The Ligurian Kitchen™

Join your hosts Cristina and Chef Paolo in their professional kitchen in Rapallo for hands-on cooking classes on the Italian Riviera. Each year, Chef Paolo hosts culinary students from all over the world for month-long immersions in Italian cooking. Now, he opens up his kitchen and shares recipe book with you.

Your program includes 4 hands-on cooking classes with Chef Paolo with time to explore Cinque Terre, Rapallo, Portofino and the Italian Riviera in self guided tours. Cristina and Paolo are always available sharing favorite local shopping spots, favorite restaurant spots and must see sites during your stay.

Cooking Classes

Chef Paolo leads you in the kitchen making regional, local, seasonal and organic antipasto, pasta, Risotto, main course and desserts. As member of the Association Jeunes Restaurateurs D’Europe, he guides, teaches and leads the way through educational, intense and fun cooking classes featuring local Ligurian cuisine.

Basil, garlic, black olives, aromatic herbs, vegetables, Ligurian olive oil, fresh fish and pasta the staples in the region’s cuisine. Start with a black olive bruschetta or a zucchini flan. Pesto reigns in the region along with salsa di noci-a garlic, walnuts and cream sauce served with trofie-small twists, croxetti-coin like shaped, pansoti-pockets of pasta stuffed with cheese; and tagliolini. Branzino, grilled sea bass with black olives; gamberoni flambée with brandy, pesce azzurro, and spaghetti allo scoglio fisherman style seafood with pasta for the big appetite. Cima alla Genovese, breasts of veal with egges and vegetables, grilled lamb and wild mushrooms from the green hills are just a sampling.

Chef Paolo matches bites with local wine pairings including Pigato, Vermentino and Frizzante. You can also choose the bread baking course and learn Liguria’s traditional focaccia; focaccia Genovese, di Recco or al formaggio. Small cresant rolls, nut buns, and braided loaves have you coming back for seconds!

Last but not least is dolce! Dessert is a must in any part of Italy and local specialities are, panna cotta, semifreddo, canestrelli-almond biscotti, reinette-apple cake and frittelle. Ligurian desserts are light and pair up perfectly with an after dinner espresso.

Menus vary season to season. Careful attention is made to diet restrictions. Vegetarian and restricted diet menus are available upon request for all guests.

Accommodations

The prestigious Victorian villa, once owned by an Italian Admiral, was built in 1908. It’s set on a hill in an Italian rose garden. White sitting chairs on the porch and a lovely flower garden face the lush green gardens that overlook the Gulf of Tiguillo. The property is minutes to the center of Rapallo and to the Promenade

Each private bedroom is spacious and comfortable and has its own balcony and air-conditioned rooms. Each bedroom has been carefully restored and decorated with antique furniture and comfortable furnishing. All bathrooms are modern, comfortable and fully equipped with heated towel racks and hair dryers. Parking is available.

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Rapallo, Saint Margherita, Portofino & Cinque Terre

Rapallo is a beautiful seaside town facing the Mare Ligure with an enchanting stretch of coastline met by a magnificent backdrop of fertile green hillsides. Rapallo dates back ancient Roman times and folklore tells its bridge was used by Hannibal during the Carthaginian invasion of Italy in the 3rd Century B.C. Rapallo’s mild year round climate makes it a favorite destination for all travelers alike. Mild winters ensure it busy even during the colder months. But whatever the season, nothing could be pleasanter than a relaxing stroll along the waterfront amid the numerous palm trees and lush gardens, or a few hours spent perusing the town’s excusive boutiques in search of a memento of this stylish resort.

In winter, the area surrounding Rapallo is a landscape of untouched natural beauty. The local rains sharpen the perfumes, as a variety of flowers bloom without the risk of frost, and citrus fruits grow ripe and are harvested in February. It is also the season to sample the new Ligurian olive oil, undoubtedly one of the region’s most prized products. From May through October the crystal clear water is still warm enough to enjoy a swim in the sea, which is only a few steps from your base. September is harvest time in the Riviera. In autumn there are bounties of chestnuts, grapes ready for harvesting, and plump mushrooms to be gathered in the fields. Hiking, biking, and strolling are activities that can be done year-round, and are optimal ways to take in the beautiful Ligurian landscape.

