My husband and I are looking for an authentic cooking class experience, perhaps at a local farm?
We will be staying near Pienza for 3 nights and up into the Chianti region (Gaiole) for 3 nights.
Has anyone booked a class in these areas? We will have a car so are willing to drive a distance.
Would prefer not to include cooking classes in Florence.
We would also love to hear of any wineries or restaurants in those areas that anyone has visited.
Thank you
Madelyn
Villa a Sesta is a small town that we love in the Chianti region…and Villa di Sotto is a restaurant that we like and where we have taken a wonderful cooking class. Very small town…easy to drive into and park.
https://www.villadisotto.it/en/cooking-lessons-cooking-school/
About a 20 minute drive south of Gaiole in Chianti
We did a Brunello winery tour with Fabrizio at Ciao Fabry Tours around Montalcino, and he mentioned he does cooking classes in Montepulciano, I think at his home. He was very entertaining, knowledgeable about wine, food, and the area. I would highly recommend him.
https://www.ciaofabrytours.com/best-private-tours-in-tuscany/tuscan-cooking-classes/
We just returned from Italy and spent 7 nights in Cortona- which we absolutely loved. My husband and I took a cooking class nearby at a small villa just outside Castiglion Fiorentino. It was an excellent and memorable experience with Chef Dandy and his mother and father (his mother taught for 25 years and is now retired and just keeps and eye on things!). There was just one other couple and it lasted 5 hours. It's a family affair and farm where they make their own delicious wine and olive oil- not for sale, just for friends and their cooking classes. It was a great learning experience, yet fun and relaxed. The weather was excellent, so we spent lots of time sitting in the patio area sipping wine and enjoying the view as the ragu slowly simmered. I can provide more specific details if you're interested and would like to pm me. You can find them on several platforms by googling "Cooking class at Villa Toscana near Cortona". They are happy to book through 3rd parties like GetYourGuide, which is what we did.
Podere Il Casale in Pienza is outstanding and the views are unbeatable https://podereilcasale.com/en/activities/
If you’ve seen Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat on Netflix she went to this cooking class https://www.coltibuono.com/en/experiences/ My sister and I did this during Covid and we were the only ones in the class. It was my second visit to Badia Coltibuono in Gaiole and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Check out the many offerings of the Isabella Experience. They have a farm about a two minute walk outside of Pienza as well as a guest house in an old monastery a short drive away.
Our family of six (teens to oldsters) visited last summer. My husband and I took a picci pasta making class with Isabella. It was amazing! They also offer wine classes and tours of their Pienza farm (with both wine and olive oil tastings). Definitely a destination in itself.
