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As we wound our way along the curves of Italy’s picturesque Amalfi Coast, our friends described the cooking class and wine tasting we had scheduled for our first night in Positano.  We all pictured a quiet evening with an Italian Nonna hunched over her stock pot.  We couldn’t have been more wrong.

“It’s the second door on the right,” said the charismatic—and notably British—man on the stairs ahead.  Having just left Rome that morning, we were still guarded:

”Are you sure?”

“Very,” he grinned.

After introducing himself as our chef for the evening, Peter parted a conversation in rapid, perfect Italian and followed us down the wooded alley to his 12th century villa.  We could already tell this was going to be a special night. We had no idea it would be the highlight of our trip.

The son of a respected local fisherman, Master Chef Peter Capraro returned to his hometown after an illustrious career with some of the finest restaurants in the world.  Despite his incredible pedigree, Peter has devised a cooking course and wine tasting that is utterly unpretentious.  He and his wife treated each of us as a guest in their home, and his passion for high quality organic and ethically-sourced ingredients was infectious.

We won’t go into detail about each of the dishes since (1) this isn’t a food blog, and (2) we would hate to ruin the surprise, but suffice it to say that the food was fun to prepare and tasted fantastic.  Peter excels at providing a passionate, colorful—and sometimes hilariously raunchy—description of the ingredients, tools, and techniques used throughout the course.  The thought and planning that has clearly gone into every element of every dish is humbling.  We all left with a realization of how glaringly little we knew about the food we eat every day, and a passion to learn more.  It was truly a life changing experience.

If that weren’t enough, Peter was full of advice about how to squeeze the most out of Positano.  Having lived in the town for most of his life, he is like an encyclopedia of it’s hidden gems.  He knows where to eat, where to find a quiet beach, who to call for a private tour...where to find the real Positano.  We left feeling like we had a new friend.  Someone we can trust to give us his honest opinion free from the touristy commercialism that is almost unavoidable in a place like Positano.  Someone we will go out of our way to visit the next time we’re in town.  And we will absolutely be back.

To book a class with Peter, check out his website at www.positanohomecooking.com—you won’t regret it!