Cooking Under the Tuscan Sun with Dorothy Tague

Interested in just the 7-night Cooking under the Tuscan Sun trip? Click on the “7-night itinerary” button to see details. 

Day One

• Welcome cocktail around 8:00 pm with Silvia Baracchi, your host.
• The aperitif will be followed by a delicious dinner in the hotel’s fabulous Michelin-star restaurant.

Day Two

• After breakfast, your first cooking lesson of your Tuscany cooking vacation, perhaps based on Frances Mayes’s famous stay in Tuscany immortalized in the book and movie Under the Tuscan Sun. Your menu might include: eggplant roll with prosciutto and mozzarella, pici pasta with tomatoes and herbs, beef loin with shallots and balsamic, and poached pear with cheese and sabayon.
• Lunch to follow accompanied by great Tuscan wines.
• Afternoon at leisure. You can relax in the Thesan Spa (which has a Sauna, Turkish bath, Hydro massage pool, and Chromo Emotional shower) and perhaps schedule a wine therapy relaxation massage .
• In the evening, take a guided walk around Baracchi’s vineyards and winery on a Tuscany wine tour and learn about the process of wine making, from the vineyard to the bottle.
• A wine tasting will follow with dinner at the Michelin-star restaurant.

Day Three

• Breakfast.
• In the morning your Tuscany food tour will continue with a guided sightseeing tour of Cortona, setting of the book and movie Under the Tuscan Sun.
• Lunch at a typical trattoria in town.
• Return to Il Falconiere for the next cooking lesson.
• Dinner to follow based on your efforts, wine included.

Day Four

• After breakfast  your Tuscany culinary vacation continues when you depart for a visit to a local farm, where you will see sheep, chickens, rabbits, geese, and other animals. You will also get the milk for your cheese-making class, and will enjoy lunch to follow.
• This afternoon enjoy a visit of Montepulciano. You will love the stunning landscape of the Val d’Orcia, and will have the opportunity to taste Rosso di Montepulciano and Brunello wines. Dinner while you are out or back at the relais.
• Return to the estate.

Day Five

• Breakfast, then enjoy a free day to relax at the estate or to journey out for individual explorations. We can make reservations at the spa, you might just relax at the villa, or you may want to explore other parts of Tuscany. The train station is a short taxi ride away and from there you can visit a number of Tuscan towns.

Day Six

• Breakfast and enjoy a leisurely morning. Perhaps take a walk around the estate, or enjoy more time in Cortona.
• This afternoon, transfer to the nearby Locanda del Molino in Cortona for another cooking class.
• Dinner to follow.

Day Seven

• Breakfast. Then your Tuscany culinary vacation continues with a visit of amazing little Tuscan towns of the Val d’Orcia and a special truffle hunting experience (or, in case of bad weather, another activity will be proposed).
• Lunch out during the excursion based on local food specialties.
• Back at the Relais, enjoy the last cooking lesson, menu based on Etruscan cuisine. Your menu might include traditional wild herb pie with parmesan fondue, “gnudi” pasta with ricotta cheese, local lamb in a crust of Tuscan bread, sautéed greens, and berry cake with mascarpone cheese mousse.
• Dinner to follow.

Day Eight

• Breakfast. Bid a fond farewell to Chef Silvia and her staff.
• Departure for Florence.
• Check in to your hotel, time to settle in and relax.
• Three course welcome dinner tonight at a local restaurant in the authentic San Frediano quarter (left bank of the river Arno, about 20 minutes on foot or 10 minutes by taxi.)
• Overnight.

Day Nine

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• This morning, meet your licensed Florence guide for a 4-hour guided tour combining the art highlights of this amazing city with visits of local food specialty shops and markets where Florentines purchase their fresh seasonal ingredients. You will find out why Florence is a top spot for Tuscany food tours as you taste local cured meats and cheeses and learn about the Italian way of life. The tour will also include a visit of the Accademia Gallery to see the famous David of Michelangelo.
• At the end of the tour your guide will drop you at the Mercato Centrale for lunch on your own. The Mercato Centrale is a place where food is “lived,” it is prepared by artisans who know it deeply and who have been preparing it generation after generation. Each store has its own workspace and makes its own specialities, making it a perfect place to discover authentic Florentine dishes at a fair price.
• Dinner tonight on your own.
• Overnight.

Day Ten

• Breakfast at your hotel. Head to the Sant’Amrbogio market to meet Chef Barbara who will help you select ingredients for your first cooking class. Barbara is a native Florentine, chef, and sommelier who has been offering cooking classes with The International Kitchen since 2003. After the market visit, head with her to her lovely home in the town of Fiesole, just outside of Florence and a wonderful place to visit in its own right. It is a rare opportunity to head out of the city to experience the life of real Tuscans! Your cooking class with lunch will follow. (Transportation is provided to her home, but you make your own way to the market in the morning).
• After lunch, you will have a 3-hour Fiesole walking tour. Under the guidance of your expert guide, you will discover Fiesole, the sky above Florence, the nature and the Florentine hills surrounded by fields of olive trees – so close and yet so far – from the city. You will cross the path of the Via degli dei, the ancient Via Flaminia Minor, the Etruscan Road that crossed the Apennines mountains at least 200 years BC.
  During the trip, you will have a break, tasting fragrant bread and extra virgin olive from a local farmer. It won’t be a tourist experience, but a little adventure: of local life away from the crowds.
• Transfer back to your hotel. Dinner on your own – if you are still hungry!

Day Eleven

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• This morning, head to a cooking atelier for your last cooking class. (The cooking atelier is about a 15 minute walk or 5 minute taxi ride from your hotel.) You will start with a unique walking visit of local “botteghe,” or shops, in the area to select ingredients, always a highlight. You might visit the local butcher, vegetable vendor, and cheese shop. Your Tuscany cooking class will focus on signature Tuscan recipes and will include a four-course menu.
• Lunch to follow paired with local wines.
• Afternoon free for shopping and individual explorations. You may want to visit the nearby Boboli Gardens or Palazzo Pitti Museum, or to walk through the famous Rose Garden of Florence to the Piazzale Michelangelo to watch the sunset and enjoy one of the most famous panoramic views in the world.
• Farewell Dinner tonight at a local restaurant known for the best Florentine Steak !
• Overnight.

Day Twelve

• Arrivederci Toscana! Group transfer to Florence airport.