Mina's Country Kitchen™

Tie on your apron and learn how to prepare Mediterranean Diet recipes on the Amalfi Coast with our family!  Experience hands-on cooking classes with our Italian Mamma Mina and chef while learning about farm-to-table seasonal ingredients that are used in each recipe with Sfusato lemons.  Learn how to create traditional antipasti, fresh pasta and sauces, risotto and delicious dolci in her country kitchen while sipping local wine.  From zucchini flowers filled with whipped ricotta to handmade ravioli and crostata, an open fruit tart, you will be cooking like an Italian mamma!

As featured in November 2013 – Click here to read more!

Check in to the villa property and experience endless views of sky and sea above the Amalfi Coast.  Set in a vibrant vineyard producing award-winning wine, you will sip and swirl while listening to the nearby church bells ring.  Jasmine and lemon blossoms grow in the nearby garden while a dining room on the outdoor terrace invites you to sit down and stay a while.

Italian Mamma Mina and chef welcome you to the kitchen and shows you how to prepare Neapolitan classics using farm-to-table produce and vegetables from the family garden.  She shares her family recipes in hands-on cooking classes starting with delicious antipasti to fresh pasta, main courses – with  daily catch from the sea and naturally raised meats, and desserts too.  Learn the secrets of Neapolitan cooking in the four seasons with Italian Mamma Mina and her chef.

Discover the most beautiful villages along the Amalfi Coast with artisan products:  limoncello; fiore di latte, artisan cheese; extra virgin olive oil and the ancient wine of the region – Falanghina and Aglianico wines.  Discover local pasta – scialatielli, the pasta of the region, ravioli, and gnocchi.  Our Amalfi Coast Country Kitchen cooking program brings you to the heart an Italian Mamma’s kitchen, where sun, sea and the volcanic soil from nearby Vesuvius play a vital part in the cultivation of the fruits, vegetables and grapes for wine making. Enjoy an excursion to Amalfi and Ravello, take a boat trip to Capri (weather permitting), discover the local outdoor markets and artisan cheese makers, and visit an award-winning winery for a vintner’s tasting lunch and a cooking class to follow!

Amalfi Coast Cooking Classes

Chef Mina and her family welcome each guest and share their love of food and wine while cooking, baking and making pizza.  In the kitchen, learn to prepare eggplant puffs, frittelle, small rounds of flash-fried dough and basil leaves or salt and pepper shrimp – a local speciality.  Fresh pastas wow with specialties such as  scialatielli and sea food, gnocchi alla sorrentina and ricotta filled ravioli Caprese.  Main courses follow starting with braciole filled with fresh garlic, parsley and pine nuts, then simmered in red tomato sauce along with You’ll slice and layer la parmigiana di melanzane, eggplant layered with creamy mozzarella.  Daily catches vary including sea bass with local lemons to freshly caught calamari and totani prepared with tomatoes and herbs. For dessert, Chef Mina shares her family recipes and makes torta al Limone and semi-freddo, ice cream with fruits of the season to name a few.

In the Amalfi Coast Country Kitchen, copper pans are hung and wooden shelves are stocked with jars of homemade jams and home-grown tomatoes.  A bouquet of dried thyme tied tight in twine dangles on a golden hook.  Ingredients are local and recipes are traditional, following the Mediterranean diet philosophy.

Discover the family’s lush Mediterranean garden brimming with ruccola, rosemary, basil, along with tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant and seasonal vegetables.  Vineyards surround this landscape on the Amalfi Coast, a land rich with volcanic soil and warm sun.  Fruits and citrus – cherries, lemons and figs – are picked daily and used in the cooking classes.

Southern Italian menus include sun-dried tomatoes made into a delicious pesto rosso for bruschetta and fresh pasta along with sfusato lemons.  Learn how to prepare creamy lemon risotto made with the local lemons too.  Also learn how to pepare hand-made ravioli filled with ricotta, gnocchi and tagliatelle.  Discover the secret recipe for Neapolitan ragù and totani e patate – an old fishermen’s recipe made with local calamari and farm potatoes or caponata, a traditional summer salad made with pane biscottato – twice baked bread – and tomatoes and basil.  Roll out traditional Neapolitan pizza garnished with mozzarella, salumi or zucchini.  Desserts are delicious and include:  torta Caprese, the flourless cake from Capri cake and zeppole, flash-fried sweet dough dusted with confectioners’ sugar and crostata, open-face fruit pies made with apples, lemons and citrus.

Food Lover’s Tour to Amalfi & Ravello with Food Tastings

Discover the food, wine and culture of Amalfi and Ravello with a Food Lovers’ Tour with tastings included.  Join our English-speaking guide who shares food culture and history with delicious food tastings included along the way.  Visit artisan producers – a bread baker who uses a wood-burning stone oven and pastry maker who bake award-winning pastry and chocolates the old-fashioned way.  This tour blends landmarks and food stops where you will learn, taste and enjoy Amalfi and Ravello.

