7 Days Italian Gastronomy and Cooking Holiday in Tuscany, Italy

Cook Eat Discover believe in sustainable food and drink production that works in harmony with the environment. Cook Eat Discover aim to introduce you to producers who not only make magnificent food, but who respect nature, innovate with green energy, and put quality and integrity above profit margins.

One half the of the Cook Eat Discover team, Oli, is an experienced chef and trained pasta maker who will walk you through a carefully selected repertoire of dishes and share the secrets and skills you need to create vibrant and authentic Italian cuisine. These cookery lessons will form part of a varied and exciting itinerary of Italian food experiences, including demos, tours and activities.

Cook Eat Discover are passionate about connecting people with the source of their food, emphasizing the importance of respecting ingredients and the environment that creates them. Cook Eat Discover bespoke tour of the region's producers showcases those who treat food with love and patience, and do things in harmony with nature.

Cook Eat Discover aim to inspire and empower food lovers who are passionate about Italian gastronomy, giving them unique access to the people, stories, and time-honored methods behind the dishes and ingredients.

Daily sample schedule

Day 1

• 14:00 Check-in
• 18:00 Aperitif - take in your new surroundings with a refreshing Spritz against the backdrop of the medieval village. Meet your team and get ready for the adventures ahead.
• 19:30 Dinner - relax whilst your personal chef cooks you an introductory four-course feast under the private outdoor pergola/in the private dining room (depending on weather).

Day 2

• 09:30 Buffalo mozzarella farm tour and cheese tasting - an insightful tour of a sustainable buffalo dairy farm and artisanal cheese producer. Make sure you wear mud-proof footwear! Taste a variety of freshly made buffalo products, there are even creamy buffalo milk cappuccinos and buffalo ice creams. Learn about how they use the buffalo's' waste for renewable energy. Enjoy a brunch-style tasting of the farm’s cheeses and a little prosciutto to keep you going!
• 11:30 Organic Tuscan rice farm tour - walk along the rice fields and get a tour of a working seaside rice farm. All the rice is naturally grown and stone processed to ensure the highest quality. You will pick up some of their amazing risotto rice for your lesson later.
• 14:00 Free time - lounge by the pool or go for wander around the beautiful old town of the village
• 17:00 Aperitif and risotto masterclass dinner - after some tasty aperitif snacks and a glass of prosecco, Oli will take you through all the essential skills and secrets to perfect risotto making with the rice we picked up earlier. You will cook together in the spacious and well-equipped village professional kitchen, before eating your risottos (plus a few other treats prepared by your hosts) in the beautiful village square outside.

Day 3

• 07:00 Boat trip - a trip like no other! You will set sail on a boat early in the morning with a charismatic fisherman who's on a mission to protect the marine life of the Tuscan coast. He will tell you about his battles against the trawler fishermen, and the importance of sustainable fishing. All of this against the backdrop of the stunning Maremma National Park, with stops at beautiful bathing spots and great food on board.
• 14:00 Free time back in the village
• 17:00 Evening cooking lesson, dinner - a hands on cooking lesson with your private instructor in a professional kitchen in the beautiful old town of the local village. Together you will learn to make fresh pasta, and put together a delicious menu using something you picked up from the seas that morning. You will indulge in the meal you have cooked together by candlelight under the sycamore tree at the heart of the medieval village (weather permitting).

Day 4

• 10:00 Filled pasta cooking class and lunch - an extensive lesson with your private instructor going through some of the staples of Italian cooking. You will learn to make filled ravioli and cantucci biscuits. Enjoy an alfresco lunch (weather permitting) with a glass of wine for all of your hard work.
• 14:00 Free time
• 17:00 Vineyard tour, tasting and aperitif - you will take you to a nearby organic vineyard, and at 600 meters above sea level it has incredible views. Enjoy their wines, wander through the cellar, and have a snack to set you up for your free evening.
• 19:30 Free time/dinner - this is your night off, you will be spoiled for choices of delicious restaurants to eat in in the village.

