Tuscany Slow Cooking™

Join Fabrizio at his family estate for a week of cooking and touring in The Tuscan Traveler’s Cookbook.  Check into the beautiful farmhouse villa located in the heart of the Tuscan countryside.  The Tuscan cooking classes are held in the villa’s private kitchen and feature traditional recipes from the region with our Chef Cati.  You will learn how to prepare Tuscan antipasti, pasta, main courses and desserts.

At the Villa, Fabrizio’s energetic personality, along with Chef Cati’s talented cooking skills, make this cooking program our best-seller for Tuscany. The entire staff, along with Fabrizio and his family, welcome you for a fun-filled cooking experience in the heart of Chianti!

As featured in April 2011 – Click here to read more!

Set among tall cypresses, rolling vineyards and olive trees stretching for miles, the Tuscan villa is an extraordinary place for your hands-on cooking experience – meeting new friends and enjoying farm-to-table food together.  Learn the traditions of Tuscan cuisine from centuries-old recipes with our chef.  Wake up and walk to the kitchen while relaxing in a dream-like place of beauty. Your cooking classes take place in a working kitchen with a a wood-burning bread and pizza oven in the garden. During your cooking tour, you will make traditional Tuscan favorites, followed by joyous dinners where everyone enjoys the food that was prepared in class.

When you are not in the kitchen, walk through the property’s vineyards, olive groves and beautiful gardens. In summer, take a swim in the outdoor swimming pool or relax on the outdoor terrace.  You can opt to bike through the Tuscan countryside on e-bikes or have a picnic lunch in the vineyard.

Tuscan Cooking Classes and Outdoor Market Tour

Experience the delights of the traditional Tuscan lifestyle while attending fun-filled cooking classes and discovering Tuscan towns and villages. You will learn to prepare Tuscan antipasto, pizza and breads, hearty soups, homemade pastas and sauces, meats, fish, vegetables and desserts.

On the menu – antipasti include bruschetta, toasted Tuscan bread garnished with farm-fresh tomatoes, as well as black olives and garden-picked squash flowers stuffed with fresh ricotta and flash-fried golden.  Fresh pasta is a must – think tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms and Florentine gnudi, hand-made gnocchi stuffed with spinach and ricotta.  Artichokes are delicious and are stuffed with herbs, bread and mozzarella.  Beans, farro and lentils are an important staple in Tuscan cuisine with recipes such as an Etruscan fagioli all’uccelletto, slow-cooked in white wine.  Desserts tempt with twice-baked cantucci, almond cookies, dipped in Vin Santo, blessed wine, tiramisù, and schiacciata con l’uva, Tuscan cake garnished with red grapes and rosemary.  This is a simple sample of Fabrizio’s family recipes.

You will learn the secrets of making gnocchetti verdi di patate con pomodorino fresco e basilico, green potato gnocchi with fresh tomatoes and basil, filetto d’orata al gratin di patate, fish with potato gratin, or sea food risotto.  Chianina meat is a main staple in Tuscany, and if you like this one, we prepare it on the menu. Desserts are beautiful, and include semifreddo alle nocciole con cioccolato fondente, ice cream cake with dark chocolate and nuts, cantucci, and open-faced crostata, fruit pies made with the fruits from the garden.  Following each cooking class, everyone enjoys the foods that were prepared together with wine from the estate.  Each cooking class is hands-on and includes traditional Tuscan cuisine. The estate’s kitchen is located in the main villa, formerly the family’s wine cellars.

Experience a visit to the vibrant marketplace with our host as scents of just-baked bread, artisan cheese, and morning-picked produce from the nearby farms stir your senses.  Listen to the sounds of sellers calling out their daily catch – prime cuts and daily specials.  Shop along rows of passionate purveyors who have kept the Old World way of farm-to-table.

