The Iaccarino family welcomes you to Don Alfonso 1890, the award-winning Michelin Star Restaurant for an opulent week of cooking. The property is located in the quaint town of Sant’Agata sui Due Golfi nestled between the Bays of Naples and Salerno. The Executive Chef, with his 40 plus staff, prepares Mediterranean cuisine in their professional kitchen which is dedicated exclusively for cooking class participants.
Using organic produce from the family’s exquisite farm and artisan products from local purveyors, the menu features Mediterranean cuisine made with produce from Le Peracciole, the property’s garden and farm. The experience is exquisite!
Don Alfonso Restaurant and Relais, dating back to 1890, continues to provide supreme service to guests.
Cooking Classes
Join Don Alfonso chefs in the dedicated cooking class kitchen for hands-on cooking and delicately prepared foods indigenous to the Sorrento Peninsula. Menus are carefully planned and prepared featuring the Mediterranean diet. Cooking classes start at 9:30am and include the preparation of two to three recipes. Lunch follows on the foods prepared in class.
Delights such as Smoked Mozzarella Zucchine Puffs, Zucchine Fantasia-a colorful plate of fresh summer squash served Carpaccio style layered with mint; a bursting squash flower stuffed with cheese and served tempura-style, cold zucchini soup with smoked tuna, zucchini coins drizzled with olive oil and white lobster boffi, or hand-made ravioli, or fresh white fish drizzled with lemon and vanilla and Paccheri with fresh tuna and herbs; these are only a sample.
Cooking Class schedule:
Wednesday: Seasonal Vegetables
Learn about eating what’s in season for the best taste and nutrients.
Thursday: Seafood
The most important species of the Mediterranean Sea and them main features.
Clean, thread and cooking methods (traditional cooking “Acqua Pazza”, modern cold cooking).
Friday: Fresh Pasta
Learn to make fresh pasta with eggs and flour, fresh pasta with water and semolina. Focus on the pasta-making process: kneading and laying. Pasta making is an art in Italy and learn about the many different kinds that vary by region, season and more.
Saturday: Meats
The most interesting varieties and the main cuts. Learn about cooking methods, preparation and tasting of 2/3 recipes.
Sunday: Dolci
The great Neapolitan art of pastry making. All over Italy desserts reign, and the area around Naples boasts a rich tradition such as the incredible sfogliatella, torta caprese, delizia a limone from the Amalfi Coast.
Philosophy
At Don Alfonso 1890, the Iaccarino credo is, “be extremely open to all that is new when it comes to new techniques and technology, as well as products. Looking back in the past we realize that innovations become successful if they are tied to the land. We want to create dishes that even if your eyes are closed…you know that you are in front of Capri,” states the Don Alfonso Family.
History
In 1890 Alfonso Costanzo Iaccarino, the grandfather of the present-day Alfonso, returned to Sant’Agata sui Due Golfi after spending several years in America. Her returned to his native Italy, and it was then that he unknowingly began what would one day become one of the most well known restaurants in the world. Today Don Alfonso 1890 continues to serve travellers and food lovers from all over the world.
The Wine Cellar
Step into Don Alfonso 1890’s Wine Cellar and go back in wine making time. The cellar, originally an ancient Roman tunnel, stocks over 25,000 bottles of fine wine from all over the world, ranging from the Italian Greats, to prized French to exotic world makers. Rare precious wines dating back in time with invaluable price tags is a wine lovers must see! The cellar also has a cheese aging room that is 25 meters underground; keeping their gourmet artisan cheeses at just the right temperature.
Accommodations
Step into a relaxing property where modern touches blend with antique collectables in a fresh approach. The Don Alfonso 1890 Restaurant & Hotel Relais offer upscale suites and junior suites, complete with large luxurious private baths, fine furnishings, modern art and handcrafted linens. Pastel colors blend with a cool decor for those seeking luxe surroundings. An extensive library, an outdoor café bar, a private swimming pool set in lush Mediterranean gardens, were designed by husband and wife, Alfonso and Livia Iaccarino, owners of the property. The family, Livia, Alfonso, along with their sons Mario and Ernesto, are at your service.
Click for Property Photo Gallery
Itinerary~ 4 Days, 3 Nights
Program is Tuesday to Monday, however other check in days available upon request. Please note that cooking classes are held Wednesday through Sunday.
Tuesday: Arrival & Chef’s Tasting Menu
- Arrival and check in.
- Afternoon free, enjoy the swimming pool or explore the town of Sant’Agata.
