'May you have a wonderful year. What else? I don't know what to say. Happy New Year and I look forward to meeting you this year. Come on! Silvestro. Turn off the recorder. I sound like an idiot!'!

Emiliana has worked with us at the school for a few years now, even though she's actually from Basilicata (the 'instep' of 'the boot', whereas Puglia is the 'heel'), Her English is flawless. She's also studying Mandarin, and as more and more Asians come to our little school in Lecce, she has more chance to practice that language as well. 'English has always been easier for me', she says, 'but Chinese really fascinates me'.

'So I'm supposed to say my wish for all the readers? OK. Say, 'Happy New Year'. 'I am excited to cook with you next year if you are coming. And if we met this year, then thank you very much. It was a great, fun year'. 'Basta'.

Giuseppe is from the Southern part of the Salento, which is about as far south as you can go on this side of Italy: the end of the line, in every sense. He lived for three years in Manhattan and perfected his English there. Next year? He's working towards teaching more and assisting me less. 'It's funny but after working at the school, I now make better pasta than anyone in my family, even my own mother. Just don't tell her that though. She'd kick me'.

'No, I hate the sound of my own voice. OK. Happy New Year Everybody on Silvestro's reading list. I hope to meet you all next year. The Salento is a very beautiful place. Come cook with us!'

I actually met Carolina at a cooking school in France but she's lived in more places than I could find on a map: Africa, South America, Spain, Northern France and in rural America, in the mountains of Washington state. Not only does she keep up with all our administrative side, she's also a nurse, perfect when some idiot cuts himself with a kitchen knife. 'First clean it Silvestro', she says, running my finger under the tap.

'Is it on? OK. What do I say? OK. Happy New Year to all of you in England, l'America, l'Australia, il Canada, South Africa. Happy New Year everybody! Wait! Do over! I don't want to sound silly!'

Anna has the cutest accent, that of Taranto, an accent in Italian that sounds like children speaking, with all of the charm and wide-eyed innocence. 'Sometimes', she says. 'I think you just ask me questions just to listen to me speak'. 'Why do you think that', I ask. 'Tell me'.

'Thank you. Happy New Year. Thank you. OK. Thank you'.

Anna maintains the school for us, not an easy chore if you've ever owned a 16th century palace in Italy, where the preference is for constantly-open windows and doors. She also organises my personal life, from my collection of wine bottles to my summer linen suits to all my socks, DVDs and books, all of them in perfect, pristine rows. Simply put, no one has ever improved the quality of this bachelor's life as much as Anna has. I love her like family. She still doesn't speak English, other than 'thank you', but you'd be amazed how much she can convey to passing guests using only that and her big brown eyes.

--- (Lip-smacking as I slip her a tiny piece of prosciutto crudo).

Nina is the chubby, old-lady of a dog that you'll always find in the exact same places, at the exact same time of day. She'll luxuriate in front of Gracious Antonio's bar, as the morning sun warms her coat. She'll trot to the salumi counter at lunch time and then off to the butcher's, come closing time. Many tell me I'm crazy but I've heard church bells chime 8 times (closing time for butchers in Italy) and she'll go from apparent sleep to the pudgy waddle, off for the butcher's. Completely feral, she couldn't be more loved in Lecce, and it's rare to see even the most jaded that don't stop to give her a pat as they pass.

Happy New Year to you all. If you're coming in 2009, we look forward to showing you the part of Italy that we love most. If you came in 2008, then we humbly thank you very, very much. You've helped us turn a dream into staggeringly-beautiful reality. Buon anno a tutti. Happy New Year to you all.

---

Già da cinque anni, The Awaiting Table Cookery School è una scuola di cucina salentina, situata nel centro storico di Lecce. Il proprietario, dott. Silvestro Silvestori, promuove i vini (solo di uve autoctone), i prodotti tipici e la cultura del Mezzogiorno sul mercato anglofono. Lo scopo è quello di aprire nuovi canali commerciali facendo da ponte tra il sud ed il resto del mondo, al fine di superare le barriere linguistiche e culturali. Per incentivare questa politica di promozione, Silvestro punta sul miglioramento qualitativo della produzione nostrana affinchè possa essere autenticamente concorrenziale, cercando di coinvolgere i produttori locali, poichè si sa: "l'unione fa la forza!". Entro il 2009, Silvestro inaugurerà una nuova scuola per promuovere i vini e le uve di tutto il sud (la Puglia, la Sicilia, la Basilicata e la Calabria). Per maggiori informazioni potete scrivere allo stesso indirizzo e- mail.

For booking information click here.

For our calendar click here.

To learn more about our up and coming wine school click here.

To read my wine blog click here.