Hello from Switzerland

Submitted by turosdolci on October 13, 2009 - 7:47pm

Hi, I'm relatively new to Fresh Loaf and am really impressed with the activity and interaction of the members of this site.

I live in the Switzerland and have a software business here with my husband (http://beancounter-ems.com). We also do translations and have met some wonderful people in the hotel and restaurant business as a result.

I also have a biscotti business with my sister near Boston. The internet and Skype make this possible as I do all the administrative work for the business, she does the production and sales, which we have been doing for five years now. We use mostly our family recipes originating from Italy as they have been in the food and restaurant business since my grandparents emigrated from Italy in 1894. http://pturo.com

I write a blog called Piacere - Food & Travel without rules! The blog is about my travels in Europe and recipes from my family as well as chefs and people who give them to me. I like to take people on a journey to places that are local and introduce them to the culture, festivals and local dishes that you might not find in a travel guide. I love all the wonderful tourist sites, but try to encourage people to venture out and explore and mingle with the people of the country, or experience the back streets of a city and the wonderful dishes that are usually very different from the typical tourist menu. Switzerland as you can imagine is also one of my main travel destinations. This amazing country has been my home for the last 20 years. Since I live close to Como Italy, I do most of my shopping at the markets there and the wonderful selection of Italian products inspires my cooking.

I look forward to participating in this site and the wonderful recipes and people who are part of it. I'd like to invite you to follow my blog. http://turosdolci.wordpress.com

Patricia Turo

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Introductions and Ideas

Submitted by yozzause on October 13, 2009 - 9:54pm.

welcome from Perth western

welcome from Perth western australia,

had a holiday staying at the Britania hotel on the shores of lake como,

went over to the otherside turned right and walked down the lake to a little bakery there and was invited in , the baker did not speak english but it did not really matter he showed me around and his daughter did any translation that was necesary.

i would have loved to have worked an evening there but really difficult with the ferry times. wonderfull holiday wonderfull scenery wonderfull people

a bit like the folk at TFL really imsure you will enjoy your time here

regards yozza

Submitted by turosdolci on October 14, 2009 - 12:54am.

Meeting people

Thanks for you comment yozza. This is exactly what I mean about going beyond the tourist sites and meeting local people. It often turns out to be what you remember about your trip. I once went with my husband on a business trip to Rome. He was teaching a class for two weeks. I spent the entire time walking the back streets. I found a jewelry store where I had a some cufflinks made for a birthday gift for my husband. I spent the two weeks dropping by this store and spending hours with the owners talking and getting some really nice restaruant recommendations from them. It is one of my best memories in Rome. I now search out the small hotels and agriturismi where I can enjoy the local environment even in the big cities.

Best regards,

Patricia

Submitted by yozzause on October 14, 2009 - 1:27am.

hi patricia , no main stream

hi patricia ,

no main stream for me on that same holiday when we were in Malta we stayed away from the beach resort areas at the ancient town of Rabat and i found a small bakery by chance when a crowd started to form on a narrow footpath. all of a sudden there was movement and a doOrway opened and the crowd were coming away with bread.

As the crowd dwindled i went to have a look and and a lady behind the counter saw my interest, i told her i was a retired baker on holiday she pushed the counter away and invited me in.

I was introduced to her husband and the bakers the dough maker had excellent English and the others all had better English than my Maltese.I did spend 2 years there when my father served in the Royal Navy.

When the guys were about to hand up dough pieces i asked if i could join in. Having worked with a couple of Maltese bakers I thought that this might cause some fun as Maltese bakers tended to hand up with 2 hands 1 piece of dough whereas in Aus we tend to use 2 hands 2 pieces of dough. They all just stopped and watched and as i placed the dough pieces down they were picked up for inspection an luckily approving nods were given.

I was also allowed to assist loading the peel oven which is quite straight forward the dough piecealways face straight and the peel handler moves the peel head to the desired direction he is going into the oven. where does 3 or 4 hours go when you are having fun. The hotel manager did a double look as he recognised me when he came for bread.

Next evening i took in a small token of THANKS in the shapeof a botlle of beer for all the boys however they were a bit under the pump with one of the guys in hospital from a car accident that day so i just pulled my sleeves up and enjoyed a few more hours, the wife was invited upstairs with the bosses wife for a coffee or 2 we got back to the hotel just after midnight walking home with the doughmaker through the quiet narrow streets Not a booze fueled holiday hooligan in site. ANOTHER GREAT HOLIDAY

Submitted by turosdolci on October 23, 2009 - 1:15am.

Hi zozzause

Sorry I'm a little late in replying. I love stories like this! I wish people would skip the group travel and really get out and meet local people instead of following a pole with a flag on top. So I'll try to continue these discussions and maybe some others will tell us about their stories and experiences.

While living in the French part of Switzerland, we went to a restaurant very often and got to know the chef and his wife very well. The chef invited me to join him in his kitchen for a few weeks. I went every day for about 3 weeks and even through my family has been in the restaurant business (family started and owned) he changed the way I cook completely. I wanted to work only with preparation (mis en place). My goal was to become more proficient in preparing a meal. I think this is one of the most important things to learn in the kitchen. I loved working with him and the rest of his staff and my approach to cooking changed completely. It was a a rush of activity and talking with the vendors that arrived everyday, preparing desserts with the pastry chef (my real interest), eating with them at meals was an experience I will never forget. He makes cookies at Christmas time and prepares a package for each guest. I thought no problem, I can do that. Well we prepared hundreds and hundreds of them and I thought my arm would drop off. They have remained friends to this day and he has invited me back because he has completely redone his kitchen. I have to admit, before I do that I have to spend some time in the gym as lifting those pans took some serious strength. The work is hard and my friend is a perfectionist so it is also intense. I will go back at some point in time in low season. I don't think I could handle the activity in high season. It was such a great time and one of my most cherished memories.

I've visited Malta and enjoyed quite a lot.

Thanks for your story,

Patricia Turo