Here's what some of our guests had to say about their cooking holiday at The Awaiting Table in Lecce, Italy:

"The Awaiting Table was the absolute perfect cooking week for me. The time there always feels less like a school and more like a week spent hanging out with good friends over great wine and food! Silvestro has mastered the art of teaching tons of wonderful regional recipes while maintaining a really fun, creative and informal environment. There are so many ideas about food that have become a part of my life back at home and I have had a lot of fun playing with and adapting the recipes to what is available locally and seasonally in Vancouver.
My time in Lecce is always the ideal vacation. I’ve been back twice already"

Physician Kiran Nayar, who spends her time between a general practice in BC, Canada, and delivering Inuit babies in the Yukon. kirannayar@yahoo.com

‘‘My wife and I love Italy and we have visited 3 times in the last 5 years. For our visit this past summer, we decided to spend the last week at cooking school. I "googled" all the cooking schools that I could find and carefully reviewed them, as my wife and I knew what kind of experience we wanted. We definitely wanted a "hands on" experience where we actually did the cooking rather than observe it being done. We also wanted to attend a school where the class size was small, the experience was personalised, the menus were flexible, the atmosphere caring, enjoyable and humorous....and of course the food had to be outstanding!
The Awaiting Table provided all of this...and much more!
Silvestro has thoughtfully developed his cooking school. The focus is on immersing his students in both Southern Italian culture and cuisine. In successfully accomplishing this, he also exceeds all of the goals of cooking school that I have outlined above! Additionally, he is the critic for local wines and olive oils and he liberally exposes his students to them.’
Our experience at the Awaiting Table was nothing short of exceptional!!’

South African Psychiatrist Simon Davidson researches his decisions extensively, no surprise that he has been put in charge of revamping his nation’s entire mental health system. sharondavidson@rogers.com

"I had left Microsoft to attend culinary school and was just graduating when I decided to inquire at the school about a position. In short, I didn’t come to The Awaiting Table as a student, I came as an intern. I ended up learning more about regional Italian than I ever did in culinary school, where the tendency I think, is to teach how to cook as opposed to how to taste, to really think about the ingredients. Take olive oil. I’d always used the best I could find, sure. But now after my time in Lecce, I don’t need to take anyone’s word for it: I can taste a line of oils and rank them in quality. Is an oil extra virgin? Let’s taste it and I’ll tell you. ‘This one should be over 25 bucks. That one under 10’. Same with wine. It’s a place that teaches ‘the rest of it’ and it’s really the doorway into the kitchens, not just of Puglia but really southern Italy in general. Regarding cooking schools in the South, this place is culinary ground zero".

Juanita Galloway, from Bogota, Columbia. brianandjuanita@hotmail.com
We almost always have an intern, some adult that is changing fields and somehow we play a part in that. Juanita was the uber-intern. Give her a ball of twine, a pocket-knife, a lump of wax and tell you that she needs to build you a railroad by nightfall, she’ll have it done before lunch, which she’ll have cooked too. ‘Mind if I toot the horn’, she’d ask, ‘wedging a knife into her soufflé".

"My heartfelt gratitude to the hosts of The Awaiting Table for arranging such a fabulous venue such as the Castle week in Italy! Silvestro and the staff were the most charming hosts and able to meld a diverse group of people attending the course, who did not know each other previously, in to a laughing, light hearted bunch carrying on like old friends.
The cooking instruction was superb, as Silvestro always managed to teach the subtle concepts of regional Italian cooking to the group and to make every person feel as if they had received his personal attention. I was very impressed by the knowledge and organization of the school-they had all the details covered.
One never knows what to expect when visiting a castle from the middle-ages but I will say that the experience far exceeded what I could have imagined. The rooms were spacious, updated with all the modern conveniences and the beds were extremely comfortable. The castle and grounds were in impeccable condition. One could stroll within the walled gardens, picking ripe oranges right from the tree, taking in the fresh beautiful smells of herb gardens inside the castle walls and imagine how things were before the busy world of the digital age. Even though I tended to stay with the group during my visit, we had the entire use of the castle and it was always easy enough to explore and find a quiet personal place to sit and rest privately or to read a book.

Many thanks for an outstanding holiday: it ranks as one of the best in my lifetime!!!
John Bettinger, who runs his own financial service just outside of Seattle, Washington. john@SierraFR.com

"I arrived in Lecce tired and worn out not having had a holiday for a long time. Within a couple of days in Silvestro’s kitchen I was re-charged and back to my usual fun-loving self. My husband came along and though he didn’t cook he enjoyed himself photographing this marvellous Italian town and joined in with all the activities and in particular the eating. The food we cooked and the wine we drank coupled with the atmosphere and friendliness made it hard to leave.
2 months later, my family is still impressed by the Puglian food that I bring to our ‘awaiting table’ in England.
I would recommend anyone finding their way to Silvestro’s kitchen. I intend to return one day where I know I shall instantly be among friends.

Mary Ann Wright, maryalisonwright@msn.com

Mary Ann, lives in a thatched-hut village, small enough that her address is actually, The White Door. Within 24 hours of entering the school she seemed to drop twenty years, going from a shy little English nurse that didn’t say much on Sunday, into the life of the party by midweek.: she had the entire group howling in hysterics. All holidays are meant to be restorative: Mary found what she was looking for.

"A week in Lecce at The Awaiting Table is a total feel-good experience. Silverstro has a wonderful concept which he executes along with his staff in an instructive and joyful manner. It begins with a coffee at a local cafe in the beautiful Baroque walled city.
On to the market where Silvestro coaches you to order in Italian. Then to the kitchen for instruction and cooking. Eating, resting, eating, laughing and dining with wonderful local wines and invited guests. A fantastic vacation that reminds you of what is important in life: Community, connection and fresh food.

Jacqueline Siroka
Psychotherapist A.C.S.W. Clinical Director Sociometric
Institute, New York.
jacsiroka@yahoo.com

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