Truffles & Traditions In Le Marche™

Tie on your aprons with Signora Vera and Signor Massimo, food lovers, truffle hunters, and wine enthusiasts, in the heart of Le Marche on our truffle hunting and cooking classes tour.

The Region of Le Marche is one of Italy’s most natural regions, keeping its beauty, rich culture, and food.  This one-of-a-kind truffle hunting and truffle cooking class experience takes you into the forest and then the kitchen, where you’ll learn about truffles and how to use the tubers in cooking.

Le  Marche is one of Italy’s major truffle regions, and here you’ll find endless tuber magnatum pico – the prized white truffle, and tuber melanosporum – the delicious black truffle, which are abundant and delicious.  Signoro Reno and his prized truffle dog are on a search for the best truffles in the region – and they always find the tubers!!!

Following the truffle hunting experience, head to the kitchen where you will prepare a full-course menu including handmade pasta served with fresh shaved truffles, followed by a main course, dessert, and wine. Our truffle hunting and cooking class is perfect for the food lover at heart who appreciates the precious truffles.

Le Marche Cooking Classes

Join us in the kitchen for hands-on cooking classes using truffles, while preparing antipasto, fresh pasta, sauces, main courses, and desserts.  Transform farm-to-table ingredients, learning how to incorporate delicious black and white truffles – think truffle-infused frittata, creamy risotto, and gently shaved on fresh pasta.  A true Le Marche speciality is vincisgrassi – a layered pasta with cheese and meat sauce.  Le Marche stuffed olives, called olive all’ascolana, are a delicious delicacy.  Learn how to mix, roll, and cut tagliatelle; prepare herbed roasted lamb, rabbit and pork served with braised fennel, bomboletti al sugo.  Learn about local wine – while you sip and swirl  Verdicchio, white and Ciliegiolo, Pinot Nero and Lacrima di Morro.  You will learn how to prepare traditional desserts such as i cavalluci, a folded-over dough stuffed with chocolate, candied orange and other spices, a Le Marche delight!!!

The Marche region is a culturally rich area, divided into four provinces by four river valleys, in a remote part of Italy – undiscovered by the crowds – ensuring that the land and villages remain quiet and untouched.  Set on the eastern side of central Italy, between the Adriatic Sea and the majestic Apennine Mountains, this region offers delicious food, culture, art, wine making, history, and music.  Local farmers, wine makers, and shopkeepers are warm and friendly.

Ascoli Piceno

Surrounded by mountains and natural parks, the town of Ascoli Piceno has been inhabited since pre-Roman times.  Ascoli Piceno’s historic center is filled with beautiful churches, palazzos and monuments.  It also boasts a main Renaissance square called Piazza del Popolo, named one of the most beautiful in Italy. This piazza once acted as the Forum in Roman times.  You can also visit Le Marche’s second-largest art gallery inside the 17th-century Palazzo Comunale or visit Ascoli’s Cathedral.

Offida

Set atop a gentle hill in southern Le Marche, Offida is a medieval town known for its centuries-old lacemaking, monastic architecture, and deep agricultural roots. Once a fortified settlement under the Piceni people and later a thriving medieval commune, Offida grew around artisan guilds, vineyards, and religious life. Its crown jewel is the 14th-century Church of Santa Maria della Rocca, which stands on a rocky promontory and reflects the town’s blend of Romanesque and Gothic influences.

Today, history still guides daily life with women continuing the tradition of bobbin lace on doorsteps, wine shops pour ancient local varietals like Pecorino and Passerina, and narrow streets follow their original medieval layout. Offida offers an intimate glimpse into Le Marche’s past, with a welcoming, small-town rhythm perfect for slow wandering and tasting its enduring culinary traditions.

Le Marche ~ Accommodations

Check in to your 4-Star property set on the Piazza del Popolo – in the centro storica. Step into the princely property graced with an ancient tower in a light-filled space where stone walls, arched walkways, soft colors, and simple décor create a relaxing place to unwind and let your Cooking Vacations begin. Each room continues with tradition, offering tall windows draped in a palette of natural hues from antique white to creamy beige. High ceilings highlighting the original architecture keep it light and bright.  Comfortable and modern bedding dressed in Italian linens and carefully appointed décor add to the old-world charm blended with a touch of modern design. Private and modern bathrooms stocked with a full collection of soap and supplies add a lovely touch.  Each room includes Wi-Fi, climate control, a minibar, and small conveniences, including a kettle and safe.

Breakfast is served daily and includes artisan breads, pastries, cheeses, and freshly made espresso, cappuccino and tea. Daily housekeeping, luggage assistance, and helpful front-desk service during your stay make you feel like you are at home while vacationing in bella Ascoli Piceno in Le Marche.

Click for Property Photo Gallery

Itinerary: 4 Days, 3 Nights

Day One: Arrival & Welcome Dinner

• Transfer from the Ascoli Piceno train station to a charming 4-Star property.
• Check in and relax. Enjoy your Cooking Vacations Welcome Bag and Prosecco.
• Later in the evening, enjoy your Welcome Dinner with a Chef’s Tasting Menu featuring local fare.

Day Two: Discover Offida, La Strada dell’Artigiano, &

Abbinamento Vino e Formaggio, Wine & Cheese Pairing Experience

• Breakfast is served.
• Following breakfast, meet your English-speaking guide for an excursion to the charming village of Offida. Discover this small, quaint town noted for its delicate hand-made bobbin lace, centuries-old stone streets, and panoramic views from the dramatic Church of Santa Maria della Rocca.
• Visit an artisan cheese maker and discover the art of ancient cheese with tastings and wine included.
• Enjoy lunch in a local trattoria featuring Le Marche fare with a bottle of wine.
• Return to the property in the afternoon.
• Tie on your aprons for Cooking Class 1. Guided by local Chef Vera, prepare a full-course menu featuring local fare. Dinner follows and includes the food prepared in the cooking class paired with local wine.

Day Three: Truffle Hunting & Cooking Class 2

• Breakfast is served
• Following breakfast, participate in a truffle hunt with your English-speaking host.  Follow the licensed truffle hunter and his trained dog to find the buried truffles in the truffle ground.
• After your truffle hunt, head to the kitchen for your hands-on Cooking Class 2 with Chef Roma, where you’ll prepare lunch using farm-to-table ingredients with the truffles found during the hunt.  Lunch follows, and everyone enjoys the food that was prepared in the cooking class paired with local wine.
• After lunch, enjoy a guided tour of Ascoli, discovering landmarks, artisans, and shops.
• Dinner will be on your own with restaurant suggestions.

Day Four: Check-Out & Arrivederci!

• Breakfast is served.
• Check out and transfer to the Ascoli Piceno train station.
• Arrivederci!