Ralph P. Slone

In 1991, Ralph was in Florence Italy having an extended lunch. While discussing food and wine with the owner of the osteria, the thought of recreational cooking programs was formulated.

Whereas his expertise was not in the field of cooking and touring (he was the founder and president of a financial services company), he started doing his “home-work˜, and with good fortune was able to initiate his first cooking program in Tuscany in 1992.

At this point, he started spending more time in Italy, exploring the beautiful countryside with its fine wines, olive oils, cheeses, meats, produce and ristoranti. Equally as important, he fell in love with the people. This has enabled him to extend his business relationships into personal relationships, which he, in turn, shares with the participants in the programs, all of which he personally accompanies.

Ralph has attracted the finest instructors, Cristina Blasi and Gabriella Mari of Scuola di Arte Culinaria “Cordon Bleu˜ for the programs in Tuscany; Jean-Claude Aubertin, a winner of the Mouton Cadet and Poele D'Or competitions and a member of Academie Culinaire de France and Les Diciples D’Escoffier, for the Provence programs; Silvia Maccari, the owner of Camilla in Cucina, and Eros Patrizi, an instructor at Scuola di Cucina “Cibo e Benessere˜ in Trevi, for the program in Umbria. Silvia is also the instructor for La Cucina Kasher in Italia-Emilia Romagna; and, Marcello Dall’Aglio, an owner and chef at Locanda del Castello at Palazzo de Rossi, who also teaches professional chefs, for l’Amore di Cucina Italiana-Emilia Romagna.

As a further service to his clientele, Ralph offers customized cooking programs for private groups, and can also make his instructors available for individual classes and special events in Italy, France and the United States.