a cooking class with enrica rocca in venice

On my last day in Venice, I was lucky enough to attend a cooking class with Enrica Rocca at her home in the Dorsoduro neighbourhood. She is very well known and runs the best cookery classes in the city. They are intimate with a limited number of people attending and she runs them on demand. One of her classes is a full day excursion that includes a trip to the Rialto Fish Market and well worth doing if you can. I wasn’t around for that, but Enrica invited me to join her on her morning shop for our evening class and I jumped at the chance. Enrica, with her dog Soya in tow, navigated the back alleys of Venice at a startling pace and I struggled to keep up. She knows all her vendors and has lengthy discussions with them about the best product to go on her the menu. Being this close to the ingredients and living so seasonally is hugely inspiring and the essence of what Italian cooking is all about.

I met Enrica many years ago when she lived in Cape Town and owned a restaurant in Wynberg called Enrica Rocca. I was captivated by her food way back then and clearly, remember a cooking class she ran in her restaurant.

The class in Venice is pretty hands on and we all got involved prepping and cooking part of the meal. An array of dishes as effortlessly put together in a few hours with wine flowing and a jovial atmosphere. We then had the pleasure of tasting it all. Fresh seafood dishes, multiple vegetable dishes, and the perfect tiramisu. Enrica is a hugely talented and experienced cook and cookbook author and her classes are a unique opportunity to tap into this knowledge and get a close look at the food of Venice. 

I hope my pictures help tell the story and you can find out more about Enrica’s cooking classes on her website. She also has a branch in London, which is run by her two daughters.

 

 

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