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02/18/2007 Archived Entry: "A Man For All Reasons"

I have been getting quite a few inquiries lately about my culinary vacations in Italy, Cook at Seliano. One thing I need to make clear: We don’t just cook.

I don’t let you get away with merely cooking, eating, drinking, and laughing. I insist we take in some culture, and there is plenty to take in around and not far from Paestum, where Azienda Seliano, Baronessa Cecilia’s farm, is located.

To that end, we have a house classical archaeologist, Bob Harned. He has advanced degrees in Greek and Roman archaeology, and he’s with us at all times, to charm you as well as to inform you.

You should remember Bob from my radio show. He’s the singer who crooned for us after a commercial break, singing tunes with food and beverage lyrics – “Scotch and Soda,” “Let’s Have Another Cup of Coffee,” “Mangos, Papayas …,” “Candlelight and Wine.” I’m sure you remember.

Bob takes our groups on a tour of the ancient Fifth and Sixth Century B.C. Greek temples of Paestum, which are considered among the most perfectly preserved in the world. They are right down the road from our base at Seliano. They are so close that one could, indeed, walk to them. Bob and I have, but just for the exercise. We take a van to get there. With me tagging along and kibitzing, Bob tells you all you want to know about the temples, and the ancient city of Paestum, and he guides us through the beautiful, small museum across the street from the temple site. This museum has one of the world’s only existing examples of Greek painting, an exquisite example at that – the Tomb of the Diver.

This year, Bob has a little more work than usual. On one of our excursion days, we are going to the huge and opulent ancient Roman villas of Stabiae. Almost no one knows about this site, which is very close to Pompeii and was also buried in 79 A.D. by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. It is where super-rich ancient Romans lived, as opposed to Pompeii and Herculaneum, where the merely rich lived. They are fantastic, and so is Bob in explaining what you are seeing.

On top of all that, he sings to us on occasion. He has even learned a few Neapolitan songs. Bob has, in fact, recorded several CDs. He did one based on the songs he used to sing on Foodtalk. It’s called “Eat, Drink, and Be Singing.” His most recent album, however, is love songs from all over the world. It’s called “The Languages of Love” and includes songs sung in the original languages from the Philippines, from France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Hawaii (his home state), and Japan. He even does one in Yiddish.

Bob retired recently. He was a librarian at Brooklyn Law School, and before that a librarian with some famous law firms, and before that a reference librarian at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a very cultured fellow. He is also a film historian, as well as a historian of American popular music. Besides that he is sweet and charming, and a big calming influence on me. We are very lucky now to have him come along on every Cook at Seliano trip. He is even assisting me in the kitchen these days (although he can’t cook – at all, at all), now that his Italian has gotten so good that he can communicate with Eugenia and Gerardina, the two Italian women who assist us in cooking class.

Bob has a website where you can learn about him, and his father, Alfred Marion Harned, who was a performer in Vaudeville, a big-band arranger and a song writer, and where you can purchase Bob’s CDs. Go to PinkandBlueMusic.com, otherwise known as BobHarned.com.

By the way, we still have room in our July session – July 22 to 28, 2007. This is our fifth year of Cook at Seliano, but it is our first summer session after a terribly hot very first session in August 2002. Now that all our guest rooms are air-conditioned, and even our kitchen is going to be air-conditioned, it won’t be uncomfortable. I was asked many times to set up a summer session, mainly by teachers and other people who can only travel in the summer. So where are you?

We also have space in our New Year’s 2008 session, December 30, 2007 to January 5. It will include a gala New Year’s Eve party. Amazingly, that is booking already, and there are many inquiries. So show your interest now if you have any.

For any inquiries regarding Cook at Seliano (there’s also space for just two more people in the September 30 to October 6 trip), email CookAtSeliano@aol.com

If you want to see our rooms, see a sample itinerary, or learn more about Cook At Seliano, click on Cook At Seliano on the navigation bar to the left.