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Highlights of Culinary Tour and Cooking Class in Tuscany:
- Four hands-on cooking sessions followed by lunch or dinner
- Wine education and tastings covering the major wines of Tuscany
- Event meals at local Tuscan restaurants
- Regional specialities highlighted, visits to vineyards with wine tastings; visit to Cinta Senese and artisanal goat cheese farms with tasting; olive oil tasting and visit to press during harvest, visit to saffron farm.
- Guided visit to medieval abbey and cloister
- Visits to Siena, San Gimignano, Montalcino, and renowned wine estates in Chianti. See detailed itinerary here
What do Gina's students say after their time with her?
"Gina's passion for living and embracing Italy is inspiring. We learned so much during our week. We were at different experience levels, and Gina was so patient, never hindering the more advanced and adventurous. The wine education was great, I didn't realize that I would be such a Tuscan wine expert when I returned home! Thank you! I hope I can come back and stay at the beautiful villa and experience it all over again!"
Day One, Saturday Afternoon check-in. 7:00 - An aperitivo or glass of wine at our Villa at Montestigliano in front of a roaring fire, followed by a simple dinner of grilled meat and salads, will give us all a chance to become acquainted and discuss the itinerary for the week. |
 Seasonal Zucchini Flowers |
 Dining Al Fresco |
Day Two, Sunday 9:00 - Breakfast 10:15 - We leave for a visit to the Abbey of Mount Oliveto Maggiore in the Crete Senese hills. Mass with the monks singing Gregorian chant is at 11:00 a.m. and you can either attend the Mass or stroll around the lovely grounds. 12:30 - Lunch in Pienza, a beautiful hilltop town well known for its pecorino cheese. We’ll visit several of the shops and have a tasting of pecorino before having a typical Sunday lunch at the Trattoria Latte della Luna. 4:00 - Following our visit to Pienza, we’ll hop on down the road to Montalcino and have a tasting of a flight of Brunello’s at the Enoteca in the Medici Fortress that guards the town. 6:00 - Back to the Villa where the evening is yours to relax or dine out. |
Day Three, Monday 8:00 - Breakfast is available in the Villa. 10:00 - Our first class begins in the main estate kitchen. Today we’ll be learning about the basics of Tuscan cooking, with an overview of what makes it special and typically Tuscan. We’ll make typical bread dishes like panzanella as well as braised meat dishes and cantucci. There will also be an olive oil tasting during class where we’ll taste different extra virgin oils. 1:30 - Lunch, followed by free time. 4:00 - Leave for a visit to an olive oil press where we’ll see the olives of Montestigliano being washed, mashed into pulp and then pressed to remove the oil. We’ll bring some wine and bread to toast on the open wood fire while we wait for them to press our olives! 8:00 - Dinner at a local trattoria. |
 First Step in Making Pasta - the Flour Well |
 Making Pasta |
Day Four, Tuesday 8:00 - Breakfast 10:00 - We’ll leave to visit two farms in the area, a goat cheese farm and a farm where they raise Crete Senese pigs. After the tour there will be a light lunch where we can taste the delicious products made on both of these estates. 1:30 - Back to the Villa where there will be an optional mushroom hunt after lunch for anyone interested in collecting our own mushrooms! In the hills surrounding Montestigliano, the woods are filled with many different kinds of edible mushrooms like porcini, chanterelles, hedgehogs and black trumpets. Whatever we find will be used in the class Wednesday. |
4:30 - Our second class will focus on making pasta and the accompanying sauces. We’ll make ravioli stuffed with ricotta cheese and chestnuts and topped with a sage and butter sauce; spaghetti alla chitarra, a thick square spaghetti cut on a chitarra, or guitar, and topped with a porcini mushroom sauce; tagliatelli topped with a wild boar ragù. 8:00 - dinner following class, set in front of a roaring fire! |
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Day Five, Wednesday 8:00 - Breakfast 9:00 - We leave for the market of Siena where we’ll purchase the ingredients for cooking class in the evening. The market is filled with stalls selling everything from clothes, shoes, scarves, table linens, as well as accessories. 11:30 - Walking tour of Siena with
Carla Galardi 3:00 - Return to the Villa and rest up before class starts. 5:00 - Meet in the kitchen for a cooking class, we’ll focus on risotto, soups and roasted meats. 8:00 - Dinner in the main dining room in front of the fire. |
 Tiramisu! |
 Ingredients Ready for Preparation |
Day Six, Thursday 8:00 - Breakfast 10:00 - Leave for a day trip of wine tasting in Chianti! Castello Brolio is a beautiful medieval castle sitting high on a hill overlooking the vineyards north of Siena. We’ll walk through the gardens and visit the family chapel, then take a tour of the winery and taste the excellent wines. Then a quick stop at Borgo San Felice, a lovely medieval hamlet, to try their excellent wines. 1:30 - Lunch at La Taverna di Vagliagli, followed by a wine tour and tasting at the estate of Dievole. 4:00 - There will be time to stop at the large Coop grocery store to stock up on food items you may want to take home, then back to the Villa. Dinner and the evening is free time and you may want to relax at the Villa or catch a taxi out for dinner. |
Day Seven, Friday 8:00 - Breakfast 10:00 - Class begins for the final lunch together. We’ll focus on soups and will make cauliflower with rosemary, cream of winter squash, and the traditional Tuscan ribollita, followed by stuffed crepes for a second course and a traditional fruit crostata. 1:30 - Lunch with prosciutto tasting and prosecco, then naps all around! 7:30 - Head to Siena for a glass of wine at the Enoteca I Terzi and then into the Selva Contrada for their annual “Festa della Castangna” or Chestnut Festival. Held outside in a quaint corner of the city, the dinner includes dishes and desserts made with chestnuts, served with excellent local wines. |
 Class
with the Pasta They Made |
Day Eight, Saturday
Check-out at your leisure, taking with you lots of great recipes, new skills and ideas for your own Tuscan dinners at home!
Please
note: Details of the itinerary are open to change as new discoveries
are made. Customized itinerary changes are welcome for private groups.
| 2008 Tuscan Cooking Class Dates: |
Culinary Excursion
Cost of 2008 program $3,600** |
| NEW for 2008 - Culinary Tour & Hiking through Tuscany |
Cost of 2008 program $3,600** |
** Cash or check discount for 2008 Programs - Cost is $3,500 |
- 7 days, 7 nights accommodation
- Full-time support by specialist guides, transportation to all events, plus any entrance or guide fees
- 4 hands-on cooking classes in Tuscany
- All meals (except 2 dinners and 1 lunch)
- Regional wines with meals, tastings of wines, pecorino cheeses and local olive oils.
- $400 single supplement
Accommodations
- Podere Montestigliani, a recently restored villa on the lovely estate of Montestigliano in the Montagnola hills south of Siena.
- 6 bedrooms with twin or double beds, en suite bathrooms
- Minimum number of participants: 8; maximum participants: 12.
- Other houses available for smaller groups
Airfare, transportation to the estate, any meals or expenses incurred by you during shopping excursions and free time.
A non-refundable deposit of $500 is required to hold your reservation in the cooking class, with the balance to be paid 30 days prior to the scheduled start date of the class.
Prices and dates are subject to change.
Registration Information | Contact Ecco La Cucina | Home