The soul of Il Salotto di Penelope are Barbara and Pietro, coming from two different culinary backgrounds but united by the same great passion for cooking.
While Barbara has been a founding partner of Il Salotto since 2012, Pietro has decided to embark on this adventure – touring pots and pans and chatty sofas – in 2019. Their passion and conviviality create a place where you can meet people, share cooking experiences and enjoy a familiar and fun environment.

All along their previous career paths away from the kitchen, Barbara and Pietro have both nurtured their amatorial passion for food, experimenting with dishes of all kinds and savoring traditional food from around the world.  When at different points in times they decided to transform a hobby into a profession they both found in Il Salotto di Penelope the perfect place to do so.

Il Salotto di Penelope has found its natural space in the heart of Bologna la grassa, in the same historic premises where in the 70s the Simili sisters were teaching wives-to-be the mandatory skill of rolling pasta.  “We immediately fell in love with the atmosphere that can be felt already upon entering the long courtyard of one of the  Bolognese case di ringhiera and echoes in the wide arches that characterize the interior space.  A love so deep that we had to make that place our living room”.

“We are not just a cooking school and we like to think that we are a valid alternative to the gym; a place where you learn to cook, you meet interesting people with different traditions, interests and passions to share, so much so that chatter often becomes louder than the sound of boiling pots“