Report on Chef Claudio's lesson at Dario's

Last Saturday, were very fortunate to attend Chef Claudio Ranallo's first ever cooking lesson at Dario's that we wrote about in April.

For a first timer, Claudio (who's been with Dario's for over 20 years but is originally from Abruzzo, Italy) certainly didn't have stage fright. He showed the 10 of us around his kitchen, cooked and simultaneously answered questions.

The dishes he chose were simple but tasty which to me is the essence of Italian cooking.

As we sipped on prosecco, Claudio showed us how to prepare his Spaghetti alla Claudio which was my favourite dish of the night. Just garlic, sundried tomatoes, oregano, parsley, parmesan, splashes of wine and broth, olive oil and spaghetti. Mmmm. Elegant simplicity! We'll definitely be trying out this recipe (which we received as part of the cooking lesson) at home.

Claudio also demonstrated Scalloppine all'Aceto Balsamico (Veal Medaillons in Aged Balsamic Vinegar sauce). I was pleasantly surprised by this dish! Veal is not my favourite but it was tender and the sweet and sour tones of the aged balsamic vinegar nicely balanced the flavour of the meat. Again, another recipe to try at home. Perhaps with a pork cutlets instead of veal!?!

When we left the kitchen and had our meal and wine (complete with a surprise mushroom risotto course which was creamy and delicious, and a bonus shot of limoncello) we noticed a lot of Italian families and Italians from all over the world :-) quietly enjoying their meals.

Dario's is certainly old school Italian but they do it well! The price is right and the food is excellent and the ambiance is cozy. Barb and I will definitely back for a mini-review.