Cooking Courses
- Reveal the chef in you at the stove -
Discover
Tuscan Cuisine
If you love Tuscan cuisine, don’t miss this exclusive opportunity! The courses are held by our chef Cristian Borchi who, unlike many of his colleagues, is delighted to share his secrets with you.
You may choose from a short course, a single two-hour lesson, or a course with several lessons over a maximum of five days to gain comprehensive knowledge of everything there is to know about good Tuscan cooking. Courses are held mornings or afternoons in the huge kitchen of the Casa Colonica in the Podere di Moiata.
Lessons will cover every aspect of Tuscan Cooking:
Fresh Pasta
You will learn to make basic egg pasta dough, potato gnocchi and the famous “tortello di patate†(ravioli filled with potatoes and herbs), standard-bearer of the Mugello region.
Sauces and dressing of Tuscan Cuisine
To flavour pasta, but not only, you will learn how to prepare a meat ragout, a fresh tomato “pomarolaâ€, a basil “pestoâ€, a mushroom ragout and a walnut sauce, a sauce for the “crostino neroâ€, a chicken liver paté flavoured with capers and anchovies. You will also learn a secret recipe for the perfect dressing for fresh porcini mushrooms when in season, or, alternatively, a sauce with sausages and dried mushrooms.
Pizza, Bread and Focaccia
Join us in making bread, bread fantasia, focaccia and dressings for pizza Margherita, Napoli and Marinara.
Tuscany preserved
During the course we will explore three different ways to conserve tomatoes: "passata di pomodoro" (basic tomato sauce), Tuscan "pomarola" and bottled natural tomato. And what’s more you will learn to preserve basil in a winner pesto of true Tuscan tradition: pine nuts, garlic, Tuscan pecorino cheese, parmesan, a pinch of salt and plenty of extra virgin olive oil.
Picked and Cooked
Our chef Cristian Borchi is never short of ideas. As he steps into our vegetable garden his Tuscan heritage prevails and readily translates nature’s bounty into recipes for our table. If zucchini are in season, cream of zucchini soup it will be. If it’s cavolo nero season, we could prepare crostoni or roulades.
Traditional Desserts
To end the courses, for dessert, let us teach you how to prepare the most famous Tuscan Desserts: Cantucci di Prato, also with bitter chocolate chips, to dip and savor in Vin Santo; torta della nonna with shortcrust pastry flavoured with Campestri honey. And last but not least, the renowned zuppa inglese (a kind of trifle) following Pellegrino Artusi’s traditional recipe, the great-grandfather of Italian cuisine.Each course costs € 100.00 per person; two courses cost € 200.00 per person. The cost of a cycle of 3, 4, or 5 courses is € 80.00 per person for each lesson. Minimum 2 participants.
The cost of each course includes: 2 hour lesson with our Chef Cristian Borchi. During the course, participants will have the opportunity to practice all aspects of the preparation; recipes of the lesson; tasting, during the course, of the dishes prepared.
The cost of each course does not include table service: if the tasting is served at the table a supplement of € 10.00 per person will be charged; each diner joining participants for the only tasting of the dishes prepared will be charged € 25.00.
Please contact us for further information
Contact Us
Do not hesitate to contact us for further information, we will be pleased to discuss the best way of dealing with your particular requirements.
