FOOD WRITERS IN CILENTO

May 10-15, 2022

I’m pleased to tell you that we have rescheduled this retreat and writing workshop in southern Italy!
Please contact me if you are interested in attending.

As someone who cooks and writes about food, I spend many hours in the kitchen. The recipes I test vary from day to day and season to season, but they often involve tasks such as trimming and chopping vegetables, refreshing sourdough starter, baking cookies or cakes, ladling boiling hot preserves into jars, or rolling out and shaping fresh pasta. And washing dishes. There’s an endless amount of that.

When I’m not in the kitchen I’m usually two steps away at the kitchen table, chicken-scratching away in a black and white composition notebook, where all my recipes start, tapping on my laptop, or sifting through cookbooks, magazines, or recipes on the internet. I have a home office, but the kitchen table is more convenient. As much as I enjoy and gather inspiration from this space, spending so much time in one place can also be an inspiration killer. There are times when the best thing a food writer can do is to step away from the kitchen and the computer.

THE WORKSHOP

Italy is where I go for inspiration, and I’d love for you to join me. Fellow food writer Kathy Gunst and I are hosting a small group of like-minded food and word lovers at a five-day retreat overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. This spectacular private site, a stone’s throw from the ancient temples at Paestum, is the ideal spot for a relaxed and revitalizing workshop designed to clear your head, motivate you, and make you a better food writer.

We will cover a range of topics from recipe writing and cookbooks to essay writing and reporting and interviewing techniques. There will be time for sharing work, asking questions, and getting feedback. Our goal is to create a positive environment for learning and sharing. So whether you’re a beginner who wants to break into food writing, a professional already working in the field, or a dabbler for your own pleasure, you will benefit from this small hands-on workshop.

THE Location

We will be based at Borgo La Pietraia, a family-owned hotel overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Cilento area of Campania, south of Naples. The hotel is run by the family of my friend, art and food historian Danielle Oteri. Danielle will be our local expert in Cilento.

A few highlights

  • Five-course tasting menu at Borgo La Pietraia’s own fine dining restaurant, FOOD

  • Private tour of Tenuta Vannulo, Italy’s best producer of buffalo mozzarella, with lunch at the farm

  • Guided tour of the ancient temples at Paestum

  • Visit to a fig and chocolate confectionery tucked away in the Cilento National Park

  • Cooking demo and recipe writing class at Borgo La Pietraia

  • Hike in the countryside followed by a 0KM picnic lunch

We will spend part of each day immersed in the art and craft of writing about food. Because we’ll be in Italy, we will also spend time exploring the food and wine of this unspoiled area south of Naples.

We welcome spouses, partners, and friends:If you have someone who would like to join you but is not interested in the food writing aspect of the trip they can join at a reduced rate. They are welcomed to participate in all activities except the workshop. Other activities throughout the region can be arranged at an additional cost.

If this sounds like your kind of experience, click here to learn more and register.