Roseanna's Culinary Travel

Good Tastes of Tuscany

By Roseanna Bellino-Strickland

When I decided to visit Italy, I knew that I wanted a unique vacation. I love to cook, so taking a cooking class in the Tuscany region of Italy seemed to fit the bill. An internet search revealed many choices. I chose a course by Good Tastes in Tuscany for several reasons.
First, my inquires were answered very promptly by the young women who run the business. Once booked, the e mails from Elizabeth and Meaghan were helpful and informative. Next, their website, www.tuscany-cooking-class.com is easy to use and navigate. There is much information on the site too. Finally, I liked the balance of cooking and touring that was offered. I took the “Villa Pandolfini gastronomical adventure, a 7 day culinary and cultural adventure”. It certainly was.

On arrival in Florence, I was promptly met by a driver who took me to my villa. The Pandolfini estate has a main villa and many smaller ones. I was housed at the villa Tosca. We had the pool outside our villa. It was surrounded by olive groves and vineyards. They produce their own olive oil and wine. The villa was pleasant and immaculate, with a well stocked kitchen and laundry facilities. Wifi was also available.

The first day we cooked at night and toured the countryside during the day. We were taught by three chefs, giving us a chance to try different cooking and teaching styles. The menus were extensive. We often cooked 5-7 dishes in a session. Then we sat down and dined together. There was free time planned, but I wanted to see as much of Tuscany as I could so tours and drivers were arranged on the free times. One day we took a walking tour of Florence with an excellent guide. The museums Ufizi and Accadamia were included in the tour. There was ample time for shopping and relaxing in the villages. On our final day, we ate at the villa Caruso, home of the famous opera singer. We had lunch under white tents in the gardens. Fantastico!

Our final dinner was shared with the owner of the villa and her family. By that time, we all felt like family. This vacation far exceeded my expectations.

Well this day started with a bang. We were eating breakfast, looked out and realized workmen were tarring the road in front of our villa so we fled to the big villa because we would have not been able to go down the road. Then my flight to Rome from Florence was 1.5 hours late so I missed my connection by 5 minutes. So frustrating. Took a later flight to London but my bag didn't and I didn't see it again until Wednesday, June 24. I am thankful that Alitalia/ British Air and United Airlines worked together to get me my bag. It was unscathed too.
Got to my hotel at 9:40PM with no bag and no supper. Luckily I know the Russell Square area and got a sandwich at Tesco and relaxed. I didn't get to see Beth or a show but I was very tired so this worked out. The next day went to Covent Garden for the craft market then on to Colorado. Long flight but good to see my daughter again and my cats.

What an amazing eleven days this has been.

Today we are cooking in the evening to prepare the farewell dinner. We go first to a local coffee shop for pasteries and coffee. Excellent. Then we go to Artimino for a tour of a ceramics factory. We get to watch artisians make ceramic pots. There is a limited shop here which frustrates some of our group. Then we go tour the Medici's residence of Poggio A. Caiano. The building is enormous and many of the original frescos are there. The size of the rooms is amazing. How did they heat these places? After the tour we go the the villa Caruso for lunch in the gardens. This is one of my favorite things we do. Caruso was my father's favorite opera singer and eating in the gardens under a tent was like "living in a movie". The food was fantastic.
This evening we are cooking in the basement kitchen of the main villa. This is where we had our welcome dinner. Our chef is Alberto, a funny, lively man who has some wonderful cooking ideas. We all like Alberto, he has pizzazz. We are cooking for ourselves as well as the family who own the villa. Tosca brings her grandchildren with her and there is a "one big family" feel to this dinner. They have brought in a musician to entertain, a man with a fantastic tenor voice and his accordian. Such fun! Music is really a universal language; everyone knew the song "Volare" and sang with gusto. Shirley ordered a fruit tart so that we could all celebrate Jessica's birthday. So much singing and eating.
The food was great. We cooked pizzette, pici with mushroom sauce, baked sea bass and pears poached in wine served with English cream. Alberto also taught us to make three starters that were not in our book. The food turns out very nicely.
In the end, there was much hugging and many goodbyes. We each recieved a certificate of completion and we all keep our aprons and cook books.
I have to say this is one of the greatest trips I have ever had.
Elizabeth and Meaghan do a great job of organizing the week. They are kind, helpful and have a wonderful attitude toward their job, their clients and Italy.

Today we are spending the day in Florence. The bus drops us off one block from the Ponti Vecciho where we meet Costanza. She is our tour guide for an historical tour and a tour of the markets. She is charming, clear and very interesting. We see the piazza where many statues are displayed and get much of the Medici's history of Florence. The food market is amazing, much like the Pike Market in Seattle. The cheese shop was especially good and Jessica bought some parma to take back home to Florida. We eat lunch at Pepo Osteria. Good food. Then we walked to the Uffizi museum. It is huge with many ancient paintings. After the Uffizi, we go to the Accademia to see Michelangelo's David. I am not a great lover of sculpture but this is the most beautiful artwork I have ever seen. At 14 feet of white marble, he is spectacular. We wander back to the meeting place, stopping back at Infinity for me to buy a handcrafted purse of soft grey leather. Lovely. This has been great fun but I think the order of seeing the museums should be reversed since we ate lunch close to the Accademia.
We get back with some time to relax before getting whisked off to a restaurant in Artimino. It is one of italy's finest and the views are spectacular. The food is wonderful.

We get up and swim every day before cooking. Lovely way to begin a day. Today we are cooking with Simone again. Today we cooked stuffed zucchini flowers, gundi(dumplings) with pomodoro, potato ravioli with duck ragu, chianti beef stew with florentine spinach and panna cotta with berries. The zucchini flowers are stuffed with cheese, battered and deep fried. My favorite is the duck ragu. It is unusual but so tasty. Since this is our last time to work with Simone, we lingered over lunch and coffee, sad to see him go.
After class Helen, Sheila and I went to Lucca with a hired driver. The driver was fantastic and very prepared, giving us tips to enjoy Lucca, history of the city and maps marked with our meeting place. Lucca is a walled city, so charming with beautiful old churches mixed with modern shops. There is a lovely piazza with statues and places to eat. You can walk on the wall and look our into the countryside. It was uncrowded and the environment was so peaceful.
Today, Sheila is leaving the class because there is an international veteranarian conference in Florence which she will be attending. She will be missed.
Helen and I return to Lastra a Signa and eat again in the pizza shop in town. Some nights we go into the pool to cool off before bed. I will really miss having a pool at my back door.