The Perugia Country Estate™

Join us at the villa estate with Chef Amelie for your culinary adventure in the heart of Umbria’s countryside.  You’ll experience farm-to-table ingredients transformed into delicate fare.  At the villa, you’ll discover the cuisine that this region is so very famous for.  Check in, relax and soak up the peace and beauty of Umbria’s countryside while learning about the food, wine and olive oil – and of course, Chef Amelie’s delicious creations!  

Vineyards and olive groves surround you along with green pastures and sustainable fields where cattle and horses graze.  Skies are blue, fields are green and the cuisine is genuine in our cooking classes – Umbria!  Visit the restored stone cottages, a medieval tower, and a lake surrounded by a magical landscape of ravines and pine forests – all part of the property.  In the kitchen, get cooking under the guidance of Chef Amelie, transforming fresh, local produce into delicious Umbrian cuisine.  In your Perugia cooking classes, you’ll roll out handmade pasta into strangozzi or pappardelle, tossed into slow simmered meat or wild mushroom sauce.  Nature’s gifts to Umbria are simple but delicious – even a bruschetta drizzled with extra virgin olive oil tastes different here!  When you’re not cooking in the kitchen, visit the nearby town of Montefalco, browse through its exquisite linen shops and discover the artisan crafts.  Venture to the hilltop town of Todi with its impressive Piazza Del Popolo and a creamy gelato.  By the end of your Perugia vacation, you will be a professional Chef in Umbria!!!

Umbria Accommodations

Located on the countryside of Umbria, this majestic property was a nobleman’s home, which has been artfully restored to preserve all its past while offering every modern comfort.  Thirteen exquisite bedrooms are decorated with antique furniture, precious linens and locally crafted terracotta floors.  Select rooms have four-poster beds, while others a fireplace.  There is a restaurant on site that serves traditional Umbrian fare.  Breakfast is served daily with a brimming choice of homemade cakes, fruit crostata, fresh fruit, yogurt, eggs, granola, coffee, tea and fruit juices.  Mountain bikes and horse back riding are available on site to all guests, along with a beautiful swimming pool.  A panoramic view and professional staff are on site to accommodate your every need.

Umbria Cooking Classes

Tie on your aprons for your Umbria cooking classes in Perugia for a fun-filled week with Chef Amelie.  She shares her recipes and technique using healthy ingredients and produce that grow in the property’s garden and wild fields: emmer wheat, beans, salads, basil, chickpeas and lentils.  Farm-raised beef and pork, wild truffles and mushrooms, chestnuts, honey, olive oil and game – from boar to wild hare – are local products used in her kitchen.  Chef Amelie is an enthusiastic teacher and her classes are fun and constructive.  Learn how to make homemade pasta, ravioli and gnocchi, followed by main courses: pollo alla cacciatora, stuffed artichokes, slow-cooked stews, and grilled stuffed vegetables.  Desserts are a must: biscottini, panpepato and sweet creams, cakes and tarts. After each cooking class, everyone enjoys the food that was made in class with a toast of local red or white wine. The property’s private cellars also offer a wide selection of regional wine to choose from.  Chef Amelie calls her style “farm cooking in Umbria” – authentic and delicious.

Click for Property Photo Gallery

Truffle Hunting in Umbria

Truffle hunting is an everyday part of life in Umbria. Truffle hunters and their skilled dogs stroll through rich fields and forests in search of truffles, doing what their ancestors have done for generations before them. Umbria is one of the biggest truffle producing areas of Italy, and they are famous around the world for their quality – black truffles are harvested in the winter and summer (though often can be found year-round), and white truffles in the spring. Nearly every Umbrian hunts for truffles themselves, or knows a loved one who does, but they often hide their most successful truffle locations as fiercely guarded secrets, only passed along to family. With an abundance of truffles, Umbrians also have plenty of delicious and unique recipes to feature them. Think an elegantly simple pasta with freshly shaved black truffles, trout with truffles, or even a breakfast dish of truffles with eggs. Truffles and Umbria go hand in hand – enjoy the hunt!

