I am in Venice and am doing a stage with Diane and Cesare Benelli at Ristorante Al Covo. I am impressed with the quality of the seafood. I have worked with Monkfish and John Dory in Britanny and New York but until now have never seen such small fresh specimens. There are crustaceans, indigenous to the lagoon, that I have never seen before like mantis shrimp (canocce) and tiny, brown shrimp (schie). The pastas are my favorite so far. I ate Cesare's gnocchi with baby squid (calamaretti) and it was delicious. I am eager to learn how to make such light gnocchi. Indeed, I cannot wait to learn to make all the pastas. I had a fun and exciting conversation with Cesare about the source, variety, and terroir of the beans (fagioli di lamon) he uses in the bean and pasta soup (pasta e fagioli). We also discussed my desire to accompany him to visit his fish and produce purveyors. His passion for the food he loves is clear and contagious. From the moment I met Diane she treated me like a member of her family. We had been corresponding via email for a while and it was not looking like I would get an opportunity to work at Al Covo because the housing market in Venice in October is completely saturated. I have an extremely hard head and bought plane tickets to Venice anyway. So I surprised Diane and Cesare by showing up at Al Covo last Tuesday. My intention was to arrive in time to work the lunch service and I brought a sleeping bag and planned to sleep on the floor. Diane is kind and would not hear of it. With her help I have rented a room in an apartment belonging to friends of the Benellis. It all worked out well in the end.
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