64 Torino - TAVOLA DOC

64. Torino - Another Cooking School: TAVOLA DOC

I decided that I would attend another cooking school as a way of practising my Italian. As you would have gathered if you have read the earlier blogs, I was tired of attending language schools. I wanted and want conversation, and I wasn’t getting enough at the schools I attended in Italy. I asked myself, why spend all that money to study in Italy where I would be conversing with other non-Italians? I could do just as well back home. Could I survive pursuing an activity with other Italians where no English is spoken? So in 2013 I attended the cooking school Scuola Girasole in Modena and managed quite happily. This year [2017] I decided to try another cooking school in another city in Italy: Scuola Tavola Doc in Torino. As usual my course was for 4 weeks.

I chose Torino [Turin] because I had a friend living there and he had wanted me to visit for a long time. I had heard different opinions about the city – an industrial dump, a beautiful Baroque centre and anything in between. Well, I am very glad that I chose Torino.

Yes, it was an industrial city, less so now after the economic downturn and Fiat’s relocations in search of cheaper production. But it is also a beautiful city. It was the centre of the Savoy dukes and was Italy’s first royal city. So we have large palazzi, long wide avenues, and beautiful parks. In addition, the city has many interesting museums and galleries. To top it off, I found the waiters and clerks honest. Although tipping is not a regular practice, anyone who has visited Rome or other tourist resorts in Italy will discover that the waiters will lean on you for a tip. Not in Torino. Honesty? Well, I left a parcel in a cafe and the waiter came running out to return it to me. And the absence of gypsies pestering me was a refreshing change.