The Chianti Masterpiece Siena™

Join Signor Francesco, chef, wine maker and sommelier in his Tuscan kitchen for our deliciously tempting Tuscan cooking & wine weekend program in Chianti, Tuscany. Gently sweeping hills adorned with pristine vineyards and grey-green olive groves, pretty country churches and imposing stone castles provide the backdrop for your cooking school vacation. Take a tour of the property’s winery, visiting the vineyard, tasting wines and learning about the Chianti Classico; enjoy accompanying your dinners with a delicious selection of house reds and whites; and discover the wonderful healing properties of wine and grapes and reserve a wine therapy massage at the Estate’s spa. Signor Francesco also produces extra virgin first-cold pressed Tuscan olive oil at the property.

Chianti Cooking Classes

Chef Francesco’s philosophy is “see, smell and eat it” and each day. He chooses the best fresh ingredients from the garden and the market for your hands-on cooking classes. The atmosphere in the kitchen is informal, encouraging you to ask questions, roll up your sleeves and get involved. Signor Francesco is a true Tuscan food lover – preparing homemade antipasto, pasta, risotto – main courses – and desserts!

Tuscan cuisine is unique and based on the simplicity of raw materials, cooked with skillful craftsmanship. Tuscan history speaks of agriculture and simple living, therefore dishes are based around the use of the ingredients of common people who could not afford luxuries in the kitchen – olive oil replacing lard, vegetables as a base for the soups instead of meat, chestnut flour, and so on. Everyone will prepare genuine ingredients using ancient culinary traditions and methods, creating delicious Tuscan everything frompanzanella, pappa al pomodoro, pici, lasagna, risotto, roast pork loin, duck, tripe, to cantuccini and tiramisù.

Each class is 2 to 3 hours long. Following each cooking class, everyone dines together enjoying the foods that were prepared in the class with Signor Francesco’s Tuscan wine included.

Gaiole in Chianti

The village of Gaiole is located approximately 40 km southeast of Florence and 15 km northeast of Siena in the Chianti hills, the most famous region of Tuscany. Gaiole in Chianti, like the whole Chianti region, is famous for its wine, artisan food products, and the unique romantic beauty of its landscapes: beautifully tended vineyards and olive groves, gently rolling hills, restored Medieval villages and farmhouses and characteristic avenues of stately poplar trees. Once a market town on the road from Chianti to Valdarno, Gaiole is still a wonderful place to visit for its wine shops, osterias, and local artisan shops, and perhaps more than any other village, represents the divine Tuscan landscape visitors dream of.