About Me
NAME: Luciana
PLACE: On the hills around Zola Predosa, nearby Bologna
WORK: I’m the owner of the B&B Abete Rosso and I hold cooking courses in Bologna for anyone who wants to try their hand at the recipes of our tradition
PARTICULAR SIGNS: I am an original “zdoura”. Zdoura is a dialectal name to define the authentic Bolognese housewives, queens of the kitchen and holders of the secrets of tradition, passed down by mothers and grandmothers.
PASSIONS: Cooking, first of all. But also, biodynamic agricolture and sustainable living. And I like to breed ducks and hens in absolute freedom, and even bees, for the sole pleasure of seeing them flying from flower to flower
PROJECT: Open my kitchen to all those who want to discover Bolognese traditions on their table
My Story
I am Luciana, I live in Bologna where I was born more than 50 years ago from a truly Bolognese family and I am very proud of my origins.
My great-grandmother had a traditional shop with fruit and vegetables in Via del Pratello, a typical street in the centre of Bologna. Raffaele Gazzotti, my grandmother’s brother, was a famous athlete in the early 1900s. He was rings champion, the discipline of artistic gymnastics, with virtus Bologna.
As I child i used to spend a lot of time with my maternal grandmother Fernanda, Bolognese for generations. She gave me the passion for homemade cooking, made most of all of simple and cheap things. For years my grandma has woken me up at 6 o’clock in the morning with the sound of her tapping the fork on the cutting board, mixing eggs and flour to prepare the pastry for tagliatelle.
These are memories made of perfumes but also music. The beat of the fork on the cutting board, the hands that kneaded the dough on the wooden surface and her wedding ring hitting the rolling pin while she was pulling the dough.
Every morning I found beautiful nests of tagliatelle on the kitchen table that were waiting noon to be cooked and seasoned with the delicious bolognese meat sauce.
Six senses
So I spent my childhood developing all the SIX senses in the home kitchen.
First of all the scent of ‘’soffritto’’, cakes and all the traditional delicacies. The noises, which when linked to memories become music. All the colors of the food, for example the colorful combinations of fruits and vegetables. Then again the touch, touching the various soft, fluffy or granulated flours, the thorns of the vegetables, or the warm and elastic doughs. And the flavors, at first distinct, such as sweet and savory, sour and bitter, but then mixed together in the harmony of the combinations.
And finally, last but not least, the sixth sense: the joy I feel from the mixture of the other five.
Cooking courses in Bologna: my passion from hobby to work
The passion for cooking has been my life partner and has evolved with me over time. Combining this passion with my love for Bologna, my city, I realized that I wanted to convey these feelings to all non-Bolognese people.
I don’t just want to teach cooking, but I want my guests to immerse themselves in the tradition of Bolognese cuisine and discover the joy of preparing with their hands recipes handed down for centuries in the homes of Bologna.
Being able to transmit my knowledge, my experience and my emotions to others through cooking classes gives me satisfaction and joy.
If you want to experience Bologna’s real cuisine, there’s nothing better than doing it with a real “zdoura” bolognese! Learning in a local home is the best way to discover Bologna from the inside.
