Aprons On With Chef Edoardo™

Tie on your apron with Chef Edoardo in Liguria making handmade pasta and creamy pesto while soaking up the beauty of Cinque Terre, Portofino and Santa Margherita. Liguria, stretching 110 miles of coast and with hills to Northern Italy, is known for pesto made in a mortar and brick-oven focaccia, and coastlines of sea and Vermentino and Pigato white wine.

In the kitchen, Chef Edoardo leads each guest in hands-on cooking classes based on the cuisine of the Italian Riviera.  You’ll learn how to make basil pesto, oven-baked focaccia and farinata, chickpea flat bread.  You’ll roll out homemade pastas like trofie and pansoti.  During your stay, meet your hosts, who welcome you to their charming property.  At their property, you’ll dine outside on the patio terrace which is set in a Mediterranean garden.  Discover Liguria and experience Cinque Terre and Portofino with Chef Edoardo on the Italian Riviera!

During your Cinque Terre cooking classes, check into our 3-Star charming Villa conveniently located in the heart of Cinque Terre – in Sestri Levante – where you are transported to a world of charm. Sestri Levante is a beautiful, sweet coastal town set in the middle of the Italian Rivera where many local Italians spend their summers. It is brimming with trattorias, artisan shops and has two white sandy beaches just steps away.

Liguria Cooking Classes

Join Chef Edoardo in Sestri Levante for traditional Ligurian cooking classes, pasta making and dessert making using farm-to-table ingredients.  Chef Edoardo’s menu is based on the season and starts with focaccia made with extra-virgin olive oil and rosemary or onions, tomatoes, herbs, potatoes and olives.  There is also farinata, a flatbread made with chickpea flour. Vegetable antipasti include stuffed zucchini and grilled eggplant, rolled then stuffed with herbs and cheese.

Learn to prepare troffie, little hand-rolled fresh pasta twists served with pesto, or pansotti, ravioli’s triangular cousins stuffed with wild herbs and green dandelion, rucola and chard and prescinsêua cheese served in walnut sauce.  Roll and cut mandilli de saea, meaning silk handkerchiefs.  This fresh egg pasta is rolled into thin sheets and served in a pesto Genovese.  There’s also Corzetti pasta made in the shape of coins, cut, then stamped with a logo. This pasta dates back to 1250 AD when Genovese gold coins – also called corzetti – were in circulation.  Corzetti are served in a walnut or pine nut sauce.

Main courses are based on Ligurian fish and shellfish along with vegetables.  Local fish is fresh and delicious with such recipes as Bagnun, a soup made with anchovies and Cappon Magro, a salad of fish and shellfish garnished with vegetables, toasted bread and flatbread, and scented with garlic and boiled eggs.  Another delicious main course is Burrida, prepared with herbs, tomato, olives and capers – baked, broiled or sautéed.  Learn to prepare delectable main courses while learning the food culture of this gorgeous region.

Desserts delight with handmade traditions – biscotti del Lagaccio, named after a Genovese quarter where they were invented in 1593.  This double-baked cookie is made with flour, butter, yeast, anise and sugar.  Mix and bake Sacripantina, a delicious dome-shaped cake from Genoa, created by Giovanni Preti in 1851.  This creamy soft layer pan di Spagna cake is soaked in sweet Marsala wine, covered with zabaione and cocoa cream.

Each cooking class is hands-on and includes the preparation of an antipasto, fresh pasta and sauce, main course and dessert.  Following the cooking class, everyone enjoys the food that was prepared in the cooking class with local wine included.

Liguria

Liguria is on the Italian Riviera – a crescent-shaped strip of land stretching for miles on the coastline.  Genoa is the capital and is referred to as il Golfo dei Poeti, Gulf of Poets. Throughout time, Liguria has attracted the great literati such as Lord Byron and Percy Shelley, who found inspiration in its lemon groves and and turquoise seaside resorts, as well as Europeans traveling the Grand Tour. Cinque Terre, meaning five lands, is hidden in tiny coves along the Ligurian Riviera; the charming towns are connected by breathtakingly scenic hiking paths, a running train and boat services. In addition to the Cinque Terre, Liguria brims with beauty from Portofino to Portovenere and Moneglia.

