At The Tuscan Table™

Tie on your apron with Executive Chef Filippo, and Chef Alex and Emanuele for in cooking classes in Arezzo, Tuscany!  Marta and her family welcome each guest to their Villa residence with warm hearts and Tuscan hospitality.  The family share their knowledge in Tuscan cooking classes using farm-to-table produce, while preparing lunches and dinners at the Tuscan Villa.  Our chefs share their cooking technique in the kitchen in cooking classes in Arezzo.

Tuscan Cooking Classes

The Arezzo cooking classes take place in the Villa’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, you’ll prepare traditional menus using the produce of the season.  Our cooking classes in Tuscany are hands-on and following each cooking class, everyone enjoys the food that was prepared in the class with wine included.

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 and hams, and wine.  The food and wine to Tuscany only attests 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 you 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, 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 discover during their visit 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.  Visit the area on foot or horseback – discovering Arezzo every step of the way.

Dreamy castles, ancient churches and medieval towns take you to historical art works.  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 destinations in the province of Arezzo.

During your stay with Signora Marta and her family, explore the sites on your own, or Cooking Vacations can tailor create a tour that works for you based on your interests.  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 wifif connection.

The Villa offers a panoramic terrace and a swimming pool with picturesque views over the valley and Poppi Castle.  A lounge bar caffe 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.
• Welcome Proscecco & introduction to your cooking program.
• Chef’s Welcome Dinner including specialities of the area with excellent Tuscan wine, included.

Day 2: Cooking Class 1 & Excursion to Camaldoli

• Breakfast is served.
• Cooking Class with Chefs Alex and Emanuele (approximately 3 hours-classes may run longer depending on the menu), focusing on the traditional Tuscan food and wines of the region. Preparation an antipasto, fresh pasta, main course and dessert – following ancient local tradition.  Learn how to make handmade pasta and ravioli made with rolling pin, and Chianina steak.  Vegetarian options also available.
• Lunch includes the foods prepared in class, wine included.
• In the afternoon, enjoy an excursion to Camaldoli Hermitage and Monastery of Camaldoli, where still today monks live and make use of homegrown medicinal herbs. Visit to the stunning Hermitage where Saint Romualdo founded the order and see the millenarian Forest of Camaldoli.
• Visit to local Locanda to see how authentic schiacciata, a pressed pizza, of Camaldoli is baked and enjoy a typical dinner at the Locanda.
• Return to the Villa.

Day 3: Poppi Castle & Arezzo

• Breakfast is served.
• In the morning, guided visit to Poppi Castle and the ancient Library that contains works of Dante Alighieri, who lived and fought in Poppi.
• Tour of Arezzo with English-speaking guide with a tasting of typical local street food included.
• Chef’s Farewell Dinner, including traditional cuisine with wine and beverage included.

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.