“About 10 years ago, I was driving down a two lane road through some of the most beautiful scenery in Tuscany. It was a road I knew well for I’d driven it every day over the past two years. It led from the small rural town where I live to the medieval city of Siena. Looking at the golden rays of the setting sun pouring over the green fields of winter wheat, I shook my head in disbelief, exclaiming out loud, “Holy Cow!! I’m actually living my dream.”

I live and work in Tuscany, teaching cooking classes, leading culinary and wine tours and sharing what I’ve learned about regional Italian cuisine with visitors from all over the world.

If I had gone to the library to consult a book on “How to Live and Work in Italy,” I’d still be sitting there, frozen under the avalanche of information on work permits and visas requirements. But I followed a path and, like Alice, fell down a hole into Wonderland.

My passion for good food, prepared with loving care and shared in a convivial setting, was instilled at an early age. I grew up in an Italian-American family on the east coast. We also lived in Verona, Italy for four years. I went to college; I worked in corporate America. The excellent salary I made went towards traveling, throwing dinner parties, eating in top restaurants and drinking fine wines. But it wasn’t enough.

When I was 36, I received a small inheritance from an aunt–enough to pursue a dream and change my life. I wasn’t in a serious relationship and I didn’t have kids. “If not now, when?,” I wondered.

I quit my job, sold my house, put my stuff in storage and took off to Italy for six months. After attending cooking school in Bologna, I traveled around Italy, watching the seasons change. I was blown away by the elegant simplicity of the food and how the dishes changed as the months went by. The cuisine of northern and central Italy was unlike anything I’d experienced in my southern Italian family upbringing.

I was fortunate enough to spend the last two months of my sojourn on a rural estate, Spannocchia, where I worked in the kitchen in exchange for room and board. Situated deep in the wooded hills south of Siena, it was my first exposure to Tuscan cuisine.

I loved the simplicity of the dishes: the strong flavors of rosemary and sage, the reliance on what was growing in the garden in the late fall, the celebration of harvest, wine, and new olive oil. I worked with their Tuscan cook to formulate her recipes in English.

When I returned to America, I started culinary school at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in New York. An internship with Odette Fada at San Domenico restaurant continued my education in regional Italian cuisine. I worked in restaurants, making $8 an hour. It was a pittance of what I’d made in my corporate job, but I was so much more fulfilled.

In the spring of 2000, I returned to Spannocchia for a visit. The owners, who by now were my friends, asked me to stay for the season. I jumped at the chance, planning to return to the “real world” at the end of the year.

Immersing myself in Tuscan culture and traditions, eager to learn as much as possible, I yearned to share my experiences with people who shared my passion. The visitors to the estate were the perfect foil. At the end of the year, rather than move back to the U.S., I stayed and found my own apartment in town.

Never before had anything felt so right. I learned that when you encounter road blocks, you don’t beat your head and work harder to overcome them; you look for the road that is wide open and sunny, and walk down it.

In 2001, I built a website, choosing the name, Ecco La Cucina, which means “here’s the kitchen.”

Gina Stipo, Ecco La Cucina

I applied for and received a visa and went through the bureaucratic nightmare of filing every year to renew my permit to stay. I am now a permanent resident.

What began as simple classes teaching pasta has grown into culinary workshops on Tuscan cuisine; week-long culinary tours throughout Italy; market visits and winery tours. My sister has become my partner in the U.S., and we make a great team.

By showing up, working hard, developing relationships and giving people value for their vacation dollars, I’ve built a solid reputation and a strong business. Life in a foreign country wasn’t always easy, but what I’ve learned is immeasurable.”

I keep saying to you, dear reader, ICDT–I Can Do That! If Gina can do it, so can you! But you must create your own adventure, your own path.

If you would like to know more about Gina, perhaps attend her next week-long Tuscany classes and culinary tours in June, you can visit her website and plan your trip now!

“I always thought that the only kids getting their entire public schooling online were in the hospital, living in the Alaskan tundra, or pursuing a career as a singing orphan in the road company of “Annie.” Not so. There are now around 250,000 cyber school students in kindergarten through high school and the number is growing fast.”

–Gail Collins, New York Times Op-Ed Columnist

That leads me to ask: would you consider creating an online class based on your own unique experiences in the food universe?

Food-related classes are not limited to culinary schools. Community colleges are just one among many other opportunities.

In the last semester one fellow said he just wants to ride his Harley and write about food. He’s landed a column at a biking magazine!

This is the first day of the new class at the CIA. It is an elective and 27 students have enrolled.  This is what I’m planning to say:

May I begin by asking you to look at the person seated next to you. And to the person seated in front and behind you?

Immediately you’ll see there is nobody in the world who looks like you, thinks like you or has had the same experiences you have had. You are unique. And special. And as Christopher Robin said to Winnie the Pooh:

Promise me you’ll always remember you’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.  So to echo President Obama: Yes you can!

This should get us ALL FIRED UP AND READY TO GO!

Teaching this class is what I love to do.

