Tie on your apron for cooking in Umbria with hands-on cooking class with Chef Patrizia and her family in the countryside of Assisi! She opens her family cook book and shares recipes from Umbria, dating back to the Etruscans. Hands-on cooking classes teach you how to prepare recipes from the region, while immersing you in the history of Italy’s Green Heart. Visit the garden and pick seasonal ingredients that are used in the cooking class. Chef Patrizia’s advocates the use of farm-to-table products direct from her farm. Our cooking classes in Umbria Italy include a pasta making class Umbria too!
She’ll teach you how to make Umbrian fare, including antipasto, pasta, a main course and dessert. Learn how to prepare the classic stringozzi pasta or umbrichelli in salsa di Trasimeno, pasta with perch fillets, shallots, garlic and chilli pepper or spaghetti col rancetto, bacon, cherry tomatoes and fresh pecorino cheese. You will learn how to make faro and fagoli, soups and salads. Traditions include: lentil soup, roasted pork, rabbit and pollo alla cacciatora and game along with roasted fresh artichokes, wild asparagus with truffles, and chestnut soup. You will learn about the region’s breads, pan caciato, pan nociato, pane di Strettura and the unsalted bread of Terni. Desserts and cakes are made with almonds and candied fruit, – with such delicious creations as crostata. One favorite dessert is the Assisi rocciata, a pastry strudel in the shape of a spiral and brustegnolo, a classic sweet bread from Umbria’s peasant tradition. Cooking is simple, hearty and always organic in your Cooking Vacations in Assisi!
Umbrian Cooking Classes
Under her guidance, she prepares antipasto, pasta, main courses and desserts. On the menu is classic stringozzi pasta – a thick pasta served with spicy sauce and sausage or vegetable sauce. Give your hand a try at Umbrichelli in salsa di Trasimeno, pasta with perch fillets, shallots, garlic and chilli pepper! Twirl a few spaghetti col rancetto, bacon, cherry tomatoes and fresh pecorino cheese on your fork – and best of all of the recipes can be recreated in your home kitchen. You will roll out thin sheets of pasta for lasagna with asparagus or fresh artichokes, and do not forget, tagliatelle topped with shaved black or white truffles. Faro and fagoli soup, along with chestnut and lentil soups too, are just a few more favorites. Learn the famous Umbrian recipe for pollo alla cacciatora, hunter’s chicken with vegetables or roasted pork and braised fennel. You’ll also learn about local bread like pan caciato, pan nociato, pane di Strettura and the unsalted bread of Tern. Farm fresh eggs, blend with flour, vanilla, sugar and creamy butter in making Assisi cooking class – rocciata, a pastry strudel made in the shape of a spiral. Brustengolo – cornmeal, sugar, apples, raisins, pine nuts, lemon zest, olive oil and walnuts – is another favorite!!! Cooking classes are hands-on and limited to small groups. Following each cooking class, guests enjoy the foods that were prepared in class with a toast of local wine and water included. Chef Patrizia magically turns each cooking class into a fun learning experience – where you’ll become chef in a day – Umbria!
Umbria Accommodations
Check into Chef Patrizia’s charming guest house located in Assisi – a picturesque property surrounded by lush green gardens and flowering fields. The property also has a working farm, brimming garden and swimming pool. Each guest room is elegantly decorated with Umbrian linens with comfortable bedding decorated. Bright wide windows swing open letting in the fresh Umbrian air. Each room has a private ensuite bath, heating and wi-fi. A caffe bar serves delicious Italian breakfast daily.
Check into the property, close to Assisi and the Basilica of San Francesco and a short driver to Santa Maria degli Angeli, Perugia, Gubbio, Spello and Todi, making it convenient for day trips to these nearby towns. And best of all, imagine horseback riding in the gorgeous hills of Assisi or riding a bike down a cypress lined pathway with Medieval villages in the backdrop. This authentic Cooking Vacations Umbria tour will have you wanting to stay forever! Discover the scenic tours of Umbria Italy while learning recipes from Umbria too!
Itinerary ~ 5 Days, 4 Nights
Day One: Check In & Chef’s Welcome Dinner
- Arrival transfer and check in.
- Enjoy your Prosecco toast.
- Chef’s Tasting dinner including a full course menu featuring local fare with wine included.
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 apron and for your first hands-on Umbrian cooking class creating a full course dinner. Lunch follows and includes the foods that were made in the cooking class with a a toast of wine included.
- 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, and wood crafts, caffès, ice-cream shops and restaurants. Visit Saint France’s church and grounds and discover 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 apron and for your second hands-on Umbrian cooking class creating a full course dinner. Dinner follows and includes the foods that were made in the cooking class
- Following dinner, relax at the property and enjoy!
Day Four: Cooking Class & Wine Tour Tasting Lunch
- Breakfast is served.
- Excursion to Umbrian wine maker with tour, tastings and lunch included. Meet your driver for a unique wine tasting lunch.
- Return to the property. Tie on your apron and for your third hands-on Umbrian cooking class creating a full course dinner. Dinner follows and includes the foods that were made in the cooking class
- 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. Prices upon request based on the size of your group. 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 menu followed by lunch or dinner with the foods prepared in class with local wine.
• Excursions to Assisi for a Walking Tour with English-speaking guide.
• Excursion to an Umbrian wine maker, visit, tour, wine tasting and traditional lunch included.
• Transfer to and from the property from Assisi Train Station.
• Cooking Vacations’ welcome bag with Chef’s apron, recipe book and Prosecco.
Program Price:
$1,795 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
