Siena’s Top Chef™

Join Executive Chef Totti for a week of Tuscan Top Chef cooking at the 18th century Tuscan estate. The elegant property ‘fit for a King or Queen’ is set at the ridge that separates the Chiana Valley, a land known for its cuisine and celebrated by Dante over and over again. Luxurious, charming, cozy & warm describe this one-of-a-kind property. The countryside setting in the heartland of Tuscany makes it a short ride and easy drive to Siena, Cortona, and Montepulciano.

In the kitchen everyday at this magnificent property is Chef Totti. Chef Totti is the master at making Tuscan traditions with a twist. Each hands-on cooking class includes an antipasto, pasta, main dish and dessert, with Chef Totti who shares his kitchen secrets and cooking tricks with you. Hailed as, “a great Chef with a great heart,” our prized Chef is a native of Grosseto. He knows the region, its rich produce, purveyors and old world recipes by heart.
Join Chef Totti and share the regional food styles in hands on cooking classes, along with excellent wines, olive oils in the luxury best seller, program.

Cooking Classes

Executive Chef Totti leads you through hands-on cooking classes from appetizer to dessert. Lunch or dinner follows on the foods prepared in class. Local wine, water and caffè included.

Classes focus on traditional recipes and foods of the season with menus such as:

Chef Totti’s Top Chef Menus

Eggplant Fattoressa-style
Malfatti homemade pasta with vegetables
Roasted stuffed coniglio
Panna cotta

Spelt salad with baby vegetables &
Pienza Pecorino cheese & Balsamico
Pici, handmade Pasta with fresh tomatoes & basil
Fillet Chianina Beef with Scalogno and new Chianti DOCG wine
Zuccotto Fiorentino with wild berry sauce

Fegatini Tuscan Croutons
Two-colored Cappellacci handmade pasta with Ricotta & spinach
Hunter’s-style Cinta Senese, pork, from the Sienese Hills
Tiramisu’

All menus vary and are based on the season’s best local flavors. Menus may be tailored to accommodate any type of diet restriction or food allergy.

Location~ Southern Tuscany

The estate is located in the heart of southern Tuscany, south of Siena. Traveling south from Siena you come to the Crete Senesi, the lunar landscape of exposed clay and craters, among the lush greens of the olive groves producing DOP olive oils, vineyards and cypress trees. Neighboring is the dormant volcano Monte Amiata, the Chiana Valley, famous for its white breed of cattle, the chianina, Montepulciano, home to Italy’s famous award-winning wines and the Val d’Orcia.

Accommodations

Your luxury accommodations at the estate include a private bedroom and bath, and are set on a ridge overlooking the Chiana valley. The estate has been carefully restored to reflect the ancient splendor of the rural buildings, the elegant 18th century property, cobbled streets, lush gardens and the olive groves that produce the precious extra-virgin olive oil, Olio D.O.P. Terre di Siena. The property offers an outdoor swimming pool, hydro-massage tub, and tennis court. Horseback riding on the property grounds is available to guests, as well as a beautiful flower garden and nature walk, too. Bikes are available also for tooling the rolling hillsides.

Each room is furnished with fine bed furnishings and has a private bathroom. Tuscan style furniture adorns each room, along with artistic details that add a warm charm. Each room’s bedroom windows open onto sweeping views that overlook the rolling hills of Montalcino, Monte Amiata, and the Crete Senesi. The morning sunrises filled with a hazy mist and touching upon the green land surrounding grounds look like a Michelangelo painting. If you need to keep in touch with the real world, there is an Internet point & meeting rooms.

Photo GalleryClick Here For Property Photos

Itinerary: 8 Days, 7 Nights

Check in and start your program on any day of the week. Subject to availability.

Day 1: Arrival and Welcome Tasting Dinner

• Arrival and check in.
• Meet your hosts and relax.
• In the evening, your Welcome Dinner featuring a Tuscan Tasting Menu from Chef Totti. Taste some of the traditional dishes for a peak into your cooking courses. Wine, water and caffè included.