Sestri Levante

Sestri Levante is a beautiful town on the Italian Riviera, and just 50 km from Genova. A short trip from the famous Cinque Terre, Sestri Levante is a favorite with guests who want to spend time in a quiet fishing village set on a striking promontory.  Sestri is also known for its gorgeous bays.  There is the Baia delle Favole, Bay of Fairytales, named in honor of Hans Christian Anderson who lived in Sestri for a short time in 1835, and Baia del Silenzio, Bay of Silence.  This charming historic center will steal your heart. The Baia delle Favole is in the more animated part of town with its port, beach resorts and shops lining the promenade, while the Baia del Silenzio is quieter and less modern.  This small port is full of pastel fishing boats that make their living from the sea.  The town’s historic center is laced with narrow streets and alleys, artisan shops and trattorias.  This region is a dream destination with Mediterranean gardens, acres of olive trees and palms, and flowering pink bougainvillea.

Liguria Accommodations

Charming Villa

Step into our charming 3-Star villa property nestled within verdant landscapes and a Mediterranean garden surrounded by roses, rosemary plants, and emerald-green trees.  Just a leisurely 10-minute drive from the heart of Sestri Levante and its sun-kissed beaches, our property promises an idyllic sanctuary that feels like a true home away from home. Once the private villa of a Noble family, the property is set at the foot of a historical mansion and a Renaissance garden. The property maintains its original 17th-century architecture while staying modern, offering all the amenities one could ask for, including comfortable beds dressed in Italian linens and ensuite private baths to perfect your stay.  There is complimentary WiFi in each room and common areas, along with air conditioning, 2 bottles of water per day per room, HD LCD televisions, an electronic safe, a telephone, non-smoking rooms and wheelchair accessible rooms for disabled guests. Cream walls and tiled floors line the room giving it a comforting and familiar feel.  Walk out of your room directly into a natural solarium paired with an open swimming pool surrounded by traditional white beach umbrellas, comfortable sun beds and lounging chairs, creating a perfect relaxing area.  A breakfast buffet is served daily ranging from freshly baked Ligurian focaccia, artisan cheese, Prosciutto, free-range eggs, homemade Italian cakes, jam and marmalade, Italian corneti -croissants, cereals, and seasonal fruits organically grown and produced on the property.

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Itinerary: 4 days, 3 nights

Day 1: Arrival & Welcome Dinner

• Check-in to the Villa property and enjoy your Prosecco welcome toast and Cooking Vacations Welcome Bag.
• Relax, refresh and enjoy the afternoon.
• Later in the evening, enjoy our Welcome Dinner featuring a full course Chef’s Tasting Menu with an antipasto, fresh pasta, main course and dessert. Wine not included.

Day 2: Excursion to Cinque Terre National Park & Cooking Class

• Breakfast is served in the Mediterranean garden.
• After breakfast, tie on your aprons for your Cooking Class.  Learn to prepare a traditional menu based on the season. Following the cooking class, everyone enjoys the food that was prepared in the cooking class with local wine included.
• Following your cooking class, meet your English-speaking guide at the property for a half-day tour to Cinque Terre National Park. After your tour, you may either continue on your own exploring the Cinque Terre Villages or take the day to relax, shop and soak in the local culture.  Train tickets to the Cinque Terre and Cinque Terre pass included.
• Following your tour, return to the property and relax.
• Evening is free and dinner is on your own with suggestions provided.

Day 3: Food Lover’s Landmark Walking Tour in Sestri Levante

• Breakfast is served in the Mediterranean garden.
• Following breakfast, meet your guide for a Food Lover’s Landmark Tour to Santa Margherita and Portofino with food tastings included on a boat, weather permitting or by train.
• Following your tour, return to the property.
• In the evening enjoy a Farewell Chef’s Tasting Dinner with an antipasto, fresh pasta, main course and dessert. Wine not included.

Day 4: Departure & Arrivederci!

• Breakfast is served in the Mediterranean garden.
• Departure transfer to Genova or Pisa airport or train station. 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.