Taste Italy: Food Tour and Cooking class

Package Name: Taste Italy: Food Tour and Cooking class

Price: Euro 80

Day: 1 Day

Starting Month: Jan

End Month: Dec

Destination Overview :
Learn how to cook a four-course authentic Italian meal, including Pizza and Gelato, in a private kitchen in the heart of Tuscany!
You will travel to a farmhouse in the Tuscan countryside, where you’ll have a three hour hands-on cooking class creating a complete menu, from appetizer to dessert, using only the freshest seasonal ingredients, the majority of these coming from the vegetable garden of the farmhouse!

Other ingredients you will use are bought each morning from Florence’s most vibrant food market. Led by a local food-lover guide, taste your way through the local’s favorite bakery and grocery stores to experience Tuscan food like a real local.

Next be prepared to roll up your sleeves and learn to cook as Tuscan grandmas and mums do every day in their kitchens for their families. Master the secrets of traditional dishes that you will easily be able to re-create at home for your friends and family. The cooking lesson is suitable for beginners and for those who can already cook.

Then finally we will all sit together outside (weather permitting) and just like a big Italian family, we will take time to enjoy the food we have prepared together. Buon appetito!

Day
10:00am Departure

First discover Florence historical food market where the locals do their daily shopping. Blend in with the locals. Meet the bakers, the butchers, and the farmers selling vegetables from their fields. Their stalls are full of items such as fresh fruit, vegetables, cheeses, cured meats, balsamic vinegar, sun dried tomatoes, olives and many other Italian food specialties. Shop for the ingredients to use for the cooking class and learn to choose the best seasonal products and taste local food and wine.

Then it’s time to start your cooking lesson at a farmhouse in Tuscany. This isn’t just a demonstration, you will actually take part in creating a full traditional Tuscan meal with our chef’s help. You will learn to make real Italian fresh pasta by hand with freshly laid eggs and learn to make a traditional meat sauce using ingredients from right outside the door!

Learn to prepare homemade pizza and classic bruschetta with fresh bread, homegrown tomatoes and the farmhouse’s own extra virgin olive oil and then take a break to enjoy the pizza and bruschetta with a glass of Chianti wine.

After the break it’s back to the lesson where you will learn how to prepare traditional Tuscan roast pork, arista and Tuscan roast potatoes using fresh herbs collected from around the farmhouse. To finish the class, you will learn the secrets of the wonderful Italian coffee and cream dessert, Tiramisù and how to make Italian Gelato at home.

At last sit down to enjoy a wonderful meal. Each course will be paired with a carefully selected wine from the region to compliment the flavors of the food you have prepared. At the end of your meal, your driver will be waiting for you for a short drive back to Florence, so it’s time to say arrivederci after an unforgettable experience in Tuscany.

Duration: 8 hours

Package Details
FOOD TOUR AND COOKING CLASS PRICES
Adult: € 80 each person Youth: € 75 each person
Group fares: get an extra € 5 off per person if you are in a group of six or more adults/youths.

Availability: the tour runs all year

What the tour includes:
Florence Food walking tour
Transportation from Florence to the farmhouse and back
Cooking lesson and lunch with wine
Recipes
An Italian cooking diploma for your hard work!

Things to note
On Sundays and public holidays NO VISIT to the San Lorenzo’s Mercato Centrale
Due to uneven and steep surfaces, we are unable to accept anyone with walking difficulties or wheelchair users
We regret that vegetarian or other alternative dietary requirements cannot be catered for

EXCLUSIONS
1. Travel expenses to reach and return from Florence, Italy.
2. Extra Soft-drinks / Beverages / Alcohols / Snacks / Chocolates etc.
4. Accommodation and food expenses if trip gets delayed due to weather, health or any other reason
5. Health Insurance, Personal Insurance and other travel insurance

Highlights
Small-group Italian cooking class at a breathtaking farmhouse set in the rolling hills of Tuscany!
Florence morning food tour with tastings
Explore San Lorenzo’s colourful Mercato Centrale
Hands on experience: learn to make Bruschetta and Pizza, home-made Pasta, Tuscan roast pork with potatoes, Tiramisù and Gelato
Enjoy your freshly cooked meal accompanied with wine after the class

Where to Eat
Escape from frozen pizzas or pasta, stay away from mountains of ice cream full of artificial colours. Florence has many tourist traps, but Tuscan cuisine and wines could be one of the highlights of your travel experience. Walkabout has carefully selected local restaurants, by tasting their food to make sure the best ingredients are used.

Shopping
The centre of Florence is heaven for shoppers, and the outlets just out of town have become shopping meccas too. We looked for many little shops selling local fashion designer goods, because top international fashion stores are everywhere in the world. Quality has a price, but we have looked carefully to find the best value for money.

Cafes & Bars
Italians are masters in the art of fine living, and going out to cafes and bars is also the time when you have more chance to mix with locals. Whether you need a coffee break between galleries, or a cocktail after a long day of sightseeing, just consult the Walkabout Guide to find the nearest place to suit your mood.

Tickets
We offer tickets to “skip the line” for museums such as the Accademia and the Uffizi Gallery, bike rentals to pedal around the city, an evening out in the hills above Florence to enjoy traditional food and wine, cooking classes, wine tastings, and of course, our popular tours.