Chef Jody Adams joins us on her bike as she take a intimate group on a culinary tour of Puglia on two wheels!

A James Beard award-winner, the chef/owner of Rialto in Cambridge and the Chef and Co-Owner of TRADE, Jody Adams has been praised for her creativity, support of local farmers, continuous charitable work, and business acumen by local and national publications from The Boston Globe and Boston Business Journal to Gourmet, Food & Wine and The New York Times. She was a recent contestant on the second season of Top Chef Masters, BRAVO TV’s popular culinary competition.

Besides cooking and hunger advocacy Jody’s other passion is her bicycle. She has traveled through Italy in bici several times. In 2011 Jody lead Team Rialto as they completed the 2 day Pan Mass Challenge ride, raising $64,000 for breast cancer research.

Authentic Puglia: Cultural Immersion, Adventure and Gastronomic Exploration

Be one of the first to enjoy Southern Visions Travel’s newest program: a beautiful 7 day journey of exploration into the best of everything that is authentic to Puglia – its food and wine, its artisanal and craftsman products, its natural wonders and its warm and genuine people. Get to know Puglia like a native.

7 Day Wine Immersion Program details coming…..

This program is all about the vino…with a big dose of  food as well. We will visit some of the most sought-after wineries as well as many hidden gems known only to the locals as we explore day-to-day the vineyards, the grapes and the wines that make our regions famous. From Aglianico in Basilicata to Nero di Troia in Puglia, we will leave no grape uncovered to show you the way of the Puglian wine.

Extras

With every program there is always the opportunity to add on extra indulgences like cycling tours, olive oil massage and private Italian lessons. We are here to make your stay as complete as possible.