Day 5

• 11:00 Honey and Brunello producer tour, tasting and lunch - learn all about organic honey making, study the hives, and listen to the beekeepers. This producer also makes the famous Brunello wine - you will get an insight into what makes this wine so sought after. To the soundtrack of the bees busying away, you will lunch with traditional Tuscan dishes and honey tastings, along with some delicious Brunello. The truffle honey with pecorino is especially memorable!
• 15:00 Pienza, sightseeing and free time - take in the sights at this UNESCO heritage protected small town, famous for its world famous Pecorino cheese and superb examples of Renaissance architecture. Enjoy beautiful distant views of the classic Tuscan countryside and a large selection of cheese shops.
• 17:30 Pizza cooking class and Pecorino farm tour - an insight into Pienza pecorino cheesemaking at a stunning hilltop farm, where you will also do a pizza cooking class using the cheese straight from the farm, cooked in a roaring wood fired oven. Enjoy your pizza on the beautiful terrace of the farm which overlooks the Val d'Orcia, Pienza and Monte Amiata.

Day 6

• 11:00 Al fresco gnocchi class and lunch - a hands on gnocchi class under the pergola with your private instructor, preparing fresh gnocchi for your lunch before you head off cycling!
• 15:00 Two-hour cycle tour to vineyard - a light ride over the hills and down through the local villages to burn off the excesses of the week, with your knowledgeable and friendly private cycling guide. The ride will take you to a beautiful vineyard on the Tuscan plains.
• 17:00 Wine tasting - an unforgettable tasting with an award-winning winemaker, you will get a real understanding of the art form that is wine making. Enjoy a private tasting of their Sangiovese, Viognier, and Syrah, paired with traditional Tuscan antipasti.
• 20:30 Final dinner - after a rest and a shower, Cook Eat Discover will take you to their house in the woods for private gourmet feast cooked by yours truly, saying goodbye in style!

Day 7

• 12:00 Check out

Please note that itineraries are subject to change due to weather, availability etc.

• Buffalo mozzarella farm tour and cheese tasting
• Boat trip on the Tuscan coast
• Honey and Brunello producer tour
• Organic Tuscan rice farm tour
• Organic vineyard tour, tasting, and aperitif
• Pecorino cheese farm tour
• Two-hour cycle tour to vineyard

This culinary holiday will take place in Tuscany, Italy. The Maremma is the southern most coastal region of Tuscany. While the likes of Siena and Florence are easily accessible from the Maremma, it's a hidden gem that's relatively undiscovered compared to the well beaten tourist trails of central Tuscany.

Its incredible natural beauty and medieval hill villages provide an untouched and authentic land perfect for food exploration. Things are done the old ways here, and you will find some of the finest food in the country. Cook Eat Discover is based in the beautiful village of Roccatederighi, which is carved into the rocks over 500 meters above the plains. It teeters impossibly above the flatlands and from up here you can see the islands of Giglio, Elba, or even Corsica on a clear day.

The undisturbed wilds of Maremma produce extremely fine ingredients and dishes. Stuffed pasta, cured meats, honey, wild boar, hearty soups, and chestnuts are some local specialties. The Maremmana cow is famed around the country for its steaks, the freshest fish, and seafood comes out of the nearby Tyrrhenian Sea, while the region is also blessed with excellent wine, olive oil, and cheese producers. Tuscany's other famous gastronomic centers are not far away either - the pecorino of Pienza, the Brunello wine of Montalcino, and the Panforte of Siena.

This culinary holiday includes all meals apart from one dinner (as part of an allotted free evening). Breakfast supplies for your private kitchen including locally produced fruit, yogurt, bread, eggs, jams and preserves, cereals etc will be provided. Meal include private meals cooked by your private chef Oli, meals produced from cooking classes, meals as part of trips and activities etc. Wine and selected aperitifs are also included.

• Aperitif and risotto masterclass
• Pasta-making lesson
• Filled pasta cooking class
• Pizza cooking class
• Al fresco gnocchi class
• Buffalo mozzarella farm tour and cheese tasting
• Fishing boat trip on the Tuscan coast
• Honey and Brunello producer tour
• Organic Tuscan rice farm tour
• Organic vineyard tour, tasting, and aperitif
• Pecorino cheese farm tour
• Two-hour cycle tour to vineyard
• All meals except one dinner
• Wine and selected aperitifs
• Transport from/to Grosseto train station on check in/check out days
• 6 nights accommodation

• Airfare
• Airport transfers
• 1 dinner