Discover Agerola & Furore

Visit Furore, a small village suspended between the sky and the sea and Agerola, known for salumi, mozzarella, Neapolitan pizza and taralli, oven-baked savory and sweet baked bread made into different shapes.  Behind you is the craggy, limestone rock of the Monti Lattari and an infinite expanse of sea before your eyes that slowly changes color and takes on the hues of the sky.  Furore is a paese dipinto, a painted village, where artists have used the sides of houses and walls as their canvases and turned Furore into an outdoor art gallery.  Many years ago, the famous Italian actress Anna Magnani and film director Roberto Rossellini met here, and fell madly in love, and it remained one of their favorite places over the years.

Amalfi Coast Accommodations 

Check into the villa property, complete with wine bar and restaurant – spanning  the Tyrrhenian Sea and surrounded by green vineyards and blue sky.  Each room is decorated with cool Mediterranean tiles and ceramics.  Italian linens, comfortable beds and private ensuite bathrooms along with a sea view are included.  Amenities include air conditioning, daily maid service and wifi along with a homemade breakfast of farm-fresh eggs, cereals, fruit, cakes and bread with marmalades and tea, coffee and cappuccino.  The dreamy Mediterranean landscape surrounded by lemon and orange trees adds to the comfort and beauty during your stay.

The Villa Accommodations

Villa Palazzo Superior – Set in the Main Palazzo with Sea View

Garden and Vineyard – Set In The Garden with Sea View

Classic with Garden View

The Villa offers three options to choose from:  Villa Palazzo Superior with Sea View (in the main palazzo), Garden and Vineyard Set In The Garden with Sea View (5-minute walk from the main property), Classic with No Sea View (garden view no sea view)– all rooms are decorated with Mediterranean style with cool colors, tradition, and modern design.   

Click for Property Photo Gallery

Itinerary ~ 8 Days, 7 Nights

Check-in and start your program on any day of the week

Day One: Arrival & Chef’s Welcome Dinner

• Pick up and transfer from Naples airport or train station to the property.
• Check in.  Relax and refresh.
• Later in the evening, enjoy your Welcome Dinner featuring a full course Chef’s Tasting menu featuring local fare with wine included.

Day Two: Cooking Class 1

• Breakfast is served.
• Following breakfast, tie on your aprons for Cooking Class 1 – featuring the scent of the Amalfi Coast Lemons!  Learn how to make lemon-scented antipasto – think fresh mozzarella grilled on lemon leaves, lemon risotto, and a torta Caprese, Capri cake with lemon.  Following the class, everyone enjoys the food that was prepared in the class with a toast of wine included.
• The afternoon is free to relax, sit on the terrace or take a walk through the village.
• In the evening, enjoy dinner on your own with suggestions provided.

Day Three: Vineyard & Cantina Tour & Cooking Class 2 with Wine Pairing

• Breakfast is served.
• Following breakfast, visit one of the area’s most important award-winning wine producers, where you’ll learn about the land, vineyards, and the natural way of maturing the grapes that grow on vertical mountain cliffs.  Discover and enjoy the wine tour while learning about  white, rose, and red wine.  You’ll visit the winery and cantina and see how the wine is pressed and bottled.  Following the vineyard and cantina tour, tie on your apron for your cooking class 2.   Prepare a full-course Neapolitan menu including an antipasto, fresh pasta, and sauce, main course, and dessert.  Following the cooking class, everyone enjoys the food that was prepared in the class paired with the wines discussed at the winery.
• The rest of your afternoon and evening are free.
• In the evening, enjoy dinner on your own with suggestions provided.

Day Four: Discover Positano Tour

• Breakfast is served.
• Following breakfast, meet your driver for a day in Positano.  Travel along the Amalfi Coast discovering the beautiful landscapes, lemon groves, and artisan shops along the way.  Once in Positano, discover the exquisite town with pastel-colored houses that tumble down the hillside toward the sea.  Bring your bathing suite and take a swim or opt to dine in any one of the trattorias that the village has to offer.  Save time for shopping at any one of the artisan sandal makers or clothing shops.
• Over time, Positano has attracted artists, writers, and photographers who came to capture its magic.  It is a Moorish-style village that was discovered by American and British troops at the end of World War II. Positano’s small winding streets are filled with tiny caffés, terraces, and artisan shops selling ceramics, limoncello, and antiques.  Take a walk along the stone pathway, and follow the one little street that leads to the beach. Visit the parish church of Santa Maria Assunta in Piazza Flavio Gioia, a Romanesque structure that was completely rebuilt in 1700 and filled with beautiful paintings inside.
• Following your tour to Positano, return to the property.
• In the evening, enjoy dinner on your own with suggestions provided.