Itinerary: 6 Days, 5 Nights

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

Day 1: Arrival & Chef’s Tasting Dinner

• Arrival at the Villa and Check In.
• Meet your hosts and in the evening, enjoy a Chef’s Tasting Dinner prepared by Chef Paolo and his team in the kitchen. Sample seasonal dishes for a preview of your Rapallo cooking classes to come. Wine and beverages at a surcharge.

Day 2: Cooking Class 1

• Breakfast is served.
• In the morning, meet Chef Paolo in the kitchen for your Cooking Class 1. Prepare a full menu including appetizer, pasta or Risotto, main course and dessert using the fresh, local ingredients. Chef Paolo teaches simplicity and will cooks keeping your foods simple in order to taste the genuine flavors of the season.
• Lunch follows and includes the foods prepared in class.
• A toast of local red or white wine included. Extra wine and beverages available at a surcharge.
• In the afternoon, take a stroll through Rapallo and walk the famous waterfront Promenade. Mothers pushing strollers, couples walking arm-in-arm, and glamorous comings of yachts make for great people watching. Walk along the waterfront and order a sparkly aperitivo or frothed café.
• Later in the afternoon return to the kitchen for Cooking Class 2. Prepare a full menu including appetizer, pasta or Risotto, main course and dessert using the fresh, local ingredients. Dinner follows and includes the foods prepared in class.
• A toast of local red or white wine included. Extra wine and beverages available at a surcharge.
• Evening free and dinner on your own. Suggestions provided upon request.

Day 3: Free Day To Visit Cinque Terre

• Breakfast is served.
• Set out by train or take the local ferry to visit the five tiny towns of Cinque Terre. These towns are connected by footpath called the Via Dell’Amore, path of love. Meander through the five towns of Monterosso Al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore- each beautiful and unique in it’s own own.
• Choose to hike between the towns, or take a boat ride to see the stunning cliffs from the sea.
• Stop for a glass of Cinque Terre DOC wine along the way and Cristina and Paolo share with you their favorite fisherman’s restaurant for a fresh catch of the day.
• Dinner on your own and return to the Villa in the evening.

Day 4: Cooking Class 3

• Breakfast is served.
• Meet Chef Paolo for your Cooking Class 3 and prepare a full menu including an appetizer, pasta or Risotto, main course and dessert using the fresh, local ingredients. Lunch follows and includes the foods prepared in class.
• A toast of local red or white wine included. Extra wine and beverages available at a surcharge.
• Or if you would like chose the bread-making workshop, featuring focaccia, pizza and pasqualine (vegetable pie).
• In the afternoon take a break and stroll Rapallo.
• Later return to the kitchen for Cooking Class 4. and prepare a full menu including an appetizer, pasta or Risotto, main course and dessert using the fresh, local ingredients. Lunch follows and includes the foods prepared in class.
• A toast of local red or white wine included. Extra wine and beverages available at a surcharge.
• In the evening sit back in one of the garden chairs overlooking the rose garden outside or enjoy an after dinner drink by the piano in the main sitting room.

Day 5: Explore The Italian Riviera ~ Portofino & Saint Margherita

• Breakfast is served.
• Take the day to explore beautiful Saint Margherita and Portofino by boat. Visit Saint Margherita and its port. Cafes, bookstores and artisan shops throughout this famous Italian Riviera town. Head to Portofino, the small port that has been attracting tourists from around the world. Small cafes spill out onto the cobblestone piazza. Enjoy a traditional lunch of Spaghetti e Vongole. Stroll to the Paraggi beach for a taste of local flavor. Suggestion Bottega delle Marinaio.
• Return to the Villa at your leisure in the evening. Dinner on your own.

Day 6: Departure~

• Check out & departure.
• Arrivederci Rapallo!