Welcome To Your Italian Family!

Join Us for the Experience of a Lifetime

Our guests discover the true Italy that so few fully experience. They live the passion for Italian country cooking and wine that is at the heart of life in Tuscany and Umbria, Italy..

Our small group All-Inclusive Tuscany Cooking and Wine Vacations offer you the magical experience of Italian culture like nothing else can. You will live among the locals, shop with the villagers, tour like an Italian, and experience a completely real Tuscan and Umbrian experience that other tourists completely miss out on.

Each vacation is a once in a lifetime experience with a wonderful balance of cooking classes, culinary and wine excursions, and sightseeing. Unlike most other cooking tours, we always have something going on, and it is always included in the price. If we are not cooking, we are out on an sightseeing excursions, Tuscany winery tours, Umbria olive oil mills, etc. All with a balance between off the beaten path hidden treasures, and more popular tourist destinations. There is nothing else quite like it, because the main ingredients in everything we do are fun, friends, and family. So come and recharge for a week with us as you make some of the most enduring and fantastic memories your lifetime.

A Balance of Cooking, Touring, Laughter & Amazing Food...

Tuscany and Umbria Country Cooking

Our cooking classes take place in the country kitchen of our beautifully restored 18th century ‘Villa Eddarella’, in the gorgeous rolling hills of Soriano nel Cimino, a beautiful 11th century castle-topped village in the Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio border region, just an hour north of Rome. You will learn hands-on classic Tuscany and Umbria cooking as you discover our family recipes that have been passed down through the generations, as well as the true tradition of layering flavors to produce the most incredible dishes.

These recipes are all true home cooking, and everything is done by hand, from scratch. We never use a microwave or any other modern kitchen gadgets. It is all done the old-fashioned way that Italian women have been using for centuries. There are no 'demonstrations' here. You will be involved 100%, so be ready to get that apron on and go wrist-deep in dough as we explore the art of cooking in the breathtaking Italian countryside.

During our time together, we we have various classes that teach you to make dishes like homemade Fettuccine, Gnocchi, Risotto, Tuscan Roasted Chicken, Brasato, and more… all from scratch, and only with the freshest ingredients from local farms, as well as ingredients we gather together from the garden outside. The olive oil comes from the olives growing on the trees outside our villa, the nuts in our biscotti come from the orchard on our property, and the wine we drink is produced from local vineyards. Many classes are full four and five course meals, and you are completely involved in every dish. You will also learn to make Gelato and amazing desserts like Tiramisu, our own family recipe for Limoncello, traditional Italian Biscotti, and more.

Come with us to the home of local farmers who will show us their private vineyards and olive orchard while we fire up an old stone oven for the amazing country wood-fired pizza class - a night of fun, laughter, home-style wine, and pizza like you have never experienced.

The experience of our cooking classes is as much about fun and friends as it is about the food. They are small and personal in nature, usually 12 or fewer guests per week. You will quickly make new lifelong friends as we cook and laugh together in this enchanting country Italian setting.

The Culinary Outings

Our area is blessed by being just a few miles from some of Tuscany and Umbria’s most treasured culinary treasures, yet only an hour from Rome… and we take advantage of it with our new friends.

Wine lovers will fall in love with our vineyard tours of Tuscany's southern Chianti region as we visit Montepulciano (famous for its Vino Nobile), Montalcino (famous for Brunello -- Considered Italy's best wine, period), just to name a few. You will discover some of Umbria’s best wines with visits to the enchanting hilltowns of Orvieto, Assisi, and Deruta.

During our outings we often make stops in some of Umbria and Tuscany's best olive mills, where we will sample olive oil while we discover the milling process. We'll visit cheese factories in the hills of Tuscany where we will experience dozens of varieties of fantastic pecorino cheese.

Should you visit us in late September, we will be there to not only watch, but take part in the wine harvest, where you will not only learn how wine is made, but if you are here during the harvest, you may find yourself harvesting from the vines or crushing grapes and helping make the wine.

Should you visit us in November, you may find yourself taking part in the Olive harvest with us, picking olives from the tree,and taking them to an ancient mill where you will actually bring home your own oil.

Those that find themselves here during one of our many Spring, Summer and Autumn festivals will experience the festive life in Italy as we alter our itineraries to enjoy these events with the locals. This may be the summer Jazz festival or one of our wine festivals, the autumn medieval chestnut harvest festival, or one of the many festivals that celebrate various saints.

Fun, Family, Friends, Laughter

This is without doubt the single most important thing of all. No four words better describe what a cooking vacation with us is all about. We are constantly laughing together & having nothing but fun. Our groups are small, causing everyone to become friends right away, and by the time you leave, you will have become extended family... not just with us, but with the other guests. Have a look what past guests have written us, or better yet, if you are on facebook, join our fan page and talk with us, plus dozens of past guests!

