Vinum cooking classes: chef Pasquale Laera

Vinum’s formula is that of a city embracing its excellence and revealing it along the streets and through the squares.

Vinum is an event that brings together wine connoisseurs, gourmets and those who want to be passionate about the art and culture of the lower Piedmont region, being lulled by the beauty of the vineyards and hills that in 2014 Unesco recognized as a World Heritage Site.

Vinum is the opportunity to stroll through the streets of the city tasting the best wines of the area through food and wine tastings in the city’s iconic places.

The event with Chef Pasquale Laera

Inside the Castle of Roddi, in one of Italy’s finest cooking schools, through theoretical and practical courses, you will be taught recipes for great iconic dishes by leading chefs in a very special location.

Inside the Castle are 7 modern steel stations complete with all kitchen utensils.

Participants are always personally involved and will have the opportunity to taste what is being prepared, accompanied by a glass of wine.

Each participant will be given a free gift:

• the kitchen apron
• the recipe made with the chef

There are 7 stations that can be used individually or doubly.
The course is limited in number and has a maximum attendance of 14 people.
The stations are complete with all the necessary equipment for the theoretical and practical conduct of classes.

The chef

Apulian by birth, Piedmontese by adoption: Pasquale Làera has been passionate about cooking since childhood, growing up in a family of great devotees of “poor” tradition, but great taste.

His course of study led him to attend Classical High School, where he learned the desire to constantly experiment, going in search of what is behind every appearance.

Driven by an insatiable hunger for novelty, he then discovered the world of catering, becoming fascinated: hence the decision to change his address, enrolling in the Hotelier Institute.

He began working in Gioia del Colle, his hometown, then around Italy, learning different methods of running kitchens, as well as the peculiar recipes of the various regions of the Belpaese.

From Ottavio Surico, his first chef, he learns how much tenacity and determination are needed to tackle this job.

After completing his hotel studies, Làera enrolled in Gualtiero Marchesi‘s International School of Italian Cuisine (Alma).

This is where thedecisive meeting for his career takes place, the one with Antonino Cannavacciuolo, whose sous-chef he soon becomes.

For him, he proves to be a true master, of cooking and beyond.

Internships abroad also multiplied, to enrich his background: first in Japan, where he had the opportunity to work closely with Okamoto, then in Copenhagen, at the Geranium, again in Mexico, on a journey around the world in search of the best flavors.

After the positive experience at Villa Crespi comes the one at the Boscareto Resort, as executive chef of the restaurant sectors, including the restaurant La Rei: it is here that in 2014 Pasquale Làera obtains his first Michelin Star .

In 2019, the project that leads to the birth of Borgo Sant’Anna, in Monforte d’Alba, in the heart of the Langhe, which will obtain its first Michelin Star in 2020, gets under way.

At Borgo Sant’Anna, handed-down knowledge and peasant flavors are revisited, mixing styles and ingredients until something unprecedented yet familiar comes to life.

Recipes revised in light of the chef’s experiences as he travels the world, seeking the experience and human and professional growth that leads him to put a sensational mix of the traditional and the avant-garde into his dishes.

In 2022 he started a new project, five hundred meters from the Borgo: the name of the place is Lostu, a tavern with a playful spirit that fits into the piole tradition with a personal touch.

At Borgo Sant’Anna, diners will find a more personal cuisine, where the chef makes the avant-garde, while at Lostu the proposal is more veracious, built around ancient Piedmontese recipes.

The dish