Our Mission

RUSTICO COOKING’s mission is to share the pleasures of authentic Italian cooking, both in New York City and in Italy. RUSTICO COOKING is a state-of-the-art cooking loft in the heart of midtown Manhattan, where cooking classes, wine tastings, cooking parties and team-building events are held throughout the year. RUSTICO COOKING also organizes week-long culinary tours to the most beautiful regions of Italy for small groups of Italian food and wine lovers.

Our History

RUSTICO COOKING was launched in 2002 by Milan-born Micol Negrin. After obtaining a Psychology Degree at McGill University despite gnawing doubts that what she really wanted to do was to cook, Micol decided to take the plunge and enrolled in culinary school. With a degree from Canada’s premier culinary academy, L'Institut du Tourisme et de l'Hotellerie du Quebec, Micol moved to New York City and became the Editor and chief writer for The Magazine of La Cucina Italiana. For six years, until she resigned, Micol wrote and edited full-time... but in her heart, she knew she wanted to be back behind the stove, cooking for people who wanted to experience a true taste of Italy and teaching Italian cooking to anyone eager to roll up their sleeves.

And so, once again, Micol followed her dreams. In April 2002, she started teaching Italian cooking in NYC. Then, in January 2005, she opened a state-of-the-art cooking loft in Midtown Manhattan, where she hosts cooking classes, wine tastings, cooking parties and team-building events.

Author of two highly acclaimed cookbooks (the James Beard-nominated Rustico: Regional Italian Country Cooking and The Italian Grill, both published by Clarkson Potter), Micol is not only a skilled Italian chef, but an accomplished writer and well-respected authority on Italian cuisine. She teaches Italian cooking across North America and writes for major publications (including Cooking Light and Bon Appetit).

Micol's husband, Dino De Angelis, earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from McGill University in Montreal. The couple moved to NYC in 1995, when Dino was hired to do cutting-edge biomedical research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. During the summers, Dino took time off from research to photograph Italian food and landscapes for Micol's cookbooks and magazine articles. In 2006, Dino decided to take a plunge himself, and went into the family business full time. Dino designed the Rustico Cooking web site and is the webmaster, and teaches at RUSTICO COOKING.

After years of traveling across Italy in search of its most beguiling landscapes, heirloom recipes, and passionate cooks, Micol and Dino designed unique week-long culinary trips of their favorite Italian regions for small groups of Italian food and wine lovers. They also welcome guests and students to their NYC cooking loft with trademark Italian hospitality, sharing the joys of great food and wine around a convivial table.

Note that from May 7th until June 1st, 2008 we will be in Italy for our culinary tours but we will be fully reachable via email during this time to book your upcoming party or team-building event.

The best way to reach us is by email at micol@rusticocooking.com or dino@rusticocooking.com. We can also be reached by phone at 917-602-1519 however please keep in mind that we will be on our culinary tours to Italy from May 7th until June 1st 2008 therefore the best way to reach us is by email - thanks to our Blackberries. We will contact you by phone/email within 24 hrs to coordinate your party.

Parties that are running from May 7th until June 1st, 2008 have the contact info of their respective chefs.

If you know the date that you want to book your private event, please use our event request form.

Our address is

Rustico Cooking
40 West 39th Street
Third Floor
New York, NY 10018

We run events and classes in the morning and the evening, therefore all visits are strictly by appointment - no walk-ins... Please email us or call ahead if you wish to schedule a visit.