Culinary Quests
The School
Culinary Quests was established with one goal in mind – to give clients the most authentic cultural experiences possible through culinary exploration. Culinary Quests offers travelers a window into the very heart and soul of Italy through its food – fun, hands-on cooking courses taught exclusively by local chefs. Most importantly, unlike a ‘one size fits all’ approach to small group tours, your program is personalized to meet your interests --YOU decide which excursions will create YOUR dream culinary vacation.
We offer two programs in Italy. The first is in the medieval walled city of Lucca, where you will get in touch with the old flavors and traditions of a small Tuscan town. The professional cooking school in Lucca is the perfect setting for learning how to prepare authentic Tuscan dishes and how to handle local products. Our second program is in the outskirts of Florence at the Colonica Residence of the Villa Olmi Resort, which combines the luxury of a 5-star hotel and the simple elegance of a rural ambiance. The ‘Fienile’ kitchen of the Colonica is the picture-perfect Tuscan farmhouse kitchen, and is an ideal, relaxed setting for sipping wine, laughing, cooking, eating and discovering the secrets of Florentine cuisine.
The Classes
All Culinary Quests cooking classes are hands-on, and are limited to a small number of participants in order to provide a more personalized experience. In both 6 night programs, your chef and instructor, Giuseppe, will lead you through the secrets of the Tuscan way of cooking, preparing your own lunch and tasting along the way. Each of the three cooking classes is about 3 hours long and focuses on different courses, or ‘piati’. A sampling of what you may learn to cook includes creamy risottos, fresh handmade pastas and typical sauces, crispy Focaccias, savory tarts, Tuscan meat ragu, or ricotta cheesecakes. At the end of each lesson you will savour your creations. As part of your second class you will join Giuseppe on a visit to the local shops and traditional market place to purchase ingredients for the class lesson – the perfect introduction to unique, local, and artisanal products. In your free time, you may opt to explore the countryside on your own, or take advantage of the multitude of culinary and cultural excursion options available. This is one of the best ways to learn the Tuscan way of living and to be immersed into its history and tradition. Come to laugh, learn, drink, and of course, eat!
To Contact
For more details or to design your own cooking vacation, please visit our website at www.CulinaryQuests.com or email at: