While some teenagers go to great lengths to be different from their parents, Giuliano Hazan - only son of Marcella Hazan - embraced the idea of following in his mother's footsteps. At the early age of 17, Giuliano began working as assistant at his mother's renowned School of Classic Italian Cooking. He committed himself to mastering the simple, genuine flavors of Italian cuisine. And, now, more than three decades later, Giuliano is an author, teacher, entrepreneur, and one of the foremost authorities on Italian cooking."Italian food does not hem and haw; it asserts itself proudly. If it were a painting, it would not be made of varying shades of beige but of the vibrant colors one sees on the houses in so many Italian towns."--Giuliano Hazan, How to Cook ItalianIn 2007 Giuliano received the coveted Cooking Teacher of the Year Award from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) which "honors an individual who demonstrates and effectively communicates an exceptional knowledge of culinary studies and techniques in a vocational, avocational or traveling teacher capacity."Although born in the United States, Giuliano spent much of his childhood in Italy, and got his first taste of teaching as a teenager, working at his mother's School of Classic Italian Cooking in Bologna. And, after completing an B.A. degree at Swarthmore College, (Swarthmore, PA) he enrolled in the Trinity Rep Conservatory, a professional theater program in Providence, Rhode Island.For more than three decades, Giuliano has taught hands-on and demonstration style courses to sold-out crowds at cooking schools in Europe and the United States. From 1995 to 1999, he led a number of multi-day courses at the legendary Hotel Cipriani in Venice (a particularly memorable class was the one he taught with his mother and acclaimed chef Nobu Matsuhisa). And, in the United States, Giuliano's recent cooking school appearances include Sur La Table, Ramekins, and Central Market.In 2000, Giuliano and his wife, Lael, inaugurated a cooking school of their own, Cooking with Giuliano Hazan. Each spring and fall, the couple - along with partner, Marilisa Allegrini of the famed Allegrini Winery in Valpolicella - offer culinary and travel enthusiasts a true taste of Italy at Villa Giona, a restored Renaissance villa outside Verona.The week-long courses promise "total immersion in Italian food, wine, and life" and draw professional and amateur chefs from all over the world. After daily excursions, Giuliano leads a five-hour class during which participants prepare a traditional Italian meal. The group then enjoys the meal - and a number of perfectly-paired wines - together, gathered around a large table, in typical Italian fashion.