Day 2: Cooking Class 1

• Breakfast is served.
• After breakfast meet Chef Totti for your first hands-on cooking class, from appetizer to dessert.
• Lunch follows on the foods prepared in class. Local wine, water and caffè included.
• The afternoon is free to relax by the pool, take a stroll along the olive groves and woods, try your luck at sport fishing in the lake or pick up for a match of tennis.
• Dinner served in the evening in the restaurant at the estate, with a seasonal soup as your first course. Local wine, water and caffè included.

Day 3: Val D’Orcia~ Brunello di Montalcino & Abbazia di Sant’Antimo

• Breakfast is served.
• Spend the day in the Val d’Orcia starting after breakfast with a transfer to the Bagno Vignoni. This spa town has a medieval swimming pool in the town piazza.
• Continue to Montalcino to visit the fortress, the Piazza del Popolo, the Town Hall, with time to enter the museums if desired, and of course, a visit to the cellar of Brunello wine, the best of Tuscany.
• Light lunch in a traditional Montalcino ristorante, don’t forget to have a glass of Brunello wine with lunch.
• After lunch, visit the Abbazia di Sant’Antimo, a 12th century abbey set among the olive groves. French, Lombard and even Spanish influences are visible in the façade and interior of the abbey. The alabaster columns date from the 9th century and monks fill the abbey with resounding Gregorian chants throughout the day.
• Return to the estate in the afternoon.
• Dinner served in the evening à la carte from the restaurant at the estate. Local wine, water and caffè included.

Day 4: Monte Oliveto, Tasting & Cooking Class 2

• Breakfast is served.
• After breakfast, transfer to Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore. Visit the 14th century abbey, founded by Benedictine monks. To reach the abbey, pass through the heart of the Crete Senesi. Inside the abbey, don’t miss the cloister, painted with frescoes by Sodoma and Signorelli, the church, the library and the presepe, ornate nativity scene.
• Return to the estate for a tasting of typical Tuscan products from Pecorino cheese straight from the Crete to local salami and cured meats. Beverages included.
• In the afternoon, meet for your second hands-on cooking class led by Executive Chef Totti.
• Dinner follows on the foods prepared in class. Local wine, water and caffè included.

Day 5: Visit Siena~ Home Of The Palio

• Breakfast is served.
• After breakfast, transfer to Siena, traveling through the Crete Senesi, and its diverse and wonderful landscape.
• Visit the city of Siena, the Piazza del Campo, home of the famous medieval horse race, the Palio, held every July, the Cathedral and museum.
• Light lunch in a typical restaurant in the Piazza del Campo, with a complete visit of Siena in the afternoon.
• Return to the estate in the early evening.
• Dinner is served with Surprise Menu from the Chef. Rosso di Montepulciano wine, water and caffè included.

Day 6: Noble Wine of Montepulciano & Cooking Class 3

• Breakfast is served.
• After breakfast, transfer to Montepulciano the town of Vino Nobile, the noble wine. Visit the Tower of the Town Hall, the Temple of San Biagio and the beautiful landscape from the Val D’Orcia to the Val di Chiana and Lake Trasimeno.
• Visit to the vineyards and the cellar of the traditional Nobile wine for a wine tasting and typical products, salami, cheeses, olive oils.
• Return to the estate in the afternoon.
• Meet Chef Totti for your third hands-on cooking class featuring a traditional & seasonal menu, from appetizer to dessert.
• Dinner follows on the foods prepared in class. Local wine, water and caffè included.

Day 7: Cortona and Cooking Class 4

• Breakfast is served.
• After breakfast, transfer to the city of Cortona, on a hilltop overlooking the Val di Chiana. This small town was featured in Diane Lane’s ‘Under the Tuscan Sun,’ with its steep cobbled streets and sun-filled piazza.
• Light lunch included at a local restaurant in Cortona.
• Return to the estate in the afternoon for your last hands-on cooking class with Executive Chef Totti, featuring traditional recipes from appetizer to dessert.
• Dinner follows on the foods prepared in class, and presentation of Participation Certificate from Chef Totti. Local wine, water & caffè included.

Day 8: Departure & Arrivederci!

• Breakfast is served.
• Check out and departure. Arrivederci!

*Note: This schedule may vary due to inclement weather, saint days or festivals. All activities, in the event of rescheduling, are always included during the program.