Cooking schools in Tuscany or Piedmont?

So, here is a suggestion for a course I’ve not taken (don’t you just love that?) https://giulianohazan.com/tuscany-cooking-school/ But, the explanation. Many years ago we spent a glorious week in Venice cooking with his mother Marcella Hazan and dining with her and husband Victor while sampling wines from his very deep cellar. So, it’s in the genes. He also has a week long cooking school in the Veneto and there are many more dates. I would look into that as well as Italy is well connected by train and it sounds terrific.

You might want to check with the winery “Badia a Coltibuono” in Gaiole in Chianti. They are famous for their Chianti wines, but have offered individual/group cooking classes for many years. We took an all day cooking class there in 2005, and it was one of the highlights of our trip to Tuscany. I am not sure if they have a weeklong option, but can vouch for the one day course. The school was originally offered by Lorenza de Medici in 1983. You may recognize her name; her cooking program was a mainstay of PBS TV back in the ‘80’s. They have a website with more info that you may wish to review. You might also want to check out Faith Willinger’s website. She has been an American expat cook in Florence for 40+ years and has had great success with her books and food related tours. Faith may very well be slowing down at this point, but she may be able to provide info to you regarding cooking schools in/around Tuscany. Her book, “Eating in Italy” is a worthwhile tome on dining in Northern Italy, and Ms. Willinger makes it a point to provide a list of cooking schools in the book. Since the book was written in 1989, (updated in 1998) some of these schools may no longer exist, but it is a place to start. Our dogeared copy of the book has served us well on two trips to Italy, and will accompany us again this fall. Buon Appetito!

Re: Cooking Schools. I realized after my post that referring you to a book “Eating in Italy” that is likely out of print could be frustrating for you. I have done some research based on Faith’s book and found that some of the cooking schools are still viable options. Judy Witt’s “Divina Cucina” is still a going concern in Florence; https://divinacucina.com/judy/ . Also, the Tenuta di Capezzana spoken of so highly in the book is also still offering classes and is based in Carmignano: http://www.capezzana.it/index.php/en/contatta-capezzana-azienda-agricola-carmignano-prato-olio-vino-vinsanto-toscana . Hopefully all of these options will give you some things to think about. I haven’t tried either of these last two, so best of luck.