Our cooking school in Tuscany works since 1999
within beautiful Renaissance tower of Villa Pandolfini near Florence
Like anything important, our Culinary School in Italy has evolved over time just like the best Tuscan Spezzatino that needs to sit on the stove bubbling over a low flame and have Chianti Wine added every now and then.
We have a great team of dedicated people around us, our wonderful clients (though we would prefer to call them friends; you can check our page on Facebook) and a true passion for cooking has really made our Italian Culinary School successfull.
We do add a little Chianti now and again.
We believe in traditional food , Authentic Tuscan cuisine , original recipes and offer hands-on cooking lessons. Learning through fun and immersing yourself in a historic setting is definitely the best way to take the Taste of Tuscany home with you. All of our chefs are native Italians and speak English, so understanding would not be a problem. Even if they did not, it is amazing on what you can get across by just using hand gestures, a pot, a knife, some ingredients ,lots of laughs and a good bottle of wine.
One thing that visitors to our culinary school in Italy would not ever have trouble understanding is the passion that Italians have for living and a huge part of this relates directly to time spent in the kitchen. Cooking with the Italians family members and making the countless jars of Salsa di pomodoro in the summer that involves the young and old with laughs around the tables during the meal time. These things can only be experienced in Italy. Restaurant owners in November will come out to your table and offer you with a proud smile a bottle of bright green Olio nuovo, the new extra virgin olive oil to try on your bread.
We only use the olive oil and wine produced on the estate. All other ingredients are bought fresh everyday and only what is in season. 10 years ago we started our culinary school, initially it was dinners with Tuscan families on their estates. A huge part of any Italian experience is obviously the food and wine and the traditions that go hand in hand with it. Over the years we have come to really love and appreciate the gastronomical part of Tuscany. Sharing what we know with you for us is honestly the cherry on the cake. From one day classes we then developed multi day courses and then the 7 Day Gastronomical Adventure – our weekly cooking tour in Italy which really is that best way for anyone that loves food and wine to enjoy the best of what Tuscany has to offer. To experience things that everyday tourists just would not get that chance to. Like the Truffle hunt in the autumn following the Tartufaio and his specially trained dogs into the misty woods with the hope of finding the little nuggets which are more valuable than gold. The visit to the cheese factory where mouthwatering Pecorino cheese and ricotta are made or to an olive oil tasting at the actual mill where the olives are crushed.
Our team consists of the staff for the organization in the USA and owners Darren&Lori, the accounting team. We collaborate with an enology professor for the wine classes. The culinary classes of International Food Wine association with their various Tuscan chefs and the Italian families that we have come to know as ours. We look forward to sharing with you an authentic Tuscan food experience and also, wonderful place that we call home Take a little bit of Taste of Tuscany back with you.