Quality English-Speaking Culinary Courses in Italy

Italian Culinary Institute, English-speaking Cooking Courses in Southern Italy:
Welcoming international students for autumn/winter 2021 and throughout 2022 & 2023: ICI is a professional chef training school in Southern Italy (Calabria region located at the tip of the Italian peninsula just north of Sicily). Our year-round, short and intensive, full-immersion programs (taught in English or Italian) cover subjects including Italian cuisine, pastry, gelato and decoration. Following the tradition of European advanced culinary training, all of your instructors are chefs active in the field. Chefs at Italian Culinary Institute are not only chosen for their awards but for their present status as Italy's & Europe's most innovative masters. In addition to permanent chefs for English speaking courses, several of the world’s best chefs instruct here on a rotating basis. Our school is located in Copanello, 5 minutes from the beautiful Mediterranean seaside town of Soverato.

• Formerly the Italian Institute for Advanced Culinary and Pastry Arts, ICI is a professional cooking school recognized as Italy's top culinary academy, and considered among the most important in Europe.

• Founded by Chef John Nocita, ICI presents Italy's most advanced culinary programs for professional chefs, pastry chefs, international culinary students, serious home cooks, culinary entrepreneurs & epicureans.

• Today, the Italian Culinary Institute is represented in over 40 countries by professional organizations, cooking academies, corporations and the Culinarians who hold key positions in the foodservice and hospitality industries.

•  Professional Standard Courses:
Courses are designed specifically for professionals and concentrate on highly developed techniques that are continually being developed through the Institute's participation in international culinary competitions. Our full immersion programs cover subjects including cuisine, pastry, gelato and decoration.

•  A Renowned Culinary Institute:
Culinary professionals benefit by being instructed by a faculty chefs who have allowed The Italian Culinary Institute to become the center of culinary information in Italy through its' vast resources. The Italian Culinary Institute is represented in over 40 countries by professional organizations, cooking academies, corporations and the Culinarians who hold key positions in the foodservice and hospitality industries.

•  Learn from Respected Master Chefs:
Master Chef John Nocita leads a faculty of more than 20 of Europe's most renowned Culinary and Pastry Masters.

• Flexibility - Enroll and change dates free of charge:
The Italian Culinary Institute offers participants the flexibility to change course dates, and even switch courses at anytime and for any reason at no cost.

• Master Courses are designed for professionals, and focus around advanced cooking and baking techniques that are continually being developed through The Italian Culinary Institute’s own research and participation in international culinary competitions.

• Our worldwide clientele includes chefs, pastry chefs, bakers, gelaticians, artisans, home gourmet cooks and entrepreneurs from 6 continents, many of whom shape the international food scene year after year.

• Our full-immersion culinary programs cover a wide variety of subjects including cuisine, pastry, gelato and decoration, cheesemaking, charcuterie as well as fine dining experiences at several of Italy’s most unique restaurants.

• Learn To Cook & Feast / Accommodation: Each ICI program always includes course materials, accommodation, all meals, culinary travel, cultural excursions, airport transfers and the most in-depth culinary training in Italy!

• Master of Italian Cuisine (3 months, full immersion)
The course presents the most thorough spectrum of Traditional & Italian Haute Cuisine in Italy. Working alongside Europe's top master chefs, pâtissiers & sommelier, the program covers every aspect of gastronomy including cooking, pastry, baking, curing, drying and conserving, gelato, cheesemaking, pairing food and wines, and more.

• The Evolution of Italian Cuisine: (2 weeks, full immersion - Professional Culinary & Baking Program, Classic & Modern Italian Regional Cuisine, Specialty Breads, Pizza, Focaccia, Desserts, Cheesemaking & Visit to Sicily).

• Foundation of Italian Cuisine: (1 week, full immersion - Culinary & Baking Program, Classic & Modern Italian Regional Cuisine, Specialty Breads, Pizza and Focaccia).

• Traditional Italian Charcuterie: (1 week full immersion - Curing Meats, Sausage Making & Artisanal Salami Classical Methods and Modern Techniques for Naturally Preserving Foods).

• Artisan Italian Cheese Making (1 week, full immersion - Classic and Modern Cheeses, Science & Morphology, Machines & Equipment, Creating Personal Cheeses, Merchandising).

• Pastry, Desserts and Gelato: Tradition & Evolution (1 week, full immersion - Combining traditional Italian cuisine & modern Italian pastry, desserts, and artisanal gelato).

• Pizza Focaccia and Specialty Breads, Artisan Baking (1 week, full immersion - Combining Traditional & Innovative Hearth Oven Pizza, Classic & Modern Focaccie & Gastronomic Bread making, Natural Yeast Technique).

• Uniquely positioned between three Azure coastlines - the Tyrrhenian, Ionian, and Mediterranean - the region of Calabria is often referred to as the real Italy.

• Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, sports enthusiasts and beachgoers delight in the longest and whitest stretches of public beaches in Europe as well as rich jagged mountain systems traversed with rivers and lakes of enchanting beauty.

• Our programs are based in Copanello, 5 minutes from the seaside town of Soverato, Calabria. Soverato is a town (and township) with a string of charming villages along white beaches. Cultural excursions and travel take place in the surrounding towns, villages and cities including Sicily - just 90 minutes to the south.

Nearby International Airport!
We are conveniently located just 45 minutes from Lamezia Terme International Airport (Airport Code: SUF) where a private motorcoach is arranged (free of charge) to take you to our hotel.

•  "Hands down! The best place to learn and develop yourself as a chef and at the same time enjoy the southern hospitality and more importantly the best ingredients I've ever seen in the world!!"
Siddhanth Sawkar - India

•  "Life changing experience. They approach all culinary endeavors paying due respect to the ingredients being used"
Mark, Washington - USA

• "You’re surrounded by azure blue skies and the sea as you taste, discover and learn about Italian food, history and cooking techniques. You’re not only served up incredibly tasty food every single meal, you get generous hospitality and so much shared knowledge! Definitely a trip to make in this lifetime.."
Lace Zhang, Chef, Author - Singapore 

•  "I am a private chef and I had the chance to come twice to the ICI, once for the charcuterie course, and earlier in 2019 for the Italian Culinary Exploration program. All the courses are great, I am planning to go back. The ICI team is amazing and the all experience very inspiring."
Jackie, Private Chef, France

•  "I found my time at ICI very motivating and engaging. The teaching was always pacey, well structured and intensely informative. The level is pitched at students who wanted to seriously grow and develop not for those who might just want to ‘get by on the basics’. "
Nicole Dunphy (The Evolution of Italian Cuisine) Owner, Pandora Bell, Limerick, Ireland

•  "Attending the ICI was one of the best decisions you will ever make. Not only will you experience and learn regional Italian cuisine at its finest, you will learn how to taste and work with some of the best raw ingredients in the world..."
Carmen Ricciardi (Master of Italian Cuisine; Artisan Italian Gelato course) Gelatician, Chef, Master Baker, AK - USA

•  "The Italian Culinary Institute was the best professional life decision that I have made. Master Chef John Nocita is a true mentor and culinary artist. ICI opened my eyes to a world of cuisine, culture and history that has shaped my culinary career."
Mark McDonald (Master of Italian Cuisine course) Chef, Owner, Sommelier: Old Vine Cafe, Costa Mesa, CA - USA