7 Days Golden Cooking Vacation in Sorrento, Italy

"This was amazing Carmen is highly entertaining and informative"

La Cucina del Gusto Facebook page, edited

"Best time ever! First, Carmen is a great chef and teacher. Second, I just don't know how much more fun you could have learning to make great food. Third, without Carmen's teaching, my husband, Michael, and I could not have treated 25 of our friends to a 4 course dinner comprised of dishes we learned to make from Chef Carmen."

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"Our family (3 generations) took our last family trip to Sorrento, Italy with my husband, Rich, who has dementia and will not be able to travel again. I have known Carmen for over 10 years. I have grown to rely on her for helping me with tours and of course, making amazing food. Her cooking school is first class! We made and ate ravioli, stuffed chicken breast, and potato dumplings. It was wonderful! The whole family had a great time and learned valuable tips to making a fabulous Italian meal. Thank you, Carmen, for your help and friendship!"

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"Our group of eight had a great time cooking with Chef Carmen at La Cucina del Gusto. We were staying just outside of Sant'Agata, and Carmen sent transportation to take us to and from the course in Sorrento. We learned how to prepare some complicated dishes, including how to prepare fish, in a very fun atmosphere. Carmen brought a lot of energy and fun stories to the experience. Carmen also helped arrange for reservations at other restaurants in the area that were some of our favorite restaurants during our 5-week stay in Italy. Several days later, Carmen came to our villa to cook for us on our last night. Cooking with Carmen definitely added to our enjoyment of our whole week in the Amalfi Coast."

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"My partner and i arrived at Carmen's cookery school not really knowing what to expect - my partner's not really into cooking, so was a little apprehensive! Within five minutes, Chef Carmen had put him at ease, put a prosecco in his hand and we started to really enjoy the experience! Luckily, the group we were part of were really good fun - we particularly hit it off with a couple of Australians who appreciated the free flowing prosecco as much as us and the two hours of preparing the ravioli, gnocchi, and aubergine dish flew by! We had such a giggle that Steve, Stefano, as Chef Carmen insisted on calling him, got told off (in jest) a couple of times! We were then taken outside to enjoy a huge platter of meats, cheeses and vegetables with more prosecco whilst the food was cooked. We then returned to the large indoor table as a group to enjoy our 3-course meal with wine whilst Chef Carmen encouraged us to have a sing song - that bit was less successful, we could not hold a tune between us! I'd highly recommend the class to anyone!"

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"Having recently been to Portugal and taken a cooking course, we decided to try an Italian cooking course as a family whilst holidaying in Sorrento. And it didn't disappoint. My son, who is 12, loved the experience and has talked all week about coming home to try the recipes and I've just successfully made gnocchi for the first time at home. Chef Carmen was lovely and shared her tips and expertise to make sure we got the best results as she taught us a variety of four dishes including pizza and pasta. It was a great way to meet other people from around the world too, as we shared our experience with a friendly couple from Cleveland, USA. Well worth joining a course if you get the chance."

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"Fabulous! This was a great experience. I went alone and now I have new friends. Carmen is a delight. I never come ok at home and I feel so proud that I made a delicious meal. Fun. Really fun."

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"Thank you so much, Carmen! We had a really lovely afternoon. We had a great time learning to make ravioli and pizza, while drinking some lovely prosecco and sampling some of Carmen's cooking. Carmen was great company, very warm and funny, and a great chef and teacher. She gave us lots of tips and taught us a lot about Italian cooking. She also gave us lots of good local knowledge about restaurants in Sorrento, and told us which ones we must try before we go home! We had a very enjoyable dinner and the whole afternoon was one of the highlights of our holiday. Grazie Carmen!"

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"My wife and I took our 14 and 11-year old daughters to Italy and ended in Sorrento. They have always enjoyed cooking and Carmen was amazing to organize a menu of ravioli, focaccia bread, and chicken. She is amazing with children and made them feel like queens for the night. Thank you!"

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"A must-do while in Sorrento! Don't miss out on a perfect experience with the owner, chef Carmen, as she takes you on a Neapolitan cooking experience that beats all. As you enter her cooking school you are greeted by a true host with an amazing personality that will have you so excited to learn and listen to her story. The setting is ultra modern. Pay attention to the details - unbelievable! A true artist in all aspects. You must request her to give instructions for cooking her baked sea bass with dribbles of her homemade tomato sauce. What you learn here, you can take back to your own kitchen! It's an absolute perfecto day!"

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"Chef Carman offers a great experience in cooking. We did three courses and she got us directly involved with whole process over a nice bottle wine. The kitchen is new, modern and super clean. She keeps everything very light and cheerful