The cuisine of the ghetto

For three centuries the Jews of Rome were confined to a few streets and barred from most trades. What they cooked came from what they could get: the cheap cuts, the fish nobody wanted, the vegetables at the end of the market day. Out of that came a cuisine that Rome now considers among its finest.

Carciofi alla giudia is the emblem – the whole artichoke trimmed, pressed open and fried twice until the leaves crisp into a bronze flower. What is the secret to getting it right? Mostly the variety of artichoke, the temperature, and knowing exactly when to stop.

And there are the dishes with stranger histories: frattaglie, the offal preparations that came from receiving the parts of the animal nobody else wanted, and scarti del pesce, the fish scraps from the market that operated under the Portico of Octavia – where an inscription still records that any fish above a certain length had its head surrendered to the city magistrates.

Classes at the restaurant

A hands-on demonstration with a chef working in the tradition, in a kosher kitchen in the Jewish quarter. You will cook, and you will hear where each recipe comes from – the anecdotes are half the point.

Afterwards you sit down and eat what you have made.

Classes at home, starting at the market

The vegetarian version begins in Campo de’ Fiori, one of the oldest markets in the city. With the chef, among the stalls, you learn to recognise and choose ingredients – which is most of Italian cooking – before heading to the kitchen.

Home cooking classes take place in a kitchen studio near the Gianicolo.

• Morning: 9.30am to around 2.30pm
• Afternoon: 3.30pm to around 8.30pm

Celiac, allergy and other dietary requirements can be accommodated with a personalised menu – tell me in advance and it is arranged.

Who it suits

Classes run as a group with other people who like to cook, as a family activity – children take to the artichokes – or entirely private, on request.

It works particularly well as an afternoon after a morning walking the former ghetto: you spend three hours hearing how the community lived, then cook what came out of it.