Umbria

Situated in the center of Italy, the region of Umbria is traditionally considered the green heart.  Travel through Umbria and you’ll be enchanted by the dazzling views of centuries-old villages perched atop rolling hillsides.  You will discover the artisans and their Old World crafts.  You’ll taste wine and extra virgin olive made by artisans.  From Perugia and Assisi to the smaller towns of Terni, Todi and Montefalco, Umbria is blooming with art, culture and nature.  Important events take place throughout the year, such as the Umbria Jazz Festival (in July), and Eurochocolate (in October). Other attractions include the Etruscan monuments, museums, fresh Umbrian air, and the myriad of restaurants that continue to serve traditional Umbrian fare.  Off the tourist tracks, there is an air of friendliness here from the local folks who carry on their traditions, and welcome visitors with open arms.

Todi & Montefalco

Get enchanted at the hilltop town of Todi, which became wealthy during the Middle Ages and still today.  The main Piazza Del Popolo gives an idea of the grandeur of times past. Despite it being a popular destination, it has somehow managed to maintain an Old World charm.  Meander through its quaint streets and alleyways and discover architecture of days past, food and wine shops and beautiful artisan ceramic shops.  Montefalco, just a few kilometers to the north, is another pleasant village that deserves a visit.  It produces some of Italy’s most beautiful table linens from tea towels to impressive damask tablecloths, Montefalco’s distinctive linens are embossed with pretty bees, olives and fruits and come in a variety of colors. In Montefalco, you can also chose to visit the renowned wine producer, Cantina Antonelli, where you can sample the delicious local DOCG Sagrantino wine.

Itinerary ~ 6 Days, 5 Nights

Day 1: Check In and Chef’s Tasting Welcome Dinner

• Pick up and transfer from Perugia train station to the property.
• Welcome Prosecco and introduction to the week’s cooking program.
• A Chef’s Tasting dinner featuring a four-course menu with two selections of wine.

Day 2: Cooking Class 1 with Winery & Horseback Riding

• Breakfast is served.
• Head to the kitchen for Cooking Class 1 with Chef Amelie. This first hands-on cooking class includes a Pasta Master Class, learning to make the many shapes of Umbrian pasta with seasonal regional sauces.  Lunch follows and includes the food that was made during the cooking class.  Water and a toast of local wine included. Additional beverages available at a surcharge.
• During your cooking class, discover Umbrian olive oil with an official tasting of the pungent extra virgin first cold pressed olive oil.
• In the afternoon, visit the property’s Winery and enjoy horseback riding through the property’s estate.
• Dinner is on your own – you can reserve and dine at the villa property.

Day 3: Truffle Hunting

• Breakfast is served.
• In the afternoon, set off on a truffle hunt with a local truffle hunter and their dog. You made find a prized truffle!
• Dinner is on your own – you can reserve and dine at the villa property.

Day 4: Cooking Class 2 with Treasures of the Sea & Wine Tour with Tastings

• Breakfast is served.
• Tie on your aprons for Cooking Class 2 with Chef Amelie.  Your hands-on cooking class features the regional seafood with seasonal sauces. Lunch follows and includes the food that was made during the cooking class.  Water and a toast of local wine included.
• In the afternoon, enjoy a wine tour at the property’s vineyard. A tasting of 6 wines is included.
• Dinner is on your own – you can reserve and dine at the villa property.

Day 5: Cooking Class 3 with Dolce & Everything Sweet

• Breakfast is served.
• Tie on your aprons for Cooking Class 3 with Chef Amelie.  Tie on your aprons for an extraordinary cooking class learning the secrets of Umbrian dolce making.  Follow your chef in the hands-on cooking and learn about the many delicious cakes, biscotti and semifreddo.  Enjoy the foods that were prepared in the cooking class to follow with local wine included – the food will be laid out in a special picnic in the vineyard.
• Afternoon is free and on your own.
• Dinner is on your own – you can reserve and dine at the villa property.

Day 6: Check Out & Ciao

• Breakfast is served.
• Check out. Departure transfer to Foligno train station.
• Ciao!