Fancy treating yourself? Lovers of luxury – and Italian cookery, can combine the two by taking a vacation at hand-picked Orient Express hotels in Florence and Venice.The Villa San Michele and the Hotel Cipriani, both have cookery schools – and offer a wide choice of gourmet, Italian cookery holidays.
The Villa San Michele in Florence is one of the most luxurious hotels in Italy. It now offers a range of cooking classes to entertain the entire family. Adult classes are run by top chefs such as Jun Tanaka and John Greeley, and cover everything from how to make pasta to making historic Florentine dishes. A course on Tuscan food includes a trip to the Chianti region, where guests visit Falorni - an historic pork butcher, famous for its salami flavoured with fennel. There are also tastings of the famous Chianti wine.
In addition to the adult classes, the Children’s Cookery School runs from 10th – 13th April and 28th – 31st May 2007. There will be sessions such as Circus of Sweets - where the chief pastry cook helps children create two delicious desserts, which they can enjoy with their parents at the end of the day.
Prices start from €2,889 (approx. £1,905) for two parents and one child for three nights on a half board basis.
For more information on the cookery school click here
The Hotel Cipriani in Venice also has a well established cooking school, attracting world renowned chefs. In 2007, Michel Roux, the chef of the three Michelin starred Waterside Inn in London, will join Renato Piccolotto of the Hotel Cipriani from 22nd October 2007 for a two day course with a gala dinner and a daily class with working lunch. Prices start from €2,150 (approx. £1,417) per person for three nights.
For more information on the Hotel Cipriani’s cookery school click here
More information on Orient Express hotels at www.orient-express.com
Those with tighter budgets – but just as much enthusiasm - can book a cookery course at Cascina Papaveri - The Poppy Farmhouse. This converted 1850’s farmhouse in Piemonte, North West Italy offers guests authentic Italian cookery courses. The cookery classes are held at the property’s specially designed teaching kitchen and taken by one of Italy’s best cookery teachers, Pietro Baldi. Pietro, a firm believer in the Slow Food principles of fresh, local and seasonal produce, takes guests round the property’s organic kitchen garden as they pick and choose what to use in that day’s meal. The hands-on classes are limited to eight students, which allows for plenty of individual tuition and assistance. Cascina Papaveri is located in the middle of a vineyard and boasts stunning 360 degree views of Southern Piemonte’s hilltop villages and vine-covered hills.
Individual prices start from £666 per person for a three-night weekend course or four night midweek course. Prices include accommodation, lessons, food, drink and use of all the facilities. For further information visit www.cascinapapaveri.com
Healthy food for holiday cyclists
