Day One
Your adventure begins on Sunday afternoon in front of Rome airport at 3 pm. A comfortable shuttle van will be waiting to whisk you and the other select members of what will soon become a crack culinary team to the elegant Hotel Montinope in the little hill town of Spoltore, Abruzzo. It is about a two hour drive — just enough time to get acquainted with your fellow students.

One or two of the group may be friends or partners who simply want to luxuriate in the beautiful surroundings, eat the gourmet food, and visit nearby hill towns and sights without taking part in the school. They are warmly welcomed, too!

On the way you will pass ancient mountain villages, already old when Rome was just a campsite. The breathtaking snow-covered peak before you is the Gran Sasso. At over 10,000 feet it dominates Abruzzo and most of Central Italy. Remember these sights. You will be back to see more in the coming days.

You check into the four-star Hotel Montinope, home of the renowned Pettirosso Restaurant. Sited elegantly on the top of a high hill in the tiny town of Spoltore, Angelo waits to welcome you.

Your ample room lacks no amenity, with air conditioning, private bath, TV, phone, quality bedding, and thick, fluffy towels. From the Hotel Montinope, the verdant views run to the mountains in the West and the sea in the East. You have arrived!

Later, refreshed, you gather in the charming dining room to enjoy the first of many superb meals and wines. After dessert, Chef Chiavaroli will present each of you with a Pettirosso apron and chef’s hat. The uniform is yours to keep, along with a book of Chiavaroli’s special recipes with space for notations.

Day Two
After breakfast, it’s off to market with the Chef. He will teach you how to select the freshest ingredients by touch, sight and smell for each of the meals you will learn to prepare.

After shopping, it’s a visit over velvet hills to the award-winning olive groves of Mario Tortella, where you will sample the world’s best olive oil, and as Mario’s honored guests, will enjoy a fabulous country lunch, perhaps al fresco, under the trees.

Back at the hotel, after a relaxing afternoon break, everyone assembles for the initial class. Under Chef Chiavaroli’s expert guidance, you will create the first in a series of mouth-watering meals in his huge professional kitchen. Interpreters, Sous Chefs and Pastry Chefs will all be there to assist you in the preparation of a fantastic gourmet dinner that you will enjoy this evening.

Days Three, Four and Five...
Following breakfast, it’s off to the world-class kitchen of Pettirosso from 9 am to 1 pm. The secrets of sauces, techniques of desserts, fresh pasta, breads, roasts and more are revealed. It is at this time some of you will discover your own special aptitudes and will be encouraged to follow where they might lead — under the gentle leadership of Chef Chiavaroli. Sauces or desserts? Explore, learn, enjoy what proclivities set you apart — and then watch, as everyone’s talents come together, in harmony, at the table.

Each day the van will take you on a new adventure. Remember the hill towns? The mountains? You will visit wineries, too, and see pasta being made at the world’s leading pastifici, in Fara di San Martino. Back at Montinope, each evening’s sumptuous dinner and fabulous wines await.

Day Six
At breakfast the air is electric. This is the day. There will be no side trip. Luncheon will be good, as always, but brief. You have come to realize that Montinope is no ordinary hotel, nor Pettirosso just a restaurant. It is a temple dedicated to the culinary arts, and frequented by the top chefs and gourmets of all Europe. Chef Chiavaroli has been advertising your presence all week long. Tonight, his school, his proteges, YOU, will cook. Amid patrons, photographers, and the awarding of diplomas, you will serve and be served in a room where all your creative energies have been released, even down to the flowers and place settings. This is your moment — your gala graduation — your big night!