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The real taste of Tuscany

  

                                     

We offer all-inclusive hands-on Italian and Mediterranean cookery courses given in two luxurious villas in Tuscany. You stay in either Torre del Tartufo or Casa Ombuto and have the courses in kitchens specially designed for this purpose on location. In a very informal atmosphere you will meet other participants from all around the world and have fun cooking and dining together.

Click here for an enlarged photo.
Cooking is fun with Paola
The Italian cookery courses are given by Paola Baccetti in Casa Ombuto and by Franco Palandra in Torre del Tartufo and the Italian Mediterranean cookery course by Laura Giusti in Casa Ombuto. Courses are given in a "Cantina" which is
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Franco's Limoncello
a professional kitchen specially designed to ensure that everyone has enough space to roll up their sleeves and get to work. Casa Ombuto and Torre del Tartufo are both recently restored large Tuscan villas each offering luxurious accommodation with all modern comforts and both have a large solar heated pool and are both situated on a hill with a spectacular panoramic view of the surrounding hills and valleys.

Both villas have been renovated with an environmentally friendly approach. Heating is through solar energy, the water is from our own well and we only burn wood from trees cut from our own woods. (We have more than 115 acres). Trees are only cut to keep the woods clean and we are proud to protect the nature and environment around us. We grow our own produce and use organic products as much as possible.Fruit, Jams, honey and truffles also come from our own estate. 
 
Italian Cookery Course   Italian Mediterranean Cookery Course

Learn to make complete 4 course Italian dinners covering all the basic Italian cooking techniques. You will make a wide range of Anti pasta's including Crostini's, Bruschetta and Torte Verdura to mention but a few.
You will make your own Gnocchi and roll out your own Pasta - the authentic way with typical Tuscan fillings and delicious sauces. On top of that you will learn to make pizza which is baked in our own wood burning pizza oven. Meat dishes include Wild Boar with polenta, Tagliata with green pepper sauce and baked vegetables and much much more. Desserts include Poala's famous Panna cotta or Franco’s warm lemon pie with Italian meringue.

The Italian cookery course is given by our Italian chef Paola Baccetti in Casa Ombuto and by Franco Palandra in Torre del Tartufo.

They will teach you to cook 4 splendid 4 course Italian dinners where you will learn the passion of the Italian kitchen and have fun doing it.

Learn to make dishes from four of the most popular cuisines in Europe and North Africa. In one week you will make an elaborate Italian dinner, a light Spanish lunch, an exotic Moroccan dinner, a traditional French Provencale supper, and on top of that learn to make various breads and pastries - all in one week! You will learn to make risotto, pasta's, Foccacia, Tapenade, Ratatouille, Gaspacho, Tortilla, Tagine of chicken, spicy couscous and much much more.
Menus are innovative, healthy and delicious.

Organic vegetable garden at Casa Ombuto
In essence the focus is on using fresh ingredients in season which are prepared to ensure that taste is paramount. You can guess which country is being focused on by the smells coming out of the cantina each day!
The Italian Mediterranean cookery course is given by International chef Laura Giusti. This course is more intensive than our Italian cookery courses as it also includes two extra morning sessions - one specialising in Breads Pastries and the other is a light Spanish Lunch.

All our chefs believe that the only way to learn to cook is to do it yourself. While they will demonstrate the techniques, be prepared to roll up your sleeves and put what you have seen into practice. The lessons are informal and the chefs are flexible and willing to add those special dishes you always wanted to learn to make.
The cooking weeks in Casa Ombuto are from Saturday to Saturday and in Torre del Tartufo from Sunday to Sunday. You will have cooking lessons on 4 of the days with enough time to relax and enjoy the surroundings or to do some sight seeing in the area.
A one-day excursion is organized with visits to a salami factory, pecorino and goat cheese farm and an olive oil mill for oil tasting. It also includes wine tasting and lunch at a vineyard near Arezzo, time for shopping in Arezzo and sightseeing. At the end of the day a visit to a Tuscan fabric manufacturer in Anghiari and it’s rounded off with a dinner in a Rustic Tuscan restaurant near the castle of Poppi.

It is also possible to bring along a non-participating partner who can spend the day enjoying the surroundings, sightseeing or playing golf and could then join the group at dinnertime and join in the excursion.

For both courses you will receive a cookbook including recipes of all the dishes made during your stay, an exclusive apron and a certificate on completion of the course. The chefs have chosen dishes that can easily be made at home and using ingredients that you generally can also find in most specialty or general stores.

For more information regarding the chefs and their menus click on their photographs below:

Franco Palandra

Chef Italian cookery course at
Torre del Tartufo

Laura Giusti

Chef Meditarrenean cookery course at Casa Ombuto

Paola Baccetti

Chef Italian cookery course at
Casa Ombuto
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