A TAVOLA!

Get a true taste of Le Marche on this hands-on cooking experience. A dedicated husband-and-wife team will open the doors of their kitchen and spill their culinary secrets. Since 2006 this American couple has been living their Italian dream as owners, hosts and chefs of a successful cooking school and organic farm in the splendid countryside in north-west Le Marche. After spending a month-long honeymoon in Italy they both fell head over heels in love with the Bel Paese and, within a year and a half of that trip, they had already settled in this little known corner of Italy. It was the sun, the beautiful landscapes, the food and the quality of the relationships with the local community that prompted them to take the risk and swap their hectic New York lifestyle with the relaxed rhythms of the Dolce Vita. Their passion for Italy shines through and is contagious… get ready to be infected!

In the afternoon guests will be picked up by their private chauffeur and driven to the location of their cooking class. The beautifully restored, three-hundred-year-old stone farmhouse is set in a delightful position surrounded by rolling hills dotted with vineyards and orchards, between the bountiful woods of the Apennines, full of wild boar, truffles and mushrooms, and the seafood-rich Adriatic Sea. Potatoes, onions, salad, beans, peppers, pumpkins, zucchini, cucumbers and twelve heirloom tomato varieties grow in their lovingly tended garden, providing fresh, home-grown fare for their classes.

In this lovely setting, under the guidance of your friendly hosts, you will learn how to prepare a delicious dinner in true Italian style. Tie your apron strings and head into the garden to collect the ingredients needed for the cooking lesson. Then roll up your sleeves and, with a glass of wine in hand, enjoy recreating traditional Italian recipes. You will gain a better understanding of “from farm to table” cooking methods, pick up pearls of kitchen wisdom such as “if it grows together it goes together”, and perfect your skills in combining and balancing different flavours. Groups with young children are welcome to participate in this experience which is entertaining and educational for all the family. Young chefs will have fun picking vegetables and herbs in the garden, then return to the kitchen to make pizza dough from scratch and light a fire in the outdoor wood burning oven.

After the class take a seat around the dinner table and tuck into your cena! Depending on the season and day of the week tasty highlights might be stuffed eggplant, peperonata, lentil salad, slow roasted tomato with anchovies, baked vegetables with breadcrumbs, homemade tagliatelle with zucchini, poached peaches with fresh whipped cream… Buon appetito!