(Options: Wine and Food Tours, Shorter or Longer Stays)
Tuscany, Italy - 3 nights
Available end of March to end of October for packages
Available year round (except week before Christmas) for Day Cooking Classes
If you want to learn how to cook true Italian food, then this cooking vacation is the one for you. You will learn traditional family recipes from Italians who have been giving hands-on cooking lessons for over 25 years. Classes are taught in English in an authentic country home, a beautiful stone farmhouse with an organic garden. We can suggest several lovely accommodations in quaint nearby villages.
Your cooking classes take place in a rustic 13th century "casa colonica" which is a typical Italian farmhouse in the Tuscan countryside with terracotta floors and chestnut beams. The house has been lovingly restored by the family which is one of the oldest noble families in Italy. There is an organic garden, vines, olive trees, roses, oleanders, geraniums, spices, fruit trees and other typical plants of the area.
In the area, you can discover the treasures of Chianti, an area well-known for its castles, its medieval "borghi", wine producers, skilled craftsmen, warm and hospitable people, restaurants, typical Tuscan food, Chianti Classico wine and olive oil. The Chianti region offers picture-book rural scenery, from fields to sunflowers to rows of ubiquitous pencil pines in the hazy distance. Smaller towns such as Radda in Chianti, Monteriggioni, Volterra, San Gimignano are all an easy drive away, with stunning atmosphere and scenery. Tuscany is centrally located and is well connected by highways and a fast rail network to the rest of Italy, so you can visit other areas after or before your stay.
THREE NIGHT ITINERARY
Day One
Welcome to Italy! Arrival at Montevarchi Train Station at 6:00 pm from Florence (or if you are arriving on your own you can arrive at 6pm by rental car.)
Transfer by private car to your chosen bed and breakfast or hotel (40 minute drive)
Time to mingle with the other guests and welcome dinner with the family around 7:30pm.
Day Two
Breakfast at your accommodation.
Transfer by private car to the cooking school at 9:45am. At 10am you will have your first hands on cooking class. Together with your instructor you will prepare 5 different recipes followed by lunch of the recipes you prepared, accompanied by a delicious Chianti Classico wine
After lunch you will have a guided excursion in the Chianti area with a visit to a winery with wine tasting and extra virgin olive oil, tour of the beautiful ancient area along with meeting with locals in shops and coffee shops.
6:30 pm Back to your accommodation with dinner on your own.
Day Three
Breakfast at your accommodation.
Transfer by private car to the cooking school at 9:45am. Hands on cooking class at 10am. Together with your instructor you will prepare 5 different recipes followed by lunch of the recipes you prepared, accompanied by a delicious Chianti Classico wine.
Transfer by private car to your accommodation at around 2:30pm. This afternoon you will have time to explore at your leisure
and we can give you many suggestions.
Dinner on your own.
Day Four
Breakfast at the your accommodation and check out.
Transfer by private car to the cooking school at 9:45am. Hands on cooking class at 10am.
Together with your instructor you will prepare 5 different recipes followed by lunch of the recipes you prepared, accompanied by a delicious Chianti Classico wine.
2:30pm Transfer by private car to Montevarchi and train connection to Florence or Rome at 2:30pm. Take the train to Florence (arrival in Florence around 4:39 pm or Rome around 7:00 pm)
NON RESIDENTIAL DAY COOKING CLASS IN CHIANTI
Times:
Morning Hours (9:30 am -2:00 pm);
Afternoon Hours (4:00 pm-8:30 pm)
Description: The hands-on course covers traditional, home-style Tuscan and Italian recipes. Many people like this approach as they come away feeling they've had a real holiday, having enjoyed the wonderfully intense flavours and freshness of traditional Italian dishes cooked in an evocative stone farmhouse in the hills of Chianti, surrounded by vineyard and olive groves. The classes are held in a friendly atmosphere and you have the chance to make new friends and learn a few secrets from your instructors. Participants cook and eat dishes prepared using fresh, natural ingredients. A complete meal (5 recipes) such as appetizers, a pasta dish, a vegetable or meat dish and then a dessert is prepared and is accompanied by the wine which best complements it.
(Please inquire about large groups)
An example of our most popular menus:
Antipasto (Starter) Bruschetta or Crostini with Herbs
First Course: Fresh hand-made pasta or Potato gnocchi or Dry pasta with red or white sauces or pici (Tuscan "big" spaghetti)
or Pappa al pomodoro (Tuscan vegetable soup)
Second Course: Roasted meat (Arista alla Fiorentina) or stuffed vegetables, Turkey Breast with Balsamic Vinegar or Chicken cooked Tuscan Style or Stuffed vegetables or Savory Cakes with Zucchini
Dessert: Tiramisu' or Panna Cotta or Gelato
Many more menus are available - do you have a special request? Just ask!
GROUP SIZE
A minimum of 1 participant is required to run this tour and the tour is limited to a maximum of 10 participants. (For special groups a maximum of 20/25 can be accommodated)
(The number of participants refers to how many persons are required to run the tour, not to how many persons you must have in your party. Please inquire.)
HOW TO ARRIVE
Closest Airports/Train Stations:
Pisa Airport - 2 hour drive
Leonardo da Vinci (Rome) Airport - 3 hour drive
Malpensa (Milan) Airport - 4 hour drive
**We can also arrange from Rome airport, but it is quite expensive, about 300€. We suggest catching a flight or a train to Florence and we can organize a transfer from Florence.
*These details are provided as additional information. Please check below to see if transfers are included in this tour.
2018 Fees Per Person
THREE NIGHT PROGRAM
US$1100
*NON RESIDENTIAL DAY COOKING CLASS/US$$235
*Pricing may vary depending on market fluctuation
Deposit
After availability is confirmed, a deposit of 30% per person and the completed and submitted registration form will secure your reservation. Final payment is due in full 75 days before your arrival date.
2018 Dates
Dates of day cooking classes take place every week except the week before Christmas. Three night program takes place April to October.
Included
THREE NIGHT PROGRAM
*Three (3) Italian hands-on cooking classes with accompanying meals and wine and water
*Snack with drinks and wine during the lesson
*One (1) dinner with various typical Italian products i.e. cheeses and salami with the Italian family
*One (10 guided excursion
*Transfer at the beginning of the program from Montevarchi to the accommodation and at the end of the program from the school to Montevarchi station by private car (Montevarchi is connected to Florence and Rome by train)
*Transfer every day from/to your chosen accommodation to/from the cooking school
*WIFI free connection at the school
*Cooking school apron and recipe leaflet
*Taxes
NON RESIDENTIAL DAY COOKING CLASS IN CHIANTI
*Hands on cooking class (5 recipes)
*Meal with wine, snack with drinks and wine during the lesson
*One (1) English speaking instructor
*Apron and recipe book
*Taxes
Airfare, transfers from airports or train stations (except Montevarchi), and personal expenses are not included.
For further inquiries or to register, click here.
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CANCELLATION POLICY
Please contact us for cancellation policy information. Travel insurance is highly recommended.
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MAP*
This exciting region is depicted below. You can also access Google MapsTM by clicking HERE.
*In some cases mapping may give clients a general sense of location due to changes in venue. Please inquire about specific location.
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