At first I was hesitant, thinking this was a huge imposition, but every single person responded immediately and enthusiastically: Nach Waxman owner of my favorite store contributed an essay about his life at Kitchen Arts & Letters, so did Barbara Haber who laid the foundation of the cookbook collection at the Schlessenger Library and literary agent Lisa Ekus and Delores Custer the Queen of food styling. Betty Fussell, Darra Goldstein (Gastronomica) and Anne Willan and David Robinson described their work as did dozens of others who provided wonderful insights and really useful information for the readers.

They say it is lonely being a writer. What rubbish! When I look at my network of cherished friends, I realize I am part of a lovely, celebratory, constantly hungry crowd of food lovers. This makes me rich beyond my wildest dreams.

“Good Food Jobs is a gastro-job search tool, designed to link people looking for meaningful food work with the businesses that need their energy, enthusiasm and intellect. We post opportunities with farmers and food artisans, policy makers and purveyors, retailers and restaurateurs, economists, ecologists, and more…”

Go to the site for information about the conference planned for February in NYC.

In a January 5^th article in The Tribune, Nancy Maes resports: Gemini Birstro and Rustic House is serving offer a trio of gelati: rosemary Irish cream; casatta with dried fruits and nuts in a cinnamon orange base; and honey chestnut. $7.  Big Jones’ Paul Fehribach created a sour orange sage sorbet paired with sweet potato pie. There’s also a chocolate chili ice cream served with chocolate bread pudding, garnished with salted caramel and chocolate sauce. $8 sorbet with hints of cinnamon, allspice and clove. Another is a vibrant orange persimmon pudding ice cream, inspired by the fruit that its originator ate growing up in northern Indiana. She says it has a flavor like that of a pumpkin combined with a citrus fruit, enhanced with cinnamon, nutmeg and orange zest. Another choice is a dark chocolate ice cream laced with a burgundy-colored ribbon of house-made fig jam, created with dried figs, red wine, honey, orange zest and balsamic vinegar.

Yum.  Who sez ice cream is only for summer days?

By the way, even small dairies employ a professional ice cream taster who may be asked to suggest new flavors too.

I recently came across an article in the Los Angeles Times about Katherine Montero who describes herself as an ice cream sommelier.

She graduated with a business degree from Harvard University and an interest in molecular gastronomy and biology. She’s created a job working with a chef in an ice cream laboratory in Miami.

They’ve dreamed up some truly weird flavors including pizza ice cream: a combination of basil and tomato marmalade served with a curl of parmesan cheese. There’s also maple syrup served with a strip of crisp bacon and chocolate mole ice cream. Those who yearn for vanilla may be out of luck but there is a never ending parade of people who are willing to try anything, at least once.

I mention these things because if you can identify the thing you truly love, you can scoop up a career wrapped around the object of your affection.

As the nation focuses on health care there will continue to be, increasing concentration on food that is good to eat and good for the health of the nation. By this, I don’t mean low calorie, low fat, low cholesterol, and low salt foods but in enthusiasm for sustainable farming and locally accessed fruits, vegetables and meats. Those who can afford the best are opting for artisanal and minimally processed foods.

There is mounting interest in good, not too costly, healthy (as opposed to health food) options everywhere. This is a worldwide trend and offers job opportunities both in industry and private enterprise. For some of these positions it helps mightily to have obtained a degree from a culinary school but is not always necessary. A cheerful disposition may be more persuasive than a certificate.

• Healthy food is a concept that is gaining traction in company cafeterias (Google and Facebook are among several companies that employ full-time chefs who provide free food for their employees. This is a growing trend among businesses that want to keep their employees happy. Some companies even offer take-out food for dinner too.
• Healthy food choices are taking up more and more shelf space in supermarkets where chefs prepare meals ready to be cooked (or simply reheated,) at home. Wegman’s, one of the best companies to work for in America, has even installed bistros in their fabulous supermarkets.)
• Top chefs are cooking in airport restaurants.
• Employment can be found cooking for congregations who are encouraged to meet and greet each other at the conclusion of religious services.

• A gardener sells gift bouquets of the herbs he grows himself. He takes orders online and sells to individuals who visit his farm. His clients include restaurants that use the bouquets (tied with a lavender-colored ribbon,) instead of flowers on the tables. (Guests are invited to take home the bouquets and many of them are delighted with the gift.)  He also offers rosemary, the herb of remembrance, to florists who include this and other fragrant herbs in bridal bouquets.
• A former butcher caters large parties: he roasts whole suckling pigs.
• A former television producer offers media training for chefs, spokespersons and everyone who is selling anything.
• A nutritionist offers cooking classes for diabetics and those on gluten-free diets. She is an adviser for post-gastric bypass patients and children with eating disorders, cancer patients and others who have special dietary needs.
• A home cook provides healthy breakfasts and lunches for kindergarteners.
• A baker sells brownies, cookies and other goodies from a kiosk at the movie house.
• A Mom landed a job teaching table manners to culinary students.