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Mina's Country Kitchen™

Country Cooking On The Amalfi Coast~5 Day

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Tie on your apron in our Amalfi Coast Country Kitchen for a delicious cooking and wine experience in the romantic hills above Amalfi.  Join Chef Mina and learn how to create authentic, traditional antipasti, fresh pastas, risottos and delicious dolci in the country kitchen.  Cook, explore and discover with Chef Mina and her family while soaking up the sun on the sunny Amalfi Coast.

With infinite views of sky and sea, the property options offer a breathtaking position that showcases the Amalfi Coast and its beautiful landscapes. Wild birds glide on the hot air currents in the valley, church bells ring out in the village below and the scent of jasmine and lemon blossoms in the breeze invite you to explore the trails that lead down to the nearby Church of San Michele or to the Walk of the Gods.

There’s an old-world feel in the Amalfi Coast Country Kitchen cooking tour while Chef Mina works her magic in the kitchen and the scent of fresh baked bread and cakes scent the air.  She and her family welcome guests to their property and kitchen with passion, care and an enormous love of food and wine.  Learn traditional recipes including slow cooked braciole stuffed with garlic, parsley and pine nuts and simmered in tomato sauce; eggplant parmesan made the old-fashioned way, fresh pasta handmade pasta served with sweet cherry tomatoes and local Provolone del Monaco cheese – always using farm-to-table ingredients from the family’s garden.  You will also be baking traditional Neapolitan desserts from the family recipe book, including Torta al Limone, biscotti, crostata, open fruit pie, and semi-freddo, ice cream with fruits of the season.

Discover the most beautiful villages along the Amalfi Coast with artisan products:  limoncello; fiore di latte, artisan cheese; extra virgin olive oil and the ancient wine of the region – Falanghina and Aglianico wines.  There’s pasta – scialatielli, the pasta of the region, ravioli, and gnocchi.  Our Amalfi Coast Country Kitchen cooking program brings you to the heart of Southern Italy’s cuisine, where sun, sea and the volcanic soil from nearby Vesuvius play a vital part in the cultivation of the fruits, vegetables and grapes for wine making. Enjoy an excursion to Amalfi and Ravello, take a boat trip to Capri (weather permitting), discover the local produce markets and artisan cheese makers, and visit an award-winning winery for a vintner’s tasting lunch and a cooking class to follow!

Amalfi Coast Cooking Classes

Chef Mina welcomes you to her country kitchen and shows you how to prepare Neapolitan classics using farm-to-table produce and vegetables from the family garden.  She shares her family recipes in hands-on cooking classes starting with delicious antipasti to fresh pasta and main courses – with  daily catch from the sea and naturally raised meats, and dessert.  Learn the secrets of Neapolitan cooking in the four seasons with Chef Mina.

In the Amalfi Coast Country Kitchen, copper pans hang from up high, wooden shelves are lined with jars of homemade jams and home-grown tomatoes, and a bouquet of dried thyme tied tight in twine dangles on a golden hook.  Ingredients are local and recipes are traditional using the fundamental principles of the Mediterranean diet.

Discover the family’s lush Mediterranean garden brimming with ruccola, rosemary and basil along with tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant and endless vegetables.  Vineyards surround this area of the Amalfi Coast, a land rich in volcanic soil and warm sun.  Fruits and citrus – think cherries, lemons and figs are picked daily and used in the cooking classes.

Chef Mina’s Sample menus are comprised of delicious sun-dried tomatoes made into a delicious pesto rosso for bruschetta and fresh pasta.  Using the sfusato lemons, learn how to prepare creamy lemon risotto made with lemons from the garden.  Pasta is endless from hand-made ravioli stuffed with ricotta, gnocchi and tagliatelle.  Learn the secret recipe for Neapolitan ragù and totani e patate – an old fishermen’s recipe made with local calamari and farm potatoes or caponata, a traditional summer salad made with pane biscottato – twice baked bread – and tomatoes and basil.  Also learn how to prepare traditional Neapolitan pizza, antipasto and a dessert.  Desserts are delicious and never-ending -from Torta Caprese, a traditional Capri cake to zeppole, a sweet dough that is flash-fried and sprinkled with sugar to crostata, open-face fruit pies made with apples, lemons and citrus.

Food Lover’s Tour to Amalfi & Ravello with English-Speaking Guide & Tastings

Great cooking on the Amalfi Coast blended with stepping into the workplace of food artisans highlights your experience. The specially selected food trip takes you to artisan producers whose handcrafted food products take you back in time. We visit a bread baker who uses a wood-burning stone oven, an Amalfi Coast fisherman who sails out as the sun rises, and a historic artisan pastry maker who continues to make artfully created pastries and chocolates perfect every time.  The Food Lover’s Tour to Amalfi and Ravello with our English-speaking guide includes tastings along the way.

