Speakers

With heritage like Valentina’s, it is no wonder she is such a well-respected authority on Italian food and food culture. Tracing her family history back to 1369 through the illustrious Sforza dynasty, Valentina is the youngest member of a large Anglo-Italian family of gourmets. Educated in Italy, Valentina brought her qualifications for teaching and cooking from Rome to London in 1976, where she built her reputation primarily as a private chef until the publication of her first award-winning cookery book in 1984; Perfect Pasta.

An award winning author of over 50 books on Italian food, Valentina is also an experienced and enthusiastic teacher, sharing her food philosophy of seasonal local produce served with minimum fuss and maximum care. She currently teaches regularly at The Bertinet Kitchen in Bath and at The Limpsfield Cookery School. The proprietor, principal tutor and regulator at Cucina Valentina Valentina organises culinary adventures across Europe, and is a regular face at food festivals in the UK as producer and host of cookery theatres and presentations.

Valentina loves to host bespoke cookery courses and undertake special private catering commissions, and you will also find her popping up on radio and television from time to time.

As one of the founders of the London chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier, Valentina is committed to strengthening the position of professional women in the world of food,  beverage and hospitality. As a result of her position as Chapter President, Valentina has access to hundreds of female culinary professionals in all fields, including cookery schools, retail, PR, media, productions etc. throughout the USA. Valentina's Foodoir, her long awaited book of family memoirs and recipes: Fiori di Zucca, was published by DBP on June 6th 2013. This was followed by the publication of a revised edition of her famous book Risotto! Risotto! which has recently been nominated for Best in the World in the International Gourmand Awards. Her latest book is The Italian Regional Cookbook, published by Lorenz Books. This is the compilation of a previously published series of 5 books on regional Italian cookery and the culmination of 10 years research and work.

Valentina has organised and produced large-scale cookery events - running the cookery theatre/food elements of festivals such as:
The Start UK Garden Party at Clarence House on behalf of HRH The Prince of Wales; Vintage @ Goodwood 2010 on behalf of The Earl of March and Wayne Hemingway; The Real Food Festival; The Chocolate Festival; Real Bread Festival; The Cheese and Wine Festival, The Ideal Home Show/Food and Wine Festival and Taste.