Day Five: Discover Amalfi & Ravello

Food Lover’s Tour Along The Amalfi Coast, Amalfi & Ravello ~ Marketplace

• Breakfast is served.
• Following breakfast, meet your driver for an excursion to Amalfi and Ravello.
• Discover Amalfi with our English-speaking guide who will lead you on a Food Lover’s Tour with tastings!  The small town of Amalfi, perched on the coastline, is dominated by Amalfi’s Cathedral, and its main streets are lined with small artisan shops and elegant bars.  Discover the Old World handmade Amalfi paper which this town is so famous for.  Explore the narrow cobblestone walkways lined with artisan ceramics, liqueur specialties, lemon soap, and limoncello.  Enjoy an Amalfi Coast pastry in the famous pastry bakers shop and coffee bar – dating back to the 1800’s.  Discover chocolate eggplant layered with pine nuts, liqueur, and orange;  fragrant ricotta pear tart or candied lemon and orange dipped in melted dark chocolate.
• Following Amalfi, you’ll continue onto Ravello. This quaint town, called the city between  Sea and Sky, is suspended high above the Amalfi Coast, with sweeping views that span the Tyrrhenian Sea.  After the tour, return to the property.
  

  Food Lover’s Tour with Tastings
  

  Amalfi

  The town of Amalfi is rich in culture and history. The small town, perched on the coastline, is dominated by Amalfi’s Cathedral and its main streets are lined with small shops and elegant bars. Merchants display their wares outside and nothing could be more pleasant than browsing through stalls of herbs and spices, jewelry, shoes, the beautiful handmade Amalfi paper, and local lemon specialties such lemon soap and lemon liqueurs. Suggested is a stop in at one of the oldest and most famous pastry makers in southern Italy- dating back to the 1800’s. A look inside reveals a sweet showcase of chocolate-drenched eggplant flavored with pine nuts, liqueur and orange; fragrant ricotta pear tarts; candied lemon and orange dragged in dark chocolate; or festive pastries of the day! Whatever you decide to order, take a seat outside in the piazza at one of the small café tables that overlook the greatest people-watching site on the Coast. Ravello follows. This quaint town, often called the city between ‘Sea & Sky’, is suspended high above the coast, with sweeping views that span everything from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the mountains inland.

  Ravello

  Drive along the famed Amalfi Coast headed to Amalfi and the hilltop village of Ravello.  Ravello is world-famous for its outdoor music concerts. Visit Villa Cimbrone, once the residence of Greta Garbo, wander through the lush gardens and the Terrazza Della Rosa, or stroll down the path that leads to the Terrazzo dell’Infinito (Terrace of Infinity). This natural balcony is adorned with imposing marble busts. From this unique vantage point, you can see the distant Cilento Mountains and the Licosa beyond the sparkling sea, the lush Amalfi Coast, its distinctive terraces of colorful lemon trees, and the typical whitewashed houses that cling to the rugged coastline. Stroll along the streets and alleyways and discover little gems of churches, chapels, and noblemen’s residences. Also see the Cathedral, Villa Rufolo, San Giovanni del Tauro, and Santa Maria.

  The town of Amalfi is rich in culture and history. The small town, perched on the coastline, is dominated by Amalfi’s Cathedral and its main streets are lined with small shops and elegant bars. Merchants display their wares outside and nothing could be more pleasant than browsing through stalls of herbs and spices, jewelry, shoes, beautiful handmade Amalfi paper, and local lemon specialties such as lemon soap and lemon liqueurs. Italians carry on their daily lives at these little markets, doing their daily shopping and exchanging the news of the day.  Stops to food artisans with food tastings along the way.

• Later in the evening, enjoy dinner on your own with suggestions provided.

Day Six: Discover Capri – Boat Excursion

• Breakfast is served.
• Following breakfast, meet your driver and follow the road along the Amalfi Coast to the port.
• Enjoy a full-day excursion to Capri (weather permitting) departing from Praiano to Capri.  Sail around the island and  discover the Natural Arch, the White, Green, and Blue Grotto .  After the island tour, the boat docks in Marina Grande allowing time for you time to explore the island on your own. Your Captain will explain your meeting point for your return.  Please be on time for your departure.
• ***When weather conditions are unsuitable for your Capri full-day excursion, the excursion will be replaced with an equal-value activity such as an excursion to Sorrento.

Day Seven:  Pizza Making Class 3 & Pizza Party

• Breakfast is served.
• Following breakfast, tie on your apron for a Neapolitan pizza-making class and pizza with a pizzaiolo!  Learn how to knead, roll, and toss your pizza dough followed by garnishing it mozzarella, eggplant, zucchini and or  salumi.  You’ll also prepare a traditional dessert.  Everyone enjoys the food that was prepared in the cooking class with a toast of wine to follow.
• After your pizza-making class, relax or  hike to the Walk Of The Gods and explore the many natural paths trekking along the Amalfi Coast.  You can also add a guide which is highly suggested if you opt to hike the Walk of the Gods.
• Later in the evening, enjoy dinner on your own with suggestions provided.

Day Eight: Arrivederci!

• Enjoy breakfast.  Following breakfast, check out and arrivederci!
• Transfer to Naples Airport or Train Station.

Note: This sample itinerary schedule may vary due to inclement weather, saints days; festivals. All activities, in the event of rescheduling, are always included during the week.