Editor's Note: This culinary school with guest accomodations is a family enterprise, one that draws on the centuries of tradition. Here you can vacation, learn Italian and the secrets of the authentic Italian culinary tradition. And you can do this while basking in the sun that smiles on beautiful Sorrento.

by Giuseppe Longo

When Mamì Camilla was a young lady, she hated being in the kitchen because she could not stand the smell of cooked oil, fried food or smoke coming from the grill. Unfortunately she was not able to say no to her mother when her mother called her little daughter to assist with meal preparation. Thus Mamì Camilla was engaged to do some services, such as dry the clean forks and knives, prepare some ingredients like slicing the mozzarella, grating the parmesan, and setting the table. As she became a teenager, she started to work in her father's brand new bar.

Her father opened one of the first and most elegant bars in Sorrento, named Bar Pollio, still in activity today and owned by Mamì Camilla's brother. She felt like she was reborn in a new life, working in a nice and clean environment, hosting important people from all over the region, the country and the world. She enjoyed suggesting special cakes and tarts for festivals and special occasions.

At the age of 22 she fell in love with a boy much younger then her, who was from Lecce, which is in the region of Puglia, in the South of Italy. She married him, even though he was a chef. So, Mamì Camilla went back to the kitchen only to help her husband with his new restaurant. Her dedication to her husband motivated her, even though she disliked being in the kitchen again, working with the smell of oil and smoke, cleaning dishes and cleaning up. But for this love, her love for her husband and for her new family, she remained in the kitchen. In this love we find the birth of Mamì Camilla's enduring love for cooking.

The plate that she loves to cook most is eggplant parmigiana rolls, (involtini di melanzane) with fresh mozzarella, fresh tomato sauce and basil leave, by the end grated parmesan. She usually cooks this plate during the summer, when the eggplants get ripe and ready in our garden, which taste is hard to describe. She loves - and we love - this plate because we can do delicious sandwich to take with us on the beach, or everywhere we like.

From Giuseppe Longo: "The kitchen has always represented the centre of my house. It has been the core of my grandma's, my father's and my mother’s cooking activities. I was inspired by my Mom’s wish to really take advantage of the culinary skills and heritage which have been passed down from generation to generation in my family. After six years of work and studying, I have presented the “Italian Culinary Cooking Course," named in honour of my mother 'Mamì Camilla.' Our main gratification is when our students enjoy this irresistible tourist opportunity, while learning how to find the time to organize their meals, and by so doing, see how easy it is to take care of him/herself and his/her diet."

Mami Camilla

VIA COCUMELLA, 4 - 80065
S. Agnello di Sorrento
Naples, Italy

Tel. +39 081 878 20 67
Fax +39 081 532 48 05
info@mamicamilla.com
www.mamicamilla.com