Breathtaking Sightseeing Excursions

Each of our tours is balanced with some of Italy's most popular destinations, and some of Italy's most magnificent hidden treasures. We include days in popular hot-spots like Assisi, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Pienza, and Orvieto, and we also include places you may never have heard of, such as The Dying City of Civita di Bagnoregio, Labro, The Sacred Grove, and Viterbo: The city of Popes.

Truly All-Inclusive Pricing

Our Tuscan and Umbria cookery holidays are truly all-inclusive in nature. We'll pick you up from the Rome airport or Orte train station. From that point forward, with very few exceptions, all meals, transportation, tours, all expenses... everything is on us. The only thing you will pay for is airfare, personal expenses and any gifts you may wish to bring home. When it is time to say goodbye, we will take you back to the airport or train station. There are no surprises, and no hidden costs.

Private Village Accommodations

Most of our guests will have their own private village home nestled in the medieval quarter of Soriano nel Cimino, just below the 11th century castle that was once the Pope's summer home. Our village homes are absolutely beautiful, comfortable and luxurious. Most offer all modern conveniences, such as air conditioning, dedicated broadband wireless internet, satellite television with a large selection of English channels, Espresso machine, and much more. Of course, each of the lodging opportunities has complete private facilities. Those that don't stay in our village homes have the opportunity to stay in one of Soriano's magnificent B&B's, all of which are independent with 100% private facilities.

Shopping, Shopping, Shopping

For the shop-till-you-drop crowd, we are in ‘get up and go’ distance from Central Rome’s best shopping, Florence, Deruta, and so much more. We always build some shopping time into all of our weeks.

A True Cultural Experience

Soriano is right there at the heart of it all, yet is still unspoiled by the ravages of mass tourism. It is a place where the local shopkeepers still sell local produce, and the villagers still smile and greet you as they open their hearts to you.

You won’t find rows of stores selling trinkets and plastic snow globes. Instead, you will live the real Italian village life.

Let yourself go, and before you know it you will be on a first-name basis with the local butcher, and feel truly at home. This is the most common theme with our guests. They tell us that while they venture away from Soriano on excursions, upon their return, they always feel like they are coming home… a sense of belonging.

There is a certain magic about Soriano nel Cimino that can only be experienced. Words cannot quite describe it.

A Selection of Cooking and Culinary Vacations

We offer several different itineraries to choose from. For those that want a more traditional Tuscany Cooking Vacation, you may prefer our "Wine & Cooking Under the Tuscan & Umbrian Sun" itinerary. If you are looking for a more relaxed pace and want to see more hidden treasures, have a look at our "Wine, Cooking & the Roads Less Traveled" itinerary. For those that want some real adventure that explores little-known ancient ruins, have a look at our "Cities Lost in Time" week. For those that want more sightseeing and less cooking, but still want a culinary tour, we have two very special itineraries. In the summer months, we offer an incredible 15 day tour of Italy that starts in the Amalfi coast and ends in Venice, with nothing but incredible destinations and experiences in between. If this interests you, have a look at our "La Bellissima Italian Experience" Itinerary. Finally, we have once exclusive week in November, during which we visit Rome, Florence, Tuscany, and Umbria with a complete day dedicated to the Olive Harvest! We will harvest Olive trees, and bring our olives to an ancient mill and you will bring home your own olive oil. To learn more about this itinerary, have a look at our "Olive Harvest & Cooking in Rome, Florence & Tuscany" itinerary.

To see what dates all of these culinary vacations start, have a look at our complete cooking & culinary tour calendar.

Compare Us

We know that when you compare everything we include to other tuscany cooking schools and culinary vacation companies in Italy, we will shine. That is why we sell out almost every culinary vacation we offer.To help you compare us to others, please see our "Compare to Other Cooking Vacations" page. You can also take it from our own past guests by reading our Raves & Testimonials pages, where you can not only see quotes from our past cooking holiday guests, but see scans of the actual letters they wrote us.

Any Questions? Write us and ask by clicking here, or call us at +1 (321) 441-3551.

Gnocchi Class at Villa Eddarella

View of Tuscany

Cooking Class at Villa Eddarella

Pienza, Tuscany

Visiting a Montepulciano Winery

Fettuccine Class at Villa Eddarella

The Marmore Falls, Umbria

At a Brunello Winery in Tuscany

Limoncello Class at Villa Eddarella

Pizza Class at Villa Eddarella

Ferentillo, Umbria

w/ the Prince in Labro, Umbria

a little too much Limoncello :-)