Agerola & Furore

Like a town from a storybook, Furore is suspended between the sky and the sea with there are never-ending views wherever you turn. Agerola, another small neighboring town, is known for salumi, mozzarella, Neapolitan pizza and homemade wine.  Behind you is the craggy, limestone rock of the Monti Lattari and an infinite expanse of sea before your eyes that slowly changes color and takes on the hues of the sky.  Furore is a paese dipinto, a painted village, where artists have used the sides of houses and walls as their canvases and turned Furore into an outdoor art gallery.  Many years ago, the famous Italian actress Anna Magnani and film director Roberto Rossellini met here, and fell madly in love, and it remained one of their favorite places over the years.

Amalfi Coast Accommodations 

From this position on the Amalfi Coast in Furore, experience a spanning view of the Mediterranean sea surrounded by endless vineyards and blue blue sky.  From this point on the Amalfi Coast, you will see where “Sea meets sky,” as artists and writers have called it through time.  This dreamy Mediterranean atmosphere, filled with lemon and orange trees, vineyards and gardens, relaxes the soul and invigorates the mind.  Enjoy breakfast outside on the terrace, watch the boats sail by and at dusk, and the sunset at dusk.

The Villa Accommodations

Villa Palazzo Superior – Set in the Main Palazzo with Sea View

Garden and Vineyard – Set In The Garden with Sea View

The Villa offers three options to choose from:  Villa Palazzo Superior with Sea View (in the main palazzo), Garden and Vineyard Set In The Garden with Sea View (5 minute walk from the main property), Classic with Garden View (no sea view) – all rooms are decorated with Mediterranean style with cool colors, tradition and modern design.  Each room offers comfortable modern beds and Italian linens with private ensuite baths and air conditioning.  Daily breakfast includes a complete wholesome breakfast including homemade baked bread, Italian cornetti, cakes, jams, coffee, tea, and juices.

 

Itinerary ~ 5 Days, 4 Nights

Check-in and start your program on any day of the week.

Day One: Welcome Dinner with Chef’s Tasting Menu

  • Pick up and transfer from Naples airport or train station to the property.
  • Check-in.  Relax and refresh.
  • Later in the evening, enjoy your Welcome Dinner featuring a full course Chef’s Tasting menu featuring local fare with wine incluced.

Day Two:  Cooking Class 1

  • Breakfast is served.
  • Following breakfast, tie on your aprons for Cooking Class 1 – featuring the scent of the Amalfi Coast Lemons!  Learn how to make lemon-scented antipasto – think fresh mozzarella grilled on lemon leaves, lemon risotto and a Torta Caprese, Capri cake with lemon.  Following the class, everyone enjoys the food that was prepared in the class with a toast of wine included.
  • Afternoon is free to relax, sit on the terrace or take a walk through the village.
  • In the evening, enjoy dinner on your own with suggestions provided.

Day Three:  Amalfi & Ravello Full Day Excursion & Food Lover’s Tour

  • Breakfast is served.
  • Following breakfast, meet your driver for an excursion to Amalfi and Ravello.
  • Discover Amalfi with our English-speaking guide who will lead you on a Food Lover’s Tour with tastings!  The small town of Amalfi, perched on the coastline, is dominated by Amalfi’s Cathedral, and its main streets are lined with small artisan shops and elegant bars.  Discover the Old World handmade Amalfi paper which this town is so famous for.  Explore the narrow cobblestone walkways lined with artisan ceramics, liqueur specialties, lemon soap, and limoncello.  Enjoy an Amalfi Coast pastry in the famous pastry bakers shop and coffee bar – dating back to the 1800’s.  Discover chocolate eggplant layered with pine nuts, liqueur, and orange;  fragrant ricotta pear tart or candied lemon and orange dipped in melted dark chocolate.

Following Amalfi, you’ll continue onto Ravello. This quaint town, called the city between  Sea and Sky, is suspended high above the Amalfi Coast, with sweeping views that span the Tyrrhenian Sea.  After the tour, return to the property.

Food Lover’s Tour with Tastings

  • The town of Amalfi is rich in culture and history. The small town, perched on the coastline, is dominated by Amalfi’s Cathedral and its main streets are lined with small shops and elegant bars. Merchants display their wares outside and nothing could be more pleasant than browsing through stalls of herbs and spices, jewelry, shoes, beautiful handmade Amalfi paper, and local lemon specialties such as lemon soap and lemon liqueurs. Italians carry on their daily lives at these little markets, doing their daily shopping and exchanging the news of the day.  Stops to food artisans with food tastings along the way.

