Good Tastes of Tuscany

"I attended the month-long certificate masters class and it was absolutely amazing. We got to work with amazing chefs, learn tricks of modern kitchens (no stirring the risotto constantly!) and eat amazing food! The villa was absolutely gorgeous and our hosts were gracious and attentive. A wonderful experience that I'd recommend to anyone looking for a fantastic taste of Italy!"

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"Be prepared to get messy and have a great time. This day class was so much fun, Maurizio our chef/teacher was a blast and what a cook! The class is as much hands on as you desire and if you decide to do hands on then you are going to have fun as the day simply wisks by with a smile and leaves you with so many fond memories. The class was such an inspiration for us and gave us so much confidence to cook what had learned in class such that we held an Itallian Mama Mia Thanksgiving Dinner at our home instead of Turkey dinner. I could not sing like Maurizio did for us but we did play a great Itallian music CD while we cooked and dined."

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"My husband and I took a 4-hour cooking class with Georgio as the chef/teacher. I am vegan, so Georgio put together a great vegan menu and taught us how to adapt delicious, well-known Tuscan recipes. The kitchen was large, well-equipped, and beautiful. We made homemade Pici pasta with a to-die-for tomato sauce, Cannelini salad, poached pears with cream sauce, and stuffed peppers. We now know how to make homemade fresh pasta without the need for eggs. We also now know how to slow cook vegetables to allow the flavors to fully develop. It was great having Georgio's hands on help and guidance. After cooking, we sat down to eat with him and the site's owners. It was a glorious meal with good company! We would like to take other classes from them in the future!"

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"What a fun day! We did the market tour plus cooking class. We met Luciano, our chef, at the market to shop for ingredients and were informed that the other couple had cancelled last minute so it would just be myself and my mom for class. What a day! We started with espresso and a fresh pastry outside the market. We spent extra time at the market learning, tasting and shopping and made a FEAST of food that day! The owners had friends visiting, who ate with us so we cooked for a party of 7. Pate, bruschetta, homemade raviolis, homemade pasta with a tomato sauce, chianti beef stew, and panna cotta with a strawberry / balsamic sauce. Luciano made us rossini Prosecco cocktails once we got back to the kitchen and we drank red and white wine from the onsite vineyard throughout the prep and meal. They have huge herbs growing on site that we snipped from our dishes. They provide you a comp apron to keep as well as a small cookbook which they give you before class to take notes in which is nice. What was supposed to be around 5 hours turned into an all day affair that we ate up-literally. They owners even gave us a handwritten / handdrawn map to get us out of Florence that evening as we were driving to Siena. Can't say enough about our experience this day... Luciano made it so much fun and the food was fresh and yummy! It's spendy, but we felt that our experience was worth every penny! Also, the chef can tailor the menu to your likes / preference / allergies, etc. as there is plenty to choose from at the market (beef, chicken, fish, veggies, etc.) We wanted to learn staples (ie how to make homemade pasta like a champ!)."

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"We signed up through ArtViva website and worried our class might be cancelled since we went during off season. We were so happy they didn't cancel the class and it ended up to be just the two of us. Our instructor is Giorgio and we had a lot of fun learning how to fresh ravioli and gnocchi, parmesan scuffle, beef stew and Tiramisu. We like how he was showing us a few tricks to look for when preparing each dish and how to fix them if they didn't turn out the way we want them. After preparing these dishes, we got to enjoy them in the dining room next to the kitchen. Owners of the villa and a fellow Texan joined us for dinner as well. Overall, we really enjoyed our lessons and looking forward to try each recipe at home. Definitely recommend this experience while in Italy!"

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"We were spending a week in Italy before taking a trans-Atlantic cruise back to the US and made a reservation after a friend who went to the school on her honeymoon recommended it. We could have been happier. The driver picked us up at the designated location, right on time and we were off on our mini adventure. We arrived in a little village about 15 minutes from the center of Florence at the Pandofini Villa. The kitchen is in the old horse stables across the road from the residence. We were greeted by Giorgio, our instructor and Chef. His English was excellent and his instructions were clear and easy to understand. Even if you are not a cook, you will be after this class. We were joined by another couple, Allison and Pete who were delightful. We cooked a four course meal from scratch, including the pasta that we made...and enjoyed a the villa's wonderful wine while making the food and then consuming it."

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"We arrived at Good Tastes of Tuscany cooking school to a warm welcome from the chef Luciano who had coffee and biscotti waiting for us. We were then introduced to the menu for the day: crostini toscanini, farrotti, tagliatelle bi-colour, con ragout danatra, osso bucco, flan di patate al tartuso, and torta pinolata della nonna. All the ingredients were fresh from the market and Luciano's guidance on each dish was easy to follow. At the end of the cooking we sat down to a scrumptious meal with excellent wine and great company. We are all looking forward to returning home and trying some of Lucianos creations. We also received a lovely cook book and apron. A huge thankyou to Luciano for making our time so enjoyable and to Meaghan and June who organized our day and also another tour exploring the wine regions of Tuscany."

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"My sister and I, along with our very special friends, had a lovely day at the cooking school in early September. Chef Luciano was great, very warm, informative, and an amazing chef with years of experience. We learned so much from him. The food we prepared was made with the freshest ingredients purchased that morning from the market. The food we prepared was outstanding and the best part was sharing and enjoying the meal at the end of the class. Thank you Luciano for such a memorable and fun day! Many thanks, as well, to Meaghan, June, and family for such a wonderful and special time."

