What an amazing day of history, local knowledge, wine tasting, olive oil tasting and exquisite food. Silvestro was amazing. Took us to the produce market, the fish market and on to cooking. Would highly recommend for those who are cooks, aspiring cooks and those who love to eat.

We've done river boat biking trips all over Europe and they've all been fantastic, but Silvestro and his amazing staff along with Michelle (Cooking with Michelle) made this trip the best by far! We cycled, we learned, we cooked, we savored the amazing cuisine of our own creation, generously smothered with amazing local olive oils. Who knew that amazing food was just an olive oil delivery system. All of the above was perfectly paired with a variety of regional Italian wines, and copious laughter! Alas, I do have a serious complaint, our time with Silvestro, Michelle and the Awaiting Table team was too short!

The highlight of our trip to Puglia! We just completed a five hour vegetable/fish/cooking tour in Lecce. We began the day at a vegetable market, then on to the fish market, ending in Silvestro's magnificent apartment where we participated in the preparation of the meal. . Silvestro is an educator, patient teacher, knowledgeable about the history of Puglia and cooking techniques. Our meal was a five star experience. It was a lesson in cooking as well as the culture of Puglia. Cannot give a higher recommendation. Do not miss it if you visit Lecce.

We had the good fortune of spending 5+ hours with Silvestro and Anna during our visit to Lecce. This experience was easily one of the highlights of our four days in this beautiful city (Lecce: also highly recommended). Aside from improving our homemade pasta-making skills, we spent an hour at the produce market and the fishmonger’s store (much learning here). Silvestro provided informed instruction about olive oil generally and olive oil in this region in particular (his oil is exceptional), and he also spent some time in quality instruction about wine. The venue: 10/10. We will return.

If I could give this review 100 stars I would. I attended the Mediterranean Fish Course and it was an amazing way to see and learn and experience the local culture and food of Lecce and Puglia. Silvestro has created an experience that envelopes you into the culture and food of the area - I don't know how I learned and experienced as much as I did in the amount of time we were in class but I walked away with a feeling of community, connection and understanding of the food, wine, people, olive oil, wine and land of Lecce. Take the course, take them all, I know I will be back for a week long course as soon as I can.

An epic week in Puglia. Silvestro is a master of food - teaching with his gentle demeanor and humor coupled with a knowledge base with almost no end. This is NOT a school where you cook one thing and they hand you a recipe. There were no recipes. You go to the market every day. You cook together. You learn about the local food. You eat. Drink (as much as you want while learning about the wine). Make new friends. And (continue to) fall in love with Italy and Puglia. Cannot recommend highly enough!!

Just perfect. Learned a lot about food and wine and Southern Italy, got to know some great people, ate spectacular meals. Silvestro Silvestri, the owner and operator, is brilliant, funny and engaging. His classes that bring together people from different parts of the world and with different mindsets is ingenious. Taught us different ways to think about ingredients and how to combine them. Can’t recommend it highly enough and look forward to going back. If he will let me.

This was a trip of a lifetime! I would highly recommend this week long class! My mother in law and 2 sister in laws greatly enjoyed cooking all kinds of foods, making pasta from scratch and tasting all kinds of wines and olive oils. June is the perfect time to get cherries too. We also had a team trip to Otranto and saw the Adriatic Sea. Sylvestro took us to a great seafood place there. He has a dead-pan sarcastic humor I enjoyed. He gave us so much information about Italy and I will cook differently after doing his classes for a week! I also loved meeting the people in our team. Thanks for a great experience!!!

I led a study abroad experience with university students, and we spent five days in Lecce, with much of the time at The Awaiting Table. It was a great experience from start to finish. Silvestro has extensive knowledge not only about southern Italian food, but history and culture as well. The hands-on cooking classes were supplemented with trips to markets and restaurants, as well as a day-long trip to the beach in Otranto. The setting in Lecce is wonderful. We had substantial breaks from our classes that allowed us to explore this architecturally beautiful city. We felt safe and comfortable throughout our visit. I highly recommend the school and the city!

Silvestro is the real deal. His week-long classic course in Lecce is both instructive and highly entertaining. Part of what makes it so special is the historical and cultural context Silvestro mixes in with all the cooking. He even positions a blackboard next to the dining table to deliver, while everyone eats, useful lessons on Italian wines, olive oils, menus, and much else. It’s nourishment for the mind as well as the body. You’ll leave content!