One of my favorite things about meeting other Italy expats is learning about their lives-both before they moved to the bel paese and now that they are here-and understanding what it is about Italy that made them stay.

Today, I’m thrilled to share with you an interview I recently did with long-term Italy expat, Judy Witts, who visited Tuscany in 1984, decided to stay, got married to a local and has established herself as one of the most popular cooking divas in Italy.

Thank you so much, Judy, for taking time out of your insanely busy schedule to chat with me. I hope the rest of you enjoy the interview.

1. At 26 years, you are one of the longest-running expats in Italy I know. How did you end up in Italy and specifically, in Tuscany?

I bought a one way ticket in 1984- for a month in France ( I was a French pastry chef in a 5 star hotel in San Francisco) and then a month in Italy, to check it out and study Italian. I was told the Tuscans spoke Italian and not dialect- and picked Florence over Siena as it was not a hill-town. Once I arrived in Florence, it was love at first sight.

2. Back in the US you were a pastry chef. How did that experience shape your Tuscan Kitchen?

Being a pastry chef, regular cooking was easy- I think one of the things I do best is to simplify recipes for the home kitchen. I learned how to do everything the classic way for restaurant cooking, but teaching home chefs with little experience needs recipes you can do easily after a hard day at work. Having fabulous ingredients, you need to do very little to make a meal great! Keeping it simple is my mantra.

3. In addition to the Divina Cucina cooking school, you also teach classes in the US and offer Monday in the Market market tours. What other services do you plan to offer in 2010?

I have begun teaching classes out in Certaldo, where I live. Not at my home, which is small, but at a lovely Villa with apartment rentals near my house. I also do custom week-long programs both in Tuscany and in Sicily.

Sicily programs will be offered in June and September and November next year. I have fallen in love with Sicily and can’t wait to share it with my students.

My Monday at the market in Florence is a great intro for people to what to expect in Tuscany for food and wine and a great chance to get info on trip planning from me while we have lunch. Cooking classes will be Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday out in Certaldo.

4. You make it all look easy! How do you juggle all of your services and be honest now, what is the most stressful part of the job?

Variety keeps it interesting, I also run a Master Chocolatiers program in October yearly for students from a friends school and collaborate with cooking schools and chefs that want to bring their students to Italy. I act as their Italian connection and plan the tours and accompany them to artisans all over, off the beaten track.

Since it is seasonal work, I have a lot of time for planning. Than God for Internet. I spend a lot on time online, with my blogs, Facebook and Twitter as well as staying in touch with clients planning trips. It takes six months to a year often to get groups together for a week-long program, lots of little details.

5. Besides the scrumptious food, what part of your job is most rewarding?

I adore getting emails back from successful students, repeating recipes at home! Also return students, some I had when they were here in college and I taught student dinner classes, now return with their families.

***

Thank you for the interview, Judy-I, for one, can’t wait to get up to Tuscany and take a class. In bocca al lupo for another great year!

*Photos by Judy Witts

Other Italy expat business owner interviews include:

Judith Greenwood

Marla of Bella Baita B&B

Diane of Baur B&B

Megan of Bella Vita Italia

** Today is the last day to enter Blogging from the Boot: The Best of 2009 contest for Italy-based bloggers! **

Calabria in 2006 was a lonely place to be an expat. My husband worked nights, I didn’t know the language and I was scared out of my wits to sit behind the wheel of a car.

Then one day I stumbled upon Expats in Italy, a website and forum dedicated to expats in, well, Italy.

I soon “met” Judith Greenwood, personal chef and cooking instructor and even though she is 740 kilometers north of me … I didn’t feel so alone.

I recently caught up with Judith via email and she agreed to be part of my Expats-in-Italy Business series.

So today, I present to you, Judith Greenwood-personal chef and cooking instructor extraordinaire.

photo credit: Radio Nederland Wereldomroep

1. Judith, you are one of the first expats I virtually met when I arrived here in 2006, yet I’ve never asked … how did you end up here?

“The minute  stepped foot off the train from Brussels in 1973, I knew a mistake had been made and I was supposed to be Italian. This was in Stazione Centrale at Milano, so there was no romantic imagery to make that happen. I had to take it seriously. It took me 27 years to get here.

When I was finally able to see my way to get here, I took a series of trips looking for the right place and the right house. It took 5 years, but when I saw my little terra cotta city dozing under the sun from the elevated highway, I thought, “This must be it.”  And it has been.”