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"Had the experience of a lifetime with the chef, Luciano and Sou Chef, Meri, his wife. A huge menu was prepared by students with ease. Can you imagine making fresh pasta for Spinach Ravioli and with left over dough, Spaghetti, then Bruschetta, Pork Loin with grapes, Fried Zucchini Blossoms, Vegetable broth and Vegetable Risotto and Tirimasu with left over batter wonderful muffins all in a day.And it was delicious. And the entertainment from Luciano and Meri was delightful. Received a cookbook with the recipes used and an apron. Eating the delectable Italian cuisine was the best part, of course, and we were all pleased with the great outcome on the first try. Bonn Appetito!"

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"We came from Michigan, USA with 9 friends - male and females and took the half day cooking class. Chef Luciano was a delight - so engaging and so knowledgeable. We made a pork loin, tri color pasta with pesto sauce, 3 kinds of foccacia bread, parmesan souffles, tiramusu and a grape flan.The class was in Villa Panfolfini, outside Florence. The class was in the Villa's kitchen and it was so much fun! We learned new recipes but more importantly new techniques for cooking better and easier!We were not all experienced cooks and the chef made all of us feel like 5 star chef's by the end. We ate our meal together with delicious red and white wines produced onsite. Highly recommend if ever in the Florence area!"

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"When we finally made the decision to take a week long cooking class in Tuscany I took the research seriously. I investigated four other options and created a pro's con's worksheet and we picked Good Tastes of Tuscany. After some back and forth e-mails and conversations with Meghan we booked the week of June 8.The two of us joined 4 other fabulous ladies in la Casa Rosa on the estate. We had never met the other ladies until the day we arrived. We felt the lucky ones because the chemistry in the house was perfect. Why not? We had the love of cooking, touring and savoring wines in common. The house was rustic but very comfortable.Even with 97 degree temps we were comfortable without air conditioning in the evenings. We were in an upstairs bedroom with one double bed and one single with a newly renovated bath. The mattress was comfortable and the room spacious with plenty for storage for our stuff. But, the outside veranda was the favorite gathering place overlooking the greenery of the Tuscan hills and colorful flowers.The cooking classes exceeded our expectations with Lucianno, the chef, as the star of our week. Be sure to go on the trip to the market in Florence with Lucianno he makes it a touring adventure with tasting of balsamic vinegar, aged cheeses. Plus, he will guide you to where to buy all of those culinary gems you want to bring home.Going into town did turn out to be further than we expected, but Meghan was very accommodating with providing drop-off and pick-ups. Pick this school for a combination of cooking pleasure, treasure chest of cooking tips, making new friends, and fond memories to warm your heart for a lifetime."

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"My friend and I just returned from a week long participation in the cooking program. The villa was stocked with lots of options for breakfast and snacking including fresh fruit, coffee, and cheese. We also had access to both white and red wine for a small charge. The villa was across a terrace from the pool which was lovely in the afternoon since temperatures were in the 90's.The Wi-Fi worked fairly well which was nice for keeping in touch at home. There were very nice tours which included a trip to the Central Market in Florence for food treasures, and historical tour of Florence, a southern Tuscany tour, and a winery tour. We ate out several times for lunch and dinner and all of the restaurants were charming and had good food.The best part of course were the cooking classes and our wonderful chef Luciano. We all learned a lot and ate wonderful food. Luciano not only taught us to make the recipes in the book, but many other items. I worked with Meaghan prior to booking and found her to be wonderful. Her great service continued while we were there and I can't thank her enough. I will always remember this trip and all the people I met. Special thanks to Meaghan and June and of course Luciano."

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"Just spent a week as a daily participant in the week long cooking program with some girlfriends. Our chef, Luciano, was amazing - such a gem of information and full of laughter and enthusiasm for this craft. Our first night we had a welcome dinner with our organizer Meghan and her husband Masimo, plus our chef Luciano and his wife Mary. It was delicious and set the stage for a great week.We started each day with coffee or tea and an overview of what we would be making for the day. The class consisted of cooking every day for 5+ hours - as hands on or off as you choose. We prepared a 5 course meal every day and ate it for a late lunch - usually around 3:30pm. We had enough food to pack up the leftovers and take them back to the villa for later.Late afternoon and evenings were free to explore Florence or the surrounding towns on our own. We rented a car but others in our party opted for Meghan to supply a driver and/or train schedules. Very flexible and helpful. Luciano tailored the course for our interests (focus on seafood, gluten free pastas, and perfect pestos). We learned so much!Our notes filled the margins of the cookbook we were given (included in the cost) and I actually bought another notebook to take more notes because there was that much information. The recipes were varied and provided a good range for a variety of cooking skills/levels. On one day we visited the market in Florence to buy our produce and learn how to choose the best beef, chicken and fish for our meals.We even found some zucchini flowers and I asked about recipes for them. Immediately Luciano bought some and we had a delicious starter and an impromptu lesson which wasn't on our original plan. I loved how flexible this course was for all of us. We opted to stay on site at the villa - we all had private bedrooms and bathrooms (plus a shared shower for some).The villa had a lovely kitchen - stocked with breakfast fixings, coffee, tea, water and wine. We shared it with 2 other ladies and had a blast each night comparing our day's experiences and notes from cooking. There was a living room, sitting room and lovely outdoor terrace that was perfect. Plus the pool had just opened - ringed by beautiful white roses!On the last day Meghan gave us a tour of the wine cellars, old villa and kitchens etc... Nice history. I can't recommend this course enough - the setting was beautiful, the Luciano was fabulous and Meghan and Masimo were so helpful and kind. We felt comfortable and learned so much. I've been to other cooking courses in Europe and this was the best one by far - worth every penny!"

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