With a writing career spanning over a decade, Liz SanFilippo Hall has written about everything from the correct way to assemble a Chicago-style hot dog to the intricate flavors and plating styles of Michelin-star European restaurants. Liz loves discovering new places and flavors to share with her readers, whether it’s the sandy shores of Lake Michigan and the foodie town of Traverse City or the vineyards and small towns of France. She hopes her stories inspire people to travel, try new dishes and ingredients, and learn about the history and culture of a place through its food and meeting the locals.

A graduate of The University of Chicago’s Master’s in Humanities/Creative Writing, she has a knack for combining research with her personal travel/food stories. Some of her most memorable food and travel experiences include slurping fresh French oysters at a market in Cognac, hunting for black truffles in the stunning Umbrian countryside, heading off the beaten path of the Amalfi Coast to find a Michelin-starred restaurant only known to locals, visiting the largest underground church in all of Europe, exploring the catacombs of Paris, and touring the vineyards of Northern Michigan, which is on the 45th latitude just like France’s Côtes du Rhône wine region.

In addition to her blog posts on The International Kitchen, her writing has been featured on CBSLocal.com and Hot Doug’s: The Book, among other sites and publications. She also writes about parenting, self care, and how to travel with kids (and maintain your sanity) on her personal blog, www.OopsandDaisies.com. She currently writes in the western suburbs of Chicago, where she lives with her two young children, husband, and stubborn bulldog named Kafka.


Posted

April 2, 2013

By Liz SanFilippo Hall

Dinner Dish: Paris Cooking Class - Stuffed Lamb Shoulder

Filed Under  Destination Features, Food History, Kitchen Tips, Recipes

Easter may be over, but lamb is a popular dish year round in Paris, and not just because it can be easily found in the city of light's many food markets and on our Paris food tours! Whether it's roasted, sous vide, or braised, the meat is succulent. Lamb shoulder is also a dish that Chef Frederic loves to share with his guests during our Paris cooking classes. As with… Read
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Posted

March 29, 2013

By Liz SanFilippo Hall

Dinner Dish: Italy Food Tours - Ran-Away Fish Soup

Filed Under  Destination Features, Food History, Kitchen Tips, Recipes

The heel of Italy known as Puglia has a plethora of agricultural traditions, as the land is fertile here. But seafood dishes are aplenty too since the region has 500 miles of coastline. Chef Rita shares one of her food traditions, sugo di pesce fuggito (ran-away fish soup with spaghetti) during our culinary vacations in Puglia. It is certainly one of the most interestingly-named dishes you will prepare on our… Read
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Posted

March 12, 2013

By Liz SanFilippo Hall

Dinner Dish: Panuchos on a Mexico Cooking Vacation

Filed Under  Destination Features, Food History, Kitchen Tips

When people think of Mexican cuisine on our Mexico culinary vacations, their mind often jumps to tacos, but tostadas are an important entree in this North American country too. One delicious street food that is becomingly increasingly popular is the panucho, which elevates the tostada, and which you can learn how to make during a Mexico cooking vacation. Primarily served in the Yucatan, including our Mexico culinary tour Culinary Yucatan,… Read
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Posted

March 4, 2013

By Liz SanFilippo Hall

Dinner Dish: Spain Cooking Class - 5 Tips About Paella

Filed Under  Destination Features, Food History, Kitchen Tips, Travel Tips

One particular dish you may cook during our Spain cooking vacation, "Cooking in Andalusian Olive Country," is the famous paella. Here your host Maki talks about the national treasure and five important things to keep in mind when ordering and enjoying paella. "Paella is something of a national dish of Spain: rice dish cooked on a round flat iron pan with olive oil, full of fish, shellfish, meats and vegetables.… Read
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Posted

February 22, 2013

By Liz SanFilippo Hall

Mexico Culinary Vacation: Celebrating Flag Day

Filed Under  Destination Features, Food History, Special Occasions

Every year on February 24 Mexico celebrates the national holiday El dia de la bandera (Flag Day). Flag Day commemorates the day in 1821, when Mexico won its independence from Spain, and now you can celebrate this Mexican holiday on an amazing cooking vacation in Mexico. The celebrated colors of the Mexican flag are full of historic tradition.  In fact, the green, white and red stripes as well as the… Read
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Posted

January 15, 2013

By Liz SanFilippo Hall

Dinner Dish: The Italian Cooking Tradition of Meatballs

Filed Under  Destination Features, Food History

Italians are big on pasta and meatballs, but don't go looking for them in a single dish while you're visiting Italy on our Italy cooking vacations. After all, in the boot-shaped country, pasta is a primo (first course), while travelers will often find meatballs as part of the secondo (second course) menu, whether during a cooking class or dining out at a local restaurant. While it's an American misconception that… Read
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Posted

December 11, 2012

By Liz SanFilippo Hall

Christmas cooking traditions in Italy: Feast of the Seven Fishes

Filed Under  Destination Features, Food History, Special Occasions

When Italians observe religious holidays, such as Christmas, you can be sure that food is often involved. In fact, since meat is not traditionally consumed on Christmas Eve (La Vigilia) – as it's not on the eve of many holidays in Italy – many Italians make a big family meal out of seafood dishes, which you can learn about in a variety of our Italy cooking classes and cooking vacations.… Read
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Posted

December 7, 2012

By Liz SanFilippo Hall

Christmas Cooking Traditions in Mexico: Tamales Then and Now

Filed Under  Destination Features, Food History, Kitchen Tips, Special Occasions

If you were to peer into a kitchen in Mexico, such as Chef Ana's of our Hola Mexico cooking vacation, within the few days leading up to Christmas, there’s a good chance that you would see an assembly line of sorts. The tamales are being made! Although tamales can be served at any time of the year, they are traditionally made during the Christmas holiday (or the Day of the… Read
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Posted

November 8, 2012

By Liz SanFilippo Hall

Provence Cooking Vacation: Chef Berard Talks about 13 Christmas Desserts

Filed Under  Destination Features, Food History, Special Occasions

Food is a wonderful way to learn about a place's culture and traditions, which is just one reason why our cooking vacations focus not only on making food, but discovering where it's produced. It's in this spirit that Chef Berard, of Cooking Passport to Provence, shares the history of Provence's 13 desserts, or Christmas treats. "On December 8th, 1998, during a friendly meeting at the "Oustau de Prouvènço", the official… Read
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Posted

October 24, 2012

By Liz SanFilippo Hall

A Beautiful Stop on a Turkey Cooking Vacation: The Blue Mosque

Filed Under  Destination Features, Travel Tips

Turkey attracts visitors every year, and with its 25,000 year history, it's not hard to see why. The country is the bridge between east and west; it's a modern land that still follows many age-old traditions; and it's a place where cultures and civilizations have merged to create stunning architecture and delicious cuisines, which you can learn more about in cooking classes. One of the greatest attractions is the Sultan… Read
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