Surfas: Tell us a little about Piccolo Chef.

Piccolo Chef: Piccolo Chef is the result of passion and hard work of two mothers who are committed to teaching kids and their grownups how to cook and eat in a fun AND healthy way.

We believe that our kitchens are magical places where the entire family will discover the power in quality, organic, seasonal ingredients and delicious recipes – all mixed together and cooked with the warmth of love and traditions.

Surfas: What is the most important thing about Italian food you would like us to learn?

Piccolo Chef: More than Italian Food per se, we believe in high-quality food for its beauty and history- as well as its nutritional value- and base most of our philosphy on the Mediterranean diet. Also, the Mediterrenean diet is about more than just food: it’s a life-style that promotes the social aspects of eating and the safeguarding of family traditions.

Surfas: What makes Italian food so universally loved?

Piccolo Chef: It’s simplicity and taste! Thanks to the use of few, fresh and in-season ingredients.

Surfas: Teaching children to love good food and cooking is the core of your mission, how do you engage the children?

Piccolo Chef: Our hands-on classes boost kids’ self-confidence and help them develop a most valuable “kitchen common-sense”.

We engage small children by cultivating their curiosity and sense of wonder and also by treating them with great respect!

For the older kids and teens, sophisticated yet simple recipes based on high-quality food will keep them engaged and teach them that cooking is a life skill.

Surfas: Do you have classes for adults?

Piccolo Chef: YES! It happened almost organically: we started getting requests from parents attending their children’s classes who wanted to learn basic healthy ways of cooking for their family or single parents who had a hard time getting ideas for their kids’ lunch boxes.

Surfas: What is your most vital kitchen tool?

Piccolo Chef: By far, I’d have to say the lettuce knife. It cuts carrots, but not fingers – perfect for little hands! They are the same size of a chef’s knife and children feel a great sense of pride when handling them.  We use them to teach basic safe knife skills. 

For more information on Piccolo Chef and the Summer Classes for Kids now being held in the Test Kitchen at Surfas, click here!

Surfas will be host to several food camps this summer for children ages 6 and up*. Piccolo Chef  and Artbites will begin offering classes starting in July and going through August. Check out the full lineup in our events section!

*Classes are age specific, please check listing for age grouping. You must register for each camp through the school offering the class. Classes on the calendar of events link out to information for registration.

Piccolo Chef will be holding Culinary Winter Wonderland Workshops for Kids in three sessions. Workshops are broken down by age groups, and children of all ages from 3 and up can enjoy a workshop especially designed for them. For pricing and more information on classes, please visit the Piccolo Chef website today!

Piccolo Chef has monthly classes at Surfas for the mini-chef of all ages. Check them out today!

Recipe makes 4 – 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons melted butter, cooled
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg yolk
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ cup butter
½ cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh sage
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup freshly shaved Pecorino cheese

 Directions:

1. In large bowl, combine pumpkin and butter; add flour, yolk, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Knead into soft dough (if necessary, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time); divide into 4 sections. On floured surface, roll dough to 3/4-inch thickness; cut into 3/4-inch pieces, rolling each piece against the tines of a fork to create ridges. Repeat with remaining dough.
2. In large pot, bring 6 cups salted water to boil. Cook gnocchi in 2 batches; dropping into water and cooking 2 minutes or until pieces float. Remove with slotted spoon to warmed bowl.
3. Meanwhile, in skillet, melt butter over medium heat, cooking until it just starts to deepen in color. Add hazelnuts, sage, salt and pepper, cook 1 minute more. Drizzle Sage and Hazelnut butter over gnocchi and top with shaved Pecorino.

Recipe courtesy of Piccolo Chef

Piccolo Chef has monthly classes at Surfas for the mini-chef of all ages. Check them out today!

Ingredients:

1 pound strawberries, trimmed, halved if large
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups heavy cream

Equipment: an ice cream maker

Directions:

Coarsely mash strawberries with sugar, lemon juice, and salt using a potato masher in a large bowl. Let stand, stirring and mashing occasionally, 10 minutes.

Transfer half of strawberry mixture to a blender and purée with cream until smooth. Return strawberry cream to bowl with remaining strawberries and chill, stirring occasionally, until very cold, 3 to 6 hours.

Freeze mixture in ice cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to firm up.