2. You recently celebrated your 9th anniversary in the bel paese and your 7th anniversary as a cooking instructor. How did you start that?

“I started a cooking school with an Italian partner, but we ended up having philisophical differences, so now we are just friends and I teach at people’s rented villas or homes. I am planning a move and then I will design a big comfy teaching kitchen.”

3. What is your favorite dish to teach students to prepare?

“I don’t have a favorite, but I do wish I could teach some of the dishes that take a day or more!  Most people want to learn to make pasta as part of their class, and that’s really easy for me, but in truth they go home and almost never do it. So most people are benefitted more by learning lots of sauces, condimenti, that they can do at home. That way, within a five course meal, they can master three pasta dishes with variations for each on the recipes.”

4. You are also a personal chef. What process do you use in choosing a menu for your clients?

“If my clients know Italian food, they work with me to make menus from seasonal items. If they don’t or they want to be surprised I just ask about hates or allergies and go. I always try to plan a balanced menu with lots of changes in color, light following heavy, a wide variety of flavors. Most of all I insist on the absolute best of seasonal ingredients and have found out where to buy them.”

5. If you had one piece of advice to offer someone who was interested in Italian cuisine, what would it be?

“My constant advice to everyone is buy the best ingredients and then respect them. No amount of folderol will ever make up for poor quality.”

***

Thank you so much, Judith, for agreeing to the interview.

To all of you Umbria-bound travelers out there-give Judith a ring or visit her blog, Think on It! And if you are heading to Umbria before you come to Calabria, feel free to bring something for me. I won’t mind. I promise.

—-

Thank you to everyone who entered the ItalianPod101 and My Melange Photo giveaways last week.  If you didn’t win the giveaway-names coming up, I promise-you can still save up to 25% on your ItalianPod101 subscription as part of their Christmas Countdown special and you can visit Robin at My Melange regarding her weekly photo specials!

Without further hesitation … congratulations to:

Marla of Bella Baita B&B for winning a one-month premium subscription to ItalianPod101

and

GB of The Italian Notebook for winning his choice of an 8X10 photo from the My Melange gallery.

There is still time to win a custom Calabria itinerary and free weekend at our bed and breakfast in Catanzaro, but act fast, ’cause time’s a tickin’!

I have exciting news coming up in the next few weeks regarding My Bella Vita, Il Cedro and some new products and services that are tailor-made to southern Italy travelers. I’m excited-and I can’t wait to share. Another thing I couldn’t wait to tell you about is the overwhelming support I’ve had from friends in the blogosphere who are in the travel industry. They’ve sent me emails, brainstormed with me on Skype and offered their two centissimi that was worth much more than I could have paid them in sterling, euros or even that pitifully low dollar. And even with all of the encouragement they’ve been giving me, they are still busy as elves at Christmastime.

Photo: Haven in Paris

Megan of Bella Vita Italia recently crossed the border with her blog and wrote about a luxury apartment rental agency, Haven in Paris, that was opened by an American in 1993. Megan is also staying busy planning weddings and events in Italy and she and her husband just celebrated their wedding anniversary. Auguri!

In other Italy travel consulting news, Madeline of Italy: Beyond the Obvious recently published an article on ItalianKids.com. In her article, Madeline describes the best restaurants in Torino for tiny tots and divides them into categories based on outdoor scenery, local food, atmosphere and more. It was a great article. But, heck. Don’t take my word for it. Go read it yourself!

Speaking of reading-and cool things to do in Italy-Melanie of Italofile recently wrote a post about the top five things to do in Le Marche. She has also been busy building a social networking site for Italofiles at Italofile.Ning.com. Check it out-and tell her Cherrye sent you.

photo credit: 1la

Paula Russell from Paula’s Tour Talk and Time of Your Life Tours released the dates for their Spring and Fall 2010 Tuscan Treasures Tour. If you are interested in Tuscany-and come on, who isn’t?-then check out their website or Paula’s Tour Talk blog for more details. And I’m not the only one with changes a’coming. Paula recently announced some impending changes at her place, too.

Here is hoping the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010 bring great changes to all of my Italy travel and tourism buddies. In bocca al lupo!

Next week is my second wedding anniversary-which means we get to start celebrating this weekend. Since I’m in such a loving mood, I invite you to have a great weekend, too. Enjoy!