Tie on your aprons for hands-on cooking in Umbria with Chef Patrizia and her family, Signor Filippo and Giacomo in Assisi. She opens her family cookbook and shares recipes dating back to the Etruscans – in Assisi cooking classes. Using seasonal products from her garden, she’ll teach you how to prepare recipes from Umbria, while immersing you in the history of Italy’s Green Heart – including her pasta making class. During your stay meander through the garden and pick seasonal fruits and vegetables which are used in the cooking class. Chef Patrizia advocates using simple ingredients and farm-to-table produce from her garden along with her family’s organic olive oil. Enjoy your Umbrian hands-on cooking classes and scenic tours Italy!
A magical countryside location with a beautiful sitting room that welcomes guests and a garden overlooking Assisi, the property is just a few minutes from the main town of Assisi.
Umbrian Cooking Classes
Under Chef Patrizia’s guidance, you’ll learn how to prepare Umbrian traditions – antipasto, fresh pasta, main courses, and desserts. On the menu is classic stringozzi pasta – a thick pasta served with wild asparagus, or mushrooms, or sausage. Learn how to make umbrichelli in salsa di Trasimeno, pasta with perch fillets, shallots, garlic, and chilli pepper, and spaghetti col rancetto, ham, cherry tomatoes and fresh pecorino cheese. You will learn how to mix and roll pasta into delicate sheets for lasagna. You’ll make tagliatelle with fresh tomato and herbs or garnished with shaved black or white truffles when in season.
Spending a day in the kitchen with Chef Patrizia is a food experience filled with passion and love. Her philosophy respects the traditions of the territory as she cooks in the rhythm of the seasons.
Learn how to prepare braised fennel, grilled pumpkin or stuffed eggplant. Soups in Umbrian are a staple – such as faro and zucchini, beans or lentil soups. Learn how to prepare pollo alla cacciatora, hunter’s chicken with vegetables or roasted pork, and braised apples. Desserts are delicious using farm-fresh eggs to make the famous Assisi rocciata, a pastry strudel made in the shape of a spiral or brustengolo, a pastry prepared with farm-raised apples, raisins, pine nuts, lemon zest, olive oil and walnuts. Enjoy your desserts with a Caffe Umbria, coffee and vanilla gelato!
A typical traditional menu includes pappardelle al ragù di salsicce e costarelle di maiale brado, wide Umbrian pasta with a sausage and pork sauce; roll’è di coniglio casereccio with Panzanella, tenderloins of rabbit rolled with herbs and served with a bread and tomato salad, and bignè fatto in casa alla crema, handmade profiteroles filled with cooked cream.
You will also learn the secrets of making homemade bread in the Umbrian tradition. She Patrizia uses Old World technique for mixing and baking beautiful country bread.
Following each cooking class, guests enjoy the foods that were prepared in class with a toast of local wine and water included.
Umbria Accommodations
Check into the charming guest house in Assisi – a picturesque property surrounded by lush green gardens and flowering fields with a view overlooking Assisi. The property also has a flower garden and farm that produces almost all of the ingredients for the cooking class. Each guest room and cottage is elegantly decorated with Umbrian linens, comfortable bedding, and private ensuite bathrooms. Bright wide windows swing open letting in the fresh Umbrian air. The caffe bar serves a delicious Italian breakfast including Umbrian cakes and bread, fruit, eggs, cappuccino, espresso and tea. The property has a Slow Food osteria and swimming pool and offers horseback riding along cypress-lined footpaths with medieval villages as the backdrop. There is wifi on the property.
The Organic Farm
On the organic farm, the family produces high-quality extra virgin olive oil (a product of excellence awarded with numerous awards), honey, preserves and delicious jams.
The property also produces 80% of its ingredients on the nearby farm; including the meats and cheeses according to the Umbrian tradition along with the recipes of the master pork butcher Signor Lillo. The vegetable garden is carefully cared for growing seasonal vegetables and greens; while the surrounding forest and countryside is brimming with mushrooms, asparagus, truffles, and wild herbs.
Slow Food Member
The property’s Osteria is part of the Slow Food Italian Taverns, and it shows every evening as a meeting place for like-minded foodies who are curious to learn and enjoy the tastes and traditions of the local cuisine with a glass of wine in a relaxing atmosphere. Guests are welcomed into a convivial, characteristic, and hospitable atmosphere where traditional Umbrian cuisine is served. Recipes handed down through the family and revisited with passion, character, and originality by the chef Patrizia. Her philosophy is genuine zero-kilometer raw products and organic food products produced by small local producers.