- In the evening, visit the wine cellar, and learn about the ancient tuffo cantina and the Don Alfonso wine selection.
- Welcome dinner featuring the Chef’s tasting menu featuring local fare. Wine not included.
Wednesday: Cooking Class 1~ Seasonal Vegetables & Visit Don Alfonso’s Garden
- Breakfast served.
- Tie on your apron for your first Cooking class from 9:30am to 1pm. Cooking class 1 features a seasonal vegetable menu: demonstration of 2/3 recipes.
- Lunch follows and includes the food that was prepared in the cooking class. Wine not included.
- In the afternoon, visit the garden and farm that produces all the fresh farm-to-table ingredients. Discover the local produce, grown organically on the Amalfi Coast. Informal discussion included.
- Evening free and dinner on your own.
Thursday: Cooking Class 2~ Local Seafood
- Breakfast served.
- Breakfast served.
- Head into the kitchen for your second cooking class from 9:30am to 1pm. Learn about the local fish and prepare a menu of 2/3 fish dishes for your cooking class 2.
- Lunch follows and includes the food that was prepared in the cooking class. Wine not included.
- Afternoon free. Suggestion: Add-on a visit to the artisan pasta maker and discover how delicious Italian pasta is made.
- Evening free and dinner on your own.
Friday: Departure
- Breakfast served.
- Check-out by 12:45 pm.
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:
- 5 days, 4 nights, based on 2 guests. Click To View!
- Daily breakfast and maid service.
- 3 Cooking classes with lunch following on the foods prepared in class.
- Guided tour through wine cellar.
- Guided visit to Don Alfonso’s garden.
- 2 Tasting Dinner featuring a Chef’s Tasting including local fare, wine not included. (Available Tuesday to Sunday).
- Cooking Vacations Welcome Bag with chef’s apron, Prosecco, and recipe booklet.
- A copy of Lauren’s cookbook, It’s A Dream Place – Stories & Recipes of Food, Love and The Amalfi Coast.
Arrival & Departure Transfers from Naples Airport or Train Station are not included. Please call for more information about adding on transfers and excursions.
Program Prices
3,695 in Euros, per person, based on 2 guests in Junior Suite.
4,095 in Euros, per person, based on 2 guests in a Suite.
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.
2024 Dates: This program is available March to November. You can check in and start your cooking program any day of the week; a Tuesday check-in is suggested. 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.
Food Excursion Adventures While Cooking At Don Alfonso:
Optional Add-On Classes & Tours:
Foods Of Ancient Pompeii
Step back into time at the archeological site of the Ancient Romans in Pompeii. The city was perfectly preserved due to the apocalyptic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D., which covered Pompeii in 4 meters of ash. A guided tour highlighting the Foods Of Ancient Pompeii walks you through the marketplace and wine bars of ancient ruins. The guided tour in the Ruins of Pompeii incorporates history and the foods of the Roman Empire.
Please call for details and pricing based on your group.
Island Of Capri ~ By Land & By Sea!
Visit the Isle of Capri, where you can choose to see the Blue Grotto – the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’, or stroll along the port. The Blue Grotto has a special cavern entrance where the sunlight reflects on the water in the cave, tingeing it a dramatic Mediterranean cerulean shade of blue. Capri is Italy’s most popular and well-known seaside island and is just twenty minutes away. Once in the port of Capri, you can choose to take the funicular up to the famous Piazza Umberto. The square, better known as la piazzetta, is perched high above the sea and offers a panoramic view of the Bay of Naples and Ischia. At the main Piazza, you will find many designer shops and luxury boutiques or you can simply sit at a café and enjoy a gelato or Prosecco Mimosa.
A favorite place on Capri is Anacapri. This old world village that once captured the hearts of writers, artists and poets is dainty, delicate and quiet. Anacapri, the highest point on the island, virtually carries you back in time. Walk through narrow streets lined with Grecian-style whitewashed villas, ancient churches, and small bookshops. From Anacapri, take the chair lift up to Monte Solaro; pass the castle of Barbarosso, fields of Capri flowers and marvel at a clear blue sky that seems to turn 360 degrees above you.
While on land in Capri, we suggest that you reserve a private car tour with our professional driver. Costanzo will drive and guide you to each point of interest, while pointing out fascinating historical sites and facts along the way. He will drive to the highest peak in Anacapri, and to hidden gardens and villas where emperors once reigned. A 4-hour excursion in the driver’s sporty Capri Car is available from 1 to up to 6 people.
Please call for details and pricing based on your group.