Amalfi

The town of Amalfi is rich in culture and history. The small town, perched on the coastline, is dominated by Amalfi’s Cathedral and its main streets are lined with small shops and elegant bars. Merchants display their wares outside and nothing could be more pleasant than browsing through stalls of herbs and spices, jewelry, shoes, the beautiful handmade Amalfi paper, and local lemon specialties such lemon soap and lemon liqueurs. Suggested is a stop in at one of the oldest and most famous pastry makers in southern Italy- dating back to the 1800’s. A look inside reveals a sweet showcase of chocolate-drenched eggplant flavored with pine nuts, liqueur and orange; fragrant ricotta pear tarts; candied lemon and orange dragged in dark chocolate; or festive pastries of the day! Whatever you decide to order, take a seat outside in the piazza at one of the small café tables that overlook the greatest people-watching site on the Coast. Ravello follows. This quaint town, often called the city between ‘Sea & Sky’, is suspended high above the coast, with sweeping views that span everything from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the mountains inland.

Ravello

Drive along the famed Amalfi Coast headed to Amalfi and the hilltop village of Ravello.  Ravello is world-famous for its outdoor music concerts. Visit Villa Cimbrone, once the residence of Greta Garbo, wander through the lush gardens and the Terrazza Della Rosa, or stroll down the path that leads to the Terrazzo dell’Infinito (Terrace of Infinity). This natural balcony is adorned with imposing marble busts. From this unique vantage point, you can see the distant Cilento Mountains and the Licosa beyond the sparkling sea, the lush Amalfi Coast, its distinctive terraces of colorful lemon trees, and the typical whitewashed houses that cling to the rugged coastline. Stroll along the streets and alleyways and discover little gems of churches, chapels, and noblemen’s residences. Also see the Cathedral, Villa Rufolo, San Giovanni del Tauro, and Santa Maria.

  • Following your excursion, return to the property.
  • Dinner on your own, suggestions provided.

Day Four:  Vineyard & Cantina Tour & Cooking Class 2 & Wine Pairing

  • Breakfast is served.
  • Following breakfast, visit one of the area’s most important award-winning wine producers, where you’ll learn about the the land, vineyards and the natural way of maturing the grapes that grow on vertical mountain cliffs.  Discover and enjoy the tour while learning about the precious white, rose and red wines.  You’ll visit the winery and cantina and see how the wine is pressed and bottled.  Following the vineyard and cantina tour, tie on  your apron for your cooking class 2.   Prepare a full course Neapolitan menu including an antipasto, fresh pasta and sauce, main course and dessert.  Following the cooking class, everyone enjoys the food that was prepared in the class paired with the wines discussed at the winery.
  • The rest of your afternoon and evening are free.
  • Dinner on your own, suggestions provided.

Day 5: Check Out & Arrivederci

  • Check out and arrivederci!!!
  • Transfer to Naples Airport or Train Station

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.  

Program Includes:

  • Five days and four nights accommodations, based on 2 guests. Click to view!
  • Daily breakfast and maid service.
  • Chef’s Welcome Dinner featuring a Chef’s Tasting Menu of traditional fare.  Wine not included.
  • 2 Traditional cooking classes preparing an antipasto, fresh pasta and sauce, second course and dessert.
  • Food Lover’s Tour and excursion to Amalfi and Ravello with private driver and English-speaking guide.  Tastings included along the way.
  • Tour the vineyard and cantina (followed by a cooking class as included above) with the wine of the tour paired with your menu.
  • Round trip group transfers from Naples Airport or Train station to the property.
  • Cooking Vacations welcome bag with chef’s apron, Prosecco toast and recipe booklet.
  • A copy of Lauren’s cookbook, It’s A Dream Place –  Stories & Recipes of Food, Love and The Amalfi Coast.
Program Prices:

$2,495 per person, based on 2 guests in the Garden and Vineyard – Set In The Garden with Sea View 300 meters from the main palazzo..

$3,095 per person, based on 2 guests in the Villa Palazzo Superior – Set In The Main Palazzo with Sea View.

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.

ARRIVAL-Arrival transfers from Naples Airport to the property are 1:00pm and from Naples Train Station at 3:00pm. Group transfers leave promptly at the scheduled time.  If you cannot make the scheduled group transfer time, a special transfer can be reserved for you, please call for pricing.

DEPARTURE-Departure from the property to Naples Airport or Train Station are at 4am and 10am (in heavy traffic conditions, departures may start 30 minutes prior – you will notified). 10am is the official property check out time on the morning of your departure.  If you would like a private transfer, please call for pricing.  Departures between 2am to 7am have an 85E supplement.

*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. Wifi is provided complimentary in the sitting area.

Check Availability

2024 Dates: This program is available throughout the year. Check in and start your cooking program any day of the week. This program is available 12 months per year. Rates are subject to change based on currency exchange. Call for updated rates. Airfare not included. Group transfers for any cooking tour or tours that include transfers, are for the group and are not private. Transfers before, after or to another destination outside of your cooking tour are not included in the program price. If you would like to add on a private transfer or transfers, let us know and we will send you pricing.  Group transfers for the cooking tour are included.  Transfers before, after or to another destination outside of your cooking tour are not included.