Wining and dining together at Osteria with delicious food, family and the best wines is the family motto.
Assisi, the Umbrian Travelers’ Dream
Assisi conjures up images of Saint Francesco and emerald green olive oil. Umbria is a land brimming with verdant landscapes, peaceful Medieval villages, and ancient art. Between your cooking classes, visit to Assisi, and visit to the farm, garden, and olive orchard. You’ll be immersed in an authentic cooking and food experience. The property is close to Spello and Todi. Beautiful green landscapes lace tours to Assisi to Perugia and Terni cooking classes for an incredible stay.
In season, add on a truffle hunt or a visit to Todi. Check in, relax and sip a glass of wine while overlooking Assisi!
Itinerary ~ 5 Days, 4 Nights
Day One: Check In & Chef’s Welcome Dinner
- Arrival transfer and check-in.
- Enjoy your Prosecco toast.
- Welcome Dinner with a Chef’s Tasting menu featuring local fare.
Day Two:Cooking Class, Foraging & Farm Tour
- Breakfast is served.
- Following breakfast, join Chef Patrizia for a tour of the garden and farm. Experience a walk through green grass, beautiful gardens, and the farm to discover the seasonal vegetables and herbs along with various fruits. Foraging with Chef Patrizia has you picking herbs and vegetables and also learning about each one – for the cooking class.
- Tie on your aprons for your cooking class where you will prepare a menu of Umbrian fare. Following the cooking class, everyone enjoys the food that was prepared in the cooking class with a toast of wine.
- In the evening, relax at the property and enjoy!
Day Three: Cooking Class & Walking Tour Of Assisi
- Breakfast is served.
- Following breakfast, meet your English-speaking guide for a tour of Assisi. Stroll along the peaceful town lined with artisan shops – showcasing laces, linens, wood crafts, caffès, ice-cream shops and restaurants. Visit Saint France’s church and grounds and discover the art, history, and culture of the historic Umbrian town.
- Lunch is on your own in any one of the quaint restaurants during your one day in Assisi.
- Return to the property. Tie on your aprons for your cooking class where you will prepare a menu of Umbrian fare. Following the cooking class, everyone enjoys the food that was prepared in the cooking class with a toast of wine.
Day Four: Cooking Class & Wine Tour Tasting Lunch
- Breakfast is served.
- Excursion to an Umbrian winemaker with tour, tastings and lunch included. Meet your driver for a unique wine-tasting light lunch.
- Return to the property. Tie on your aprons for your cooking class where you will prepare a menu of Umbrian fare. Following the cooking class, everyone enjoys the food that was prepared in the cooking class with a toast of wine.
- In the evening, relax at the property and enjoy!
Add On Truffle Hunting or A Day Trip to Perugia or Montefalco – Spoleto, Spello and Todi
Add on truffle hunting with our prized hunter and truffle dog for a truffle hunting experience. You can also add on a full-day visit to Perguia – for the famous chocolate tour and tasting and Montefalco, a small town noted for its Umbrian artisan cuisine and wine. Both tours included stops along the way to towns like Spoleto, Spello or Todi. We will plan according to your interests. Todi is a medieval hilltop town filled with art. Prices upon request. Todi is a medieval hilltop town filled with art.
Day 5: Check out & Arrivederci
- Check out and transfer to the Assisi train station.
- Arrivederci Umbria!
Program Includes:
• Five days and four nights, based on 2 guests.
• Daily breakfast and maid service.
• Welcome Dinner featuring Chef’s Tasting menu with Umbrian fare.
• 3 Hands-on cooking classes preparing a traditional Umbrian menu. Everyone dines together following with the food that was prepared in the cooking class with a toast of wine included.
• Excursions to Assisi for a Walking Tour with English-speaking guide, transfer to and from the property is included.
• Excursion to Montefalco with a visit to an organic Umbrian wine maker, visit, tour, wine tasting and traditional lunch included with driver included. • Round trip transfer from Assisi Train Station to the property.
• Cooking Vacations’ welcome bag with Chef’s apron, recipe book and Prosecco.
Program Price:
$1,995 per person, based on 2 guests.
For Single Guests: If you are traveling on your own, please call us for the best group price. We are happy to welcome you into an already scheduled group.
*An Italian visitor tax may apply in some cities and must be paid directly on site at check out. 1 transfer per group each way. There is free wi-fi throughout the property.
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
