Hi, I'm Karen. Welcome to Culinary Encounters Europe. My journey discovering more about food from Italy, France, UK and briefly looking at Austria, Germany, Belgium and Spain. In France I attend cooking classes at the Cordon Bleu Paris, do a 'Ritzy Break' at the Ritz Escoffier Culinary School and travel to the Loire Valley to the Walnut Grove Cooking School for an inhouse cooking course. In Italy I attend the Good Tastes of Tuscany Cooking School, a 20 minute drive from Florence at the 13th Century Villa Pandolfini. I go truffle hunting in the Tuscan hills with a truffle hunter who later prepares an indulgent truffle lunch with the truffles we have found. And Venice entices me to their Bacari's offering varying cicchetti delights. I have included many adapted recipes which include step by step photo's and instructions. There is more to explore in my book but too much to mention here. Please enjoy my Culinary Encounters Europe....it has been an awesome journey.