At The Tuscan Table™

Tuscan roads lined with tall green cypress trees and vineyards blanketing fields as far as the eye can see!

Join Signora Marta, Executive Chef Filippo, and sous Chefs Alex and Emanuele in Moggiona in the countryside of Florence between Poppi and Arezzo for an authentic cooking experience and tour.

Marta and her family welcome each guest to their Villa residence with warm hearts and Tuscan hospitality.  They share their knowledge of Tuscan cuisine, seasonal ingredients, and produce during your stay while preparing and sharing beautiful lunches and dinners at the Villa.  Humble, kind, and with techniques that will have you cooking like an Italian, Chefs Alex and Emanuele inspire, innovate, and teach in small groups of two to six guests.

Tuscany Cooking Classes

The cooking classes take place in the Villa’s farmhouse’s kitchen where you will discover the area’s local products – cheese, salumi, ham, Porcini mushrooms, Chianina steak, truffles, and, of course, wine! With skill and creativity, your chef guides you to cook hands-on traditional full-course menus including healthy, in-season local ingredients. Each class is hands-on and everyone enjoys the foods prepared in the cooking class following at either lunch or dinner together.  Raise your glass of red or white wine and toast “Buon appetito!”

Tuscany

Tuscan roads lined with tall green cypress trees and grapevines stretched across endless fields!  A land that charms each guest as it has for centuries before.  You’ll see stone farmhouses, medieval villages, and bustling outdoor markets where daily conversation and daily specials are a ritual.

At the outdoor markets, artisans sell cheese, honey, salumi, hams, and wine.  The food and wine in Tuscany attest to the care and time that go into making the cherished products – percorino cheese, handmade pici pasta, sun-dried tomatoes under olive oil, and open-fired Florentine steaks.

During your stay, you’ll be cooking, touring, relaxing, and discovering not only Tuscany but the caring family who are your hosts.  Their garden, often called, “The Secret Garden,” is brimming with sunflowers, lavender, and seasonal vegetable garden.  Cook, enjoy, sip, and swirl while soaking up this unspoiled land – the perfect place to unplug.

Touring The Tuscan Landscape

Signora Marta and her staff are on-site and always ready to help you.  When you are not cooking, head out for a tour of the National Park of Casentino Forest – home walking and trekking paths where deer, fox, and boar run wild.  Night excursions in the forest are also available for truly a unique experience in the heart of the Casentino Forest.  Nearby, you may visit the Medieval town of Moggiana, home to many local artisans who are well-known for their works of stone and wood.

Food Lover’s will enjoy a visit to the  Hermitage and Monastery of Camaldoli, where monks grow herbs and flowers.  Carrying on centuries-old traditions, the monks continue to make handmade lavender oil, rose water, honey caramels, and flower elixirs.  You can discover this area on foot or on horseback.

Dreamy castles, ancient churches, and medieval towns take you to historical artworks.  There is the Piero della Francesca, Della Robbia, and Cimabue. A special visit is also available to Dante Alighieri’s studio, where he wrote the Divina Commedia, the most prestigious and welcoming destination in the province of Arezzo.

During your stay with Signora Marta and her family, explore the sites on your own you can also bike through the Tuscan Hills.  Bikes can be rented by the local bike shop and delivered to you at any time.  Reservations required.

Tuscany Accommodations

Set in the unspoiled beauty of the National Park of the Forest of Casentino, the family’s Villa property is immersed in some of Italy’s most striking countryside. Once an old farmhouse, the restored property has been converted into a luxury Villa with private guest suites. Each suite has been carefully furnished and equipped with modern comforts including a full ensuite private bathroom, satellite TV, and internet wifi connection.

The Villa offers a panoramic terrace and a swimming pool with picturesque views over the valley and Poppi Castle.  A lounge bar cafe serves beverages, wine, and local foods so you can relax by the swimming pool and enjoy a wine or bite.

Click for Property Photo Gallery

Itinerary: 4 Days, 3 Nights

You may check-in and start your cooking program any day of the week. This program is available 12 months per year.

Day 1: Arrival & Welcome Dinner

• Arrival and private transfer from Florence airport or train station to the villa resort.
• Welcome Prosecco and introduction to your cooking program.
• Chef’s Welcome Dinner features a full-course menu with local fare paired with excellent Tuscan wines chosen by your sommelier.

Day 2: Cooking Class & Forest of Camaldoli

• Breakfast is served.
• Cooking Class with Chefs Alex and Emanuele – approximately three hours and may run longer depending on the menu – focusing on the traditional Tuscan food and wines of the region. Preparation of an antipasto, fresh pasta, main course, and dessert according to ancient local tradition.  You’ll prepare handmade pasta and ravioli made with a rolling pin and the area’s famed Chianina steak.  Vegetarian menus are available.
• In the afternoon, visit the forest of Camaldoli with an English-speaking guide, with tastings of local products at the trattoria included.

Day 3: Wine Cellars & Art of Arezzo & Tuscan Wine Dinner

• Breakfast is served.
• Transfer by private car to Arezzo and visit the Cathedral, with works of Piero della Francesca, Cimabue, and Piazza Grande.
• Enjoy a tasting of schiacciata, a Tuscan flatbread, of Camaldoli, included.
• Return to the Villa.  A Farewell Chef’s Dinner featuring a full-course menu of Tuscan fare with wine included.  During dinner, our wine expert pairs excellent red and white wine to accompany Chef Filippo’s dinner.

Day 4: Check Out & Arrivederci!!!

• Breakfast is served.
• Check out & departure transfer to Florence Airport or Train Station.

*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.