Cooking In The Roman Jewish Ghetto™

Join Umberto & Chef Essa for Kosher cooking in Rome at his famous Jewish Ghetto trattoria. Opened by his grandmother, the trattoria features a Kosher-Style menu including meat, cheese, vegetable, pasta and fish specialties. Meat & milk products are kept separate in the kitchen. Not to miss are the home-baked desserts from crostata to Babka to delicious middle-eastern influenced baklava.

Your cooking school vacation features a tour through the Campo Dei Fiori market, that fills with vendors each morning selling fresh fruits, vegetables, spices and more. ‘All roads lead to Rome,’ as Italian farmers and producers bring their best to the Eternal City each day. Umberto explains what’s in season and how the Roman Jews use each ingredient in cooking. Continue through the Roman Jewish Ghetto neighborhood and learn about the history and traditions of this fascinating quarter of Rome from your local guide who grew up there. Then, tie on your apron and head into the kitchen to get cooking!

Rome’s Jewish quarter offers incredible culinary history, traditions and wonderful food for Jewish and non-Jewish alike!

The Roman Jewish Ghetto

The Roman Ghetto was established by Pope Paul IV in 1555 and the area chosen for the ghetto was the most undesirable quarter of the city, due to flooding by the Tiber River.

Though life in the Roman Ghetto was one of poverty, some Jews considered the walls protection for the small Jewish community against attacks by Christian mobs and the fate of assimilation. The requirement that Jews live in the ghetto was abolished in 1882 and the ghetto walls were torn down in 1888. Those who could afford it, moved to other neighborhoods, and today only a small fraction of Rome’s Jewish community still live there.

However after World War II, the Roman Ghetto area began to thrive and is now the central gathering place for Rome’s approximately sixteen thousand Jews. Today, the neighborhood is host to a wonderful selection of kosher restaurants, shops, bakeries and Rome’s famous Synagogue.

In fact, even the Pope is a fan of the pizza ebraica, literally Jewish pizza, an almond-raisin sweet bread that he orders specifically from the ghetto pasticciere.

Cooking Classes

Head into the kitchen with Umberto & Chef Essa for a look into Roman Jewish cooking. The kitchen is your classroom and menus focus on traditional specialties of pasta, fish or meat, vegetables and desserts. Each cooking class includes the preparation of an antipasto, first course (pasta or risotto), second course (fish, meat, or vegetarian) and dessert.

Learn the secret behind the perfectly tender rose-shaped carciofi alla giudia, fried artichokes served traditionally at break fast for Yom Kippur, carbonara di zucchine, pasta with zucchini cream, aliciotti con l’indivia, anchovies baked with curly endive, and cassola, Ricotta cake. Or, based on the season, whip up pezzetti fritti, flash-fried seasonal vegetables, minestra cucinata, Nonna’s favorite soup, baccala cipolla e pomodoro, cod with tomato and onions, and sufganiot, jelly-filled doughnuts served traditionally at Hanukkah.

After each cooking class, enjoy lunch on the foods prepared in class. Meat & milk products are kept separate in the kitchen. Menus can be tailored to accommodate food allergies and diet needs. Vegetarian menus, too.

Accommodations

Our central Rome B&B, supervised by the Rabbinut of Rome, gives you the perfect location for visiting the Roman Ghetto neighborhood and all the sites of Rome, with the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and Piazza Navona just a few minutes walk.

Each room offers a private bathroom, air conditioning/heat. There is a common refrigerator available for guests and Shabbat meals can be arranged upon request. A kosher – vegetarian continental breakfast is served each morning.

*Rooms do not have TV or Internet. For guests that do not require kosher accommodations, please call for alternative three-star, four-star and five-star options, based on your needs.

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Itinerary ~ 4 days, 3 nights

Day 1: Arrival & Explore Rome

• Arrival and check in, freshen up and relax.
• Take the afternoon to stroll the neighborhood, to the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and the famous Via Condotti ending at the Spanish Steps, taking a break at the 18th century Antico Caffe Greco. Watch the sun set over the Vatican from the top of the Spanish Steps.
• Evening free and dinner on your own. Suggestions provided.

Day 2: Market & Ghetto Tour ~ Cooking Class 1

• Breakfast is served.
• Meet Umberto for your early morning Market Tour to the famous Campo Dei Fiori, and see the seasonal offerings. Learn about how the fresh ingredients are used in Roman-Jewish cooking.
• Continue your stroll to the Roman Ghetto as Umberto points out important sites and explains the history of Jewish neighborhood of Rome.
• Then, meet Chef Essa in the kitchen for your hands-on Cooking Class 1 featuring a four-course menu from appetizer to dessert. Lunch follows on the foods prepared in class. Wine and drinks not included.
• Afternoon free. Suggestion: Visit the Vatican Museums including the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter’s Basilica. If you dare, climb the dome for incredible views over the Eternal City.
• Dinner on your own. Suggestions provided.

Day 3: Cooking Class 2

• Breakfast is served.
• Tie on your apron and meet Chef Essa in the kitchen for your hands-on Cooking Class 2 featuring a four-course menu from appetizer to dessert. Lunch follows on the foods prepared in class. Wine and drinks not included.
• Afternoon free: Take a stroll through Ancient Rome and visit the Colosseum and the Forum. End your evening with a visit the Trevi Fountain. Spectacular by day, Salvi’s masterpiece fountain is even more enchanting lit up at night. Throw in a coin to ensure your return to Rome!
• Dinner on your own. Suggestions provided.

Day 4: Departure & Arrivederci!

• Breakfast is served.
• Departure & Arrivederci Roma! (until you return…)

*Note: This schedule may vary due to Shabbat, inclement weather, saint days or festivals. All activities, in the event of rescheduling, are always included during the program.