Puglia Cuisine

Silvestro Silvestori, owner and director of the Awaiting Table cooking school in Lecce, Italy, extends a trademark welcome.  (Rocco De Benedictis / For The Times)

Andrea Di Gesù shows off the golden loaves of bread produced at his family’s bakery in Altamura, Italy.  (Rocco De Benedictis / For The Times)

A worker from Caffe Tripoli in Martina Franca, Italy, displays some typical Pugliese pastries and delicacies.  (Rocco De Benedictis / For The Times)

Silvestro Silvestori, director and owner of the Awaiting Table Italian cooking school in Lecce, Italy, demonstrates his technique. He collects recipes from older women in the villages around Lecce and the Salentine peninsula to the south.  (Rocco De Benedictis / For The Times)

Rosalba Balestrazzi, co-owner of Agriturismo Il Frantoio outside Ostuni, Italy, prepares a dish in her kitchen. Balestrazzi is such a gifted cook that visitors from around the world descend on the farm for her meals, which are preceded by an informal lecture from Armando Balestrazzi on the history of the farm and Puglia’s ancient culinary traditions.  (Rocco De Benedictis / For The Times)

Fresh from the oven: A worker pulls focaccia with tomatoes and garlic at the Di Gesù bakery in Altamura, Italy.  (Rocco De Benedictis / For The Times)

Silvestro Silvestori, of the Awaiting Table cooking school, Lecce: Like all things Italian, even the culinary industry is beautiful.  (Rocco De Benedictis / For The Times)

The finishing touch for a dish at Masseria Il Frantoio and agriturismo in Ostuni, Italy  (Rocco De Benedictis / For The Times)

At Da Tuccino in Polignano a Mare, Italy, the restaurant’s staff presents the fruits of the sea. Da Tuccino is known for its its raw seafood.  (Rocco De Benedictis / For The Times)