Family Tradition

Fabrizio and his family have a long history of wine-making and continue to pioneer their craft, producing organic bio-dynamic wine at the property.  This superior wine is made in the Chianti region under the warm summer sun with a harvest in the fall leaving beautiful grapes to be pressed.  Tradition and modern approaches merge with wine-making technologies yielding production of 30,000 bottles a year. The award-winning wine boasts the Silver Label, awarded at the Tuscan Gastronomic Show in New York City 2005 and 2006, and in the VIII edition of the Tuscan Wine Selection in 2008.

Tuscan Villa Accommodations

The private Villa has recently been restored, respecting its Old Word charm while adding modern comforts with traditional Tuscan furnishings.  Set on a working vineyard, the property is surrounded by rolling Tuscan hills in the heart of Chianti set in fields of olive groves.  An organic vegetable garden produces beautiful tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini and a bounty of seasonal fruit.  Guests are invited to pick the fruits and vegetables, which are then used in the cooking classes.

The Villa offers large apartments and spacious superior rooms, traditionally furnished and newly renovated with modern conveniences including air-conditioning.  Each room has comfortable bedding, Tuscan linens and a private ensuite bathroom, telephone, full kitchenette, refrigerator, satellite TV and wifi.  Accommodations offer either a private garden or spacious terrace.

Step outside your door and into a lush garden set with a caffé-style terrace for dining, reading or painting. There is an outdoor wood-burning brick oven for our pizza-making class, an over-sized swimming pool and terrace on the property. Majestic Murgesi horses are bred on the premises if you would like to ride with the horse trainer.

Breakfast is served daily in the farmhouse’s spacious dining room and outdoor terrace where you will enjoy your Tuscan breakfast featuring artisan breads, salumi, Prosciutto, artisan cheese, fruit, homemade jams, biscotti and cakes, along with espresso, cappuccino and tea each morning.  Traditional Tuscan lunch or dinner is also available.  E-bikes are available at the property for pedaling through the Tuscan countryside.

Family-style suites and apartments are also available upon request.

Click for Property Photo Gallery

Tuscan Bread Making

Mix, knead and roll out Tuscan bread and bake it to perfection in a Tuscan wood-burning brick oven. Tuscan bread pairs perfectly with aged salumi and cheese, and is added to soups such as minestra di pane and rebollita. Tuscan breads include covaccino, doucesses, pane integrale, cazzottini and focaccia. After a day in our Tuscan cooking class, you will be baking bread and pizza like a Tuscan in a wood-burning oven!

Siena

Surrounded by olive groves and vineyards is beautiful Siena with its bell towers beckoning from miles away.  In the center of town, there’s the Piazza del Camp, a beautiful square waiting filled with life.  Visit the Duomo, a great example of Italian Romanesque architecture originally built to be one of the grandest cathedrals in Europe.  Discover Palazzo Pubblico, home to Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s frescoes, and walk the narrow walkways discovering the ancient city’s past. Caffés, wine bars, trattorias and gelaterias enchant while La Dolce Vita sweeps you away.  And while in Siena, try Panforte, the ancient cake made with cinnamon, almonds and citrus.

San Gimignano

San Gimignano is a Medieval town of art, music and history.  It’s  known for its dazzling towers, quaint walkways brimming with enotecas, trattorias, artisan shops and art galleries. Although there are only 14 towers standing of the original 72, the remaining towers are a sign of wealth and power.  Stroll the piazza, enjoy a plate of San Gimignano’s famous salumi made with fennel seeds and Percorino with a glass of Sangiovese.  Take a seat in the piazza for dreamy views overlooking the two towers while sipping a Tuscan wine and writing a postcard.

Pisa

Pisa, the ancient maritime republic, is a quiet town that boasts one of the most iconic symbols of Italy – the Leaning Tower of Pisa. There’s also the town’s piazza, Campo Dei Miracoli, and the Duomo, Baptistery.  Take note because it is not only Pisa’s Tower that leans, but also the Baptistery and the Duomo.  Discover beautiful Pisa, enjoy a gelato in the square while learning about Pisa’s long, historic past.

Organic Olive Oil and Wine Tasting Tour

During your culinary week, taste and learn about the superior wine and extra virgin first pressed olive oil. The products are genuine and certified and the sommelier will take you on a tour of the cantina, the vineyards and the cellar. At the end of the visit, you will have the chance to taste the products grown on the estate. The tasting is paired with a selection of typical Tuscan appetizers, served in the wine cellar or under their Loggia, along with insight on the food and wine that locals have been enjoying for centuries.

Itinerary: 7 Days, 6 Nights

Day 1: Welcome & Tuscan Dinner

• Check in, relax.  Enjoy your Cooking Vacations’ Welcome Bag with Prosecco, and introduction.
• In the evening, enjoy a Welcome Dinner with a full course Chef’s Tasting Menu including local fare with Chianti wines produced by the property.

Day 2: Introduction and Tuscan Cooking Class 1

• Breakfast is served.
• In the morning, meet the family, including Fabrizio and chef, your hosts for the week who will take care of your every whim.  You will have an introduction to your cooking week. Take a walk through the property, vineyards, and horse stables – horseback riding is also available on the estate and all levels are welcome.  Relax by the pool, take a swim, weather permitting, or sip a cappuccino at the property’s dining table set on the terrace.
• In the afternoon, tie on your aprons for your Tuscan cooking class 1.  Enjoy your first hands-on cooking class as Fabrizio shares family recipes making an antipasto, fresh pasta and sauce, dinner and dessert.  Dinner follows and includes the food that was prepared in the cooking class with wine included.  During the cooking class, learn about our Tuscan extra virgin olive oil, its growing season, how it is bottled and how it is used in cooking.  The property produces first cold pressed virgin organic olive oil.

Day 3: Full Day Florence ~ Guided Uffizi Museum Tour or a Landmark Food Lover’s Tour

• Breakfast is served.
• After breakfast, your driver will pick you up for a full day in Florence with one guided museum tour or our Landmark Food Lover’s Tour with English-speaking guide.  Select between the Uffizi with works by DaVinci, Caravaggio, Botticelli, or the Accademia, home to Michelangelo’s David.  You may also opt for a Landmark Food Lover’s Tour including Florence’s landmarks and a visit to the market with tastings along the way.
• Following the tour, enjoy time on your own in Florence for shopping in the renowned leather market of San Lorenzo or for gold on the glittering Ponte Vecchio.
• The Uffizi Gallery: Florence’s first museum opened its doors to the public to showcase one of the most important collections of art including classical sculpture and paintings on canvas and wood by 13th to 18th century Italian and foreign schools.  Four centuries of history make the Uffizi Gallery the oldest and most important museum in the world.
  The Duomo:  The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore crowns the Florentine skyline.  The building is located north of the Piazza della Signoria and was first constructed by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1296.  Numerous local artists continued to work on it during the following century, and the painter Giotto designed its sturdy bell tower in 1334. The Duomo’s octagonal cupola (1420-36) built by Filippo Brunelleschi, master architect and sculptor, dominates.  Although the Cathedral was first constructed by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1296, Florentine painters and sculptors decided the Gothic style should no longer be used and they introduced a Roman style with an octagonal dome spanning 42 meters to be built at the east end of the nave.  Then, in 1415, Filippo Brunelleschi, a goldsmith and sculptor, prepared a design for the dome but the dome was not built until the early 15th century.  He daringly proposed to construct the dome without the aid of formwork, which had been absolutely necessary in all previous Roman and Gothic construction. He built a 1:12 model of the dome in brick to demonstrate his method, and the design was accepted then built under his supervision from 1420 to 1436. Brunelleschi was hailed as the man who “renewed Roman masonry work.”  The Duomo was established as the paragon of a new form.  Opposite the Cathedral stands the Baptistery which dates to the 11th century.  The third pair of the structure’s doors were made by Lorenzo Ghiberti, and were of such rare beauty that Michelangelo christened them the Gates of Paradise.
• The Accademia Museum:  The Accademia Museum is a celebrated museum and home to Giovanni da Milano’s Pieta (14th century), the Annunciation by Lorenzo Monaco (15th century), and the beautiful front, called Cassone Adimari, displays a sumptuous marriage procession (c. 1450) along with the Madonna of the Sea attributed to Botticelli (1445-1510). A recent re-arrangement and restoration of the rooms have given more space for the display of paintings from the 14th to the 17th centuries, plaster models of Lorenzo Bartolini and Luigi Pampaloni, famous Italian sculptors of the nineteenth century are also on display, along with the precious Michelangelo’s David.
• Mercato di Sant Ambrogio:  Join our English-speaking guide for a Landmark Food Lover’s Tour with tastings along the way.  Walk through the most important landmarks and artisan food producers and discover the history of Florentine food with delicious tastings included along the way.  Visit the Mercato di Sant Ambrogio, Florence’s oldest market, an essential point of city life.  The market offers everything from farm-to-table fruit, vegetables, Tuscan meats, salumi, and artisan cheeses, fish and wine.  There are also covered restaurant and bakeries inside.
• Enjoy Florence and stay for dinner, on your own, with suggestions provided.
• Following your day in Florence, return to the property.

Day 4: Visit To The Outdoor Farmer’s Market and Cooking Class 2

• Breakfast is served.
• Following breakfast, we will visit the local outdoor Farmer’s Market.  Our host takes you to the local outdoor farmer’s market, where artisans and farmers display their vegetables, fruits, fish, cheese, meat, fish and olive oil. Piled high are baskets of the season’s freshest produce.  Select the ingredients that will be used in the cooking class while Fabrizio shares tips on how to select the freshest products.
• Take time out for lunch on your own.
• Afternoon, cooking class 2.  Tie on your aprons for your hands-on cooking class preparing a full course Tuscan menu with antipasto, fresh pasta and sauce, main course and dessert.  Following the cooking class, everyone enjoys the food that was made in the class with wine included.

Day 5: Visit Siena and San Gimignano, and Tuscan Wine Dinner At the Villa

• Breakfast is served.
• Following breakfast, join our driver for a full day excursion to Siena and San Gimignano.  Visit Siena, the magical town of the towers, the round Piazza del Campo, home to the famous horse race, the Palio, held each year in early July and August.  Discover the Siena Cathedral, built in Italian Gothic architecture. Following Siena, visit San Gimignano, city of music, sunflowers and towers. San Gimignano rises on a hill (334 metres high) dominating the Elsa Valley with its towers. Once the seat of a small Etruscan village of the Hellenistic period, (200-300 BC) it dates back to the 10th century and takes its name from the Holy Bishop of Modena, Saint Gimignano.  Saint Gimignano is said to have saved the village from the barbarian hordes.
• You may add on our English-speaking guide for your time in Siena and or San Gimignano.  Please let us know your group size, and we’ll send pricing.
• Following the tour, return to the property.
• Enjoy a Tuscan Dinner at the Villa with Chianti wine, included.

Day 6: Cooking Class 3 – Traditional Tuscan or Bread Baking with Wine Tasting Tour

• Breakfast is served.
• Tie on your aprons for your hands-on our class 3 preparing either Tuscan bread or a full course Tuscan menu with antipasto, fresh pasta and sauce, main course and dessert.  Following the cooking class everyone enjoys the food that was made in the class with wine included.
• In the afternoon, join our host for a Wine Tour Tasting and discussion.  Visit the vineyards and cellar, learn about bio-dynamic wine growing and production, then enjoy a wine tasting on the property.
• Dinner on your own at the property or you can opt to to dine at a local restaurant just a short ride away.

Day 7: Departure

• Breakfast is served.
• Check out and departure transfer to Florence Airport or Train Station.
• Arrivederci Firenze!

*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 week.