Award winning Italian restaurant Salvo’s has been sharing the secrets of its success to a sell-out crowd at the *Cooking School* in Halifax. And it wasn’t just delicious food that kept the audience gripped, but owner Gip Dammone’s story telling and entertaining talent!
Brothers Gip and John Dammone who are celebrating 35 years running their Leeds restaurant were approached by the School before Christmas to give an authentic Pasta Masterclass. The course scheduled for March 24th sold out quickly.
Executive Chef at the School, Matthew Benson-Smith says _” Cooking fans are showing they have an appetite for authenticity. If it’s Italian cooking, they want to hear real recipes that originate from that place, that have been passed down through a family, they want to know about food sources and regional specialities and stories. Cooking skills are very important but we know our foodie audience also want to be entertained. They certainly get that with Gip. He is a born story-teller”._
So much so he decided it would be best to bring Jim “The Baron”, head chef from Salvo’s Salumeria business in Headingley to do the cooking while Gip held forth on a range of topics ““ many, though not all, cooking related! On the menu was delicious hand-made tortelloni stuffed with ricotta and spinach, served with Aunt Pina’s pork ragu. The Salvo’s way is to use a very finely ground semolina as well as free-range eggs with a “glowing yolk”.
Then there was fettucine with fungi trifolati al tartufo ““ a simple and sophisticated dish with stuffed mushrooms. This was followed by seafood linguine from the boys’ home region of Amalfi. The Dammones also have roots in Sicily so together with the Bay of Naples influences, Pasta fans were treated to some of the highlights of those regions dishes and cooking tips.
To date Gip’s natural home has been the restaurant but judging by his performance as a raconteur at the Cooking School he may have found a new calling as a stand up chef, with anecdotes on everything from the recipe for pasta, where to get the best olive oil and how making pasta can increase your chest size!
The Cooking School fans are anxiously waiting for the return of the Pasta Masters to the Cooking School at Dean Clough after a triumphant and sell-out debut.
A brand new date has been announced for 30 June 2012. More details can be found at “www.thecookingschool.co.uk”:http://www.thecookingschool.co.uk/