Cooking in Tuscany
A Culinary Journey in Tuscan Cuisine
7-Day/6-night Tuscany Culinary Tour with Cooking Classes
September 23-30, 2022
Join me, Italian chef and cooking instructor Deborah Dal Fovo, for a dream-come-true cooking experience in my former home of glorious Tuscany! My Cooking in Tuscany culinary tour is 7-day/6-night insider’s journey into traditional Tuscan cuisine and the wine, olive oil, and local food specialties that make Tuscany’s gastronomic masterpieces as well known as its art. During this week-long experience, we’ll immerse ourselves in the unparalleled beauty, culture, and history of Tuscany to garner the secrets of its amazing cuisine. We will discover wines, olive oil, and typical local ingredients of Tuscany and learn to transform them into classic Tuscan dishes with variations using time-tested methods and techniques during hands-on cooking classes. We’ll visit top food and wine producers to watch them make world-renowned products and sample delicious artisan specialties. We’ll visit a medieval castle or two (Chianti has many) and take a day trip to Florence, the crown jewel of Italy to explore its food world. We’ll fill our eyes with the breathtaking beauty of Tuscany’s magnificent countryside, Renaissance masterpieces and awe-inspiring architecture to learn how history, necessity, and the inherent good taste of the Tuscan people inspired a cuisine that’s been craved and coveted in the world for centuries (Tuscan born queen Catherine de’ Medici had a lot to do with this).
The magical setting of my tour is an ancient Abbey in the heart of the Chianti wine country, nestled in the rolling hills between Florence and Siena, on a historic wine and olive oil producing Estate. We stay in the former monastery turned beautiful villa of the estate, complete with frescoed salons, vaulted ceilings, cloisters and surrounded by lush vineyards, exquisite renaissance gardens, and verdant forest…truly something out of a fairytale! But…the best part of the week is our cooking classes—held in the Abbey’s kitchen and the famed cooking school created by internationally recognized Italian cookbook author and food writer Lorenza de’ Medici of the Beautiful Cookbook series. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am about cooking in the kitchen of one of my Tuscan mentors and alongside her successor and Florentine cooking teacher extraordinaire Benedetta Vitali. But I’m not the only one to swoon…they also appear in the popular new series Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat on Netflix, so you will feel at home in the kitchen before you arrive!
This full immersion cooking week with me in Tuscany includes four hands-on cooking classes where we will prepare complete 4-course meals and you’ll learn the secrets to recreating classic Tuscan dishes at home. Our menus feature iconic Tuscan dishes like focaccia, handmade pasta, soups, ragu’, roasts, crostata, biscotti, and many, many more. Vegetables play an important part in the menus and draw from the abundant vegetable garden located on the villa grounds that we will visit regularly to pick goodness for our daily class.
Our days are filled with morning excursions exploring the breathtaking Chianti countryside and its charming little towns to visit local produce markets, food and wine artisans that make local specialties like salumi (charcuterie), cheese, olive oil, honey, and wine. We’ll eat a typical Tuscan lunch at one of Chianti’s many charming restaurants before heading back to the Abbey for cooking class. Afternoons will be spent in the cozy kitchen, cooking authentic Tuscan meals that we’ll later enjoy together in the villa’s family dining room at a leisurely dinner paired with the exquisite, award-winning wines of the Estate. After dinner, we’ll sit in front of the fireplace, sipping the traditional Vin Santo and dunking in our homemade Cantucci biscotti as true Tuscans do. During the week, we’ll also visit a medieval castle, one or more of Chianti’s legendary wineries to sample their acclaimed wines and do olive oil and honey tastings. And, last but not least, we will take a break from cooking midweek to visit Florence, the Renaissance capital of Tuscany, and discover its vibrant food world. This is a full-immersion experience into the food and wine of Tuscany that will leave you speaking the language of love and of Tuscan cuisine!
There is no better way to understand a culture than through its food. Don’t miss the special opportunity to soak up the Tuscan sun and experience this full-immersion culinary journey in beautiful and deliziosa Tuscany with me!
7-day/6-night Cooking in Tuscany culinary tour features:
• Four hands-on cooking classes featuring traditional Tuscan dishes with a local chef
• Accommodation in an ancient Abbey with formal Renaissance gardens, frescoed salons
• All meals, including wine at lunch and dinner
• Visits to top Tuscan specialty food producers with tastings
• Visit to prominent Chianti winery with wine tasting
• Day trip to Florence with tours and visits of specially selected food destinations
Included in the tour:
• Transfers in private bus to/from Florence train station to/from Chianti estate (one scheduled pick-up and drop-off only)
• Welcome and farewell dinners
• 6 nights accommodation on Chianti countryside estate
• All meals throughout the tour, including sumptuous breakfast buffet
• All wines served at lunches, dinners
• Four hands-on cooking classes preparing a full meal of specially selected Tuscan dishes
• Visits to Chianti wineries with wine tastings
• Visits to local food producers with tastings
• Guided tour of the Abbey, Renaissance gardens, frescoed salons, cloister, and historical wine cellars.
• Day trip to Florence with meals, visits, and tastings
• Private transportation to all destinations during the tour
• Tuscan recipe packet with dishes from cooking classes
• Tour apron
• Day trip to Florence with meals, visits, and tastings
Not included in the tour:
• Airfare to/from Italy (affiliated travel agent available upon request)
• Ground transportation outside the scheduled pick-up and drop-off on arrival and departure days (available upon request at extra cost)
• Travel insurance (travel insurance is highly recommended for each participant)
• Personal expenses and shopping
• Drinks or other cocktails/wine not included in the itinerary
• Extras in hotels
• Tips for tour guides and bus drivers
• All other expenses incurred during free time
Pricing & Terms:
•$4,195 per person based on double occupancy.
• Single occupancy rooms available at a supplemental cost of $600
• $1000 deposit required to reserve a spot
• Balance due by July 6, 2019
• Space is very limited so best to reserve your spot early
To reserve your spot: A deposit of $1,000 per person is required to secure your spot. Final payment of the remaining balance is due 90 days prior to the tour start date. Payments can be made using US domestic checks, wire transfers, or credit cards (please note that a 3.5% transaction fee for payments via credit card is applicable).
If you have any questions or wish to reserve your spot for this tour, please use the contact form below.
Upon receipt of your inquiry, I will send you the necessary booking instructions, payment schedule, and terms & conditions.
*See my other culinary tours in Italy here