Many people are experimenting in the kitchen now, and a veterinary professor is sharing his knowledge and love of Italian Food through virtual cooking lessons!
The dinner hour at Luca Giori’s home and everyone is invited to his kitchen-- by Zoom. In his kitchen, he is creating crepes from scratch with mushrooms and melted cheese.
It is a favorite Italian dish for this native of Italy, now a Tennessean.
Since the outbreak, Luca has been offering these online cooking lessons. Recipes from his country that are sometimes sweet, but always savory and a nice diversion from what is going on.
“I thought it was important to share for the time we are in right now, with this difficult time,” he states. “I like to cook... I try to make a first course and a dessert, usually alternate... Sometimes very typical dishes from specific regions of Italy.”
When Luca is not in the kitchen, you’ll likely find Dr. Giori in a lab or classroom. He is a professor in endocrinology at UT’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Among many duties, he performs thyroid and adrenal gland tests on dogs, cats, horses, even tigers and dolphins.
All vets are animal lovers, and Luca shares his home with a rescued pitbull. He also has a fondness for his students, and that is how the cooking lessons started, to benefit them during this trying time.
“Why don’t we do something that can also be good for the students, because we know they are getting kind of stressed because of finals that are coming, but also because of the fact that they can’t really go out,” he adds. “So, let’s try to think about something to do together.”
For Luca, food is a way to reach out to others, sharing beloved recipes, fun and hope.