COOKING DIVINE

Dip further into Tuscan lifestyle and unveil the secrets behind the region’s celebrated cuisine on a private cooking lesson near Cortona. Inside the warm, welcoming setting of a traditional kitchen you will learn how to prepare heavenly recipes designed by a Michelin-rated chef.

You begin your day with a pleasant ride through Tuscany’s gentle rolling hills to a Michelin-starred restaurant situated in the Chiana Valley. Here, you will enjoy a hands-on cooking class using fresh, prime quality ingredients, personally selected by your host. Tuscany’s food-related proverbs are an indication of how gastronomy is an essential component of the region’s culture. As a Tuscan saying goes ogni frutto vuol la sua stagione (literally “every fruit has its season”) and, under the guidance of your chef, you will discover the importance of eating seasonally, safeguarding the territory and maintaining a sustainable, caring partnership with the land. The aim of this cooking class, which can be tailored to suit all levels of experience, is to help participants transform their approach to food, enhance their awareness of the environment and develop an understanding of nature-respectful cooking. You will discover regional recipes, local culinary traditions, infallible cooking methods and pick up tricks you can use to impress your friends back home at the dinner table. Your host will explain how to match different flavours, nuances and colours as presentation too is an important ingredient of Michelin-star dining. Tasty highlights of your class might include bread, appetizers, a pasta creation, a meat dish and a dessert. Later, take a seat in the dining room and tuck into the meal you just prepared. Nice work, cook!

Top off your day with a visit to the quaint town of Cortona. Sitting at the summit of a hill about six hundred metres above sea level, Cortona offers splendid views of the Valdichiana extending all the way to Lake Trasimeno. Cortona’s origins date way back in time. The town was one of the wealthiest and most powerful settlements of the Etruscan era as attested by the ancient foundations of its massive stone walls and the artefacts now kept inside the Etruscan Museum. But it was during the Middle Ages and Renaissance that Cortona blossomed becoming a thriving cultural and artistic hub. The original layout of Cortona lives on, together with its pretty squares, historic palazzi and imposing fortress which proclaim the importance of the town between the 13th and 16th centuries. Make sure not to miss Cortona’s major landmarks, including Piazza della Repubblica, once the site of the ancient Roman forum and still today the core of the town’s social and political life, and Piazza del Duomo overlooked by the Romanesque Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta.

Wander through the labyrinth of steep, narrow alleys lined with shops selling hand-made ceramic pieces and gastronomic specialities before riding in comfort back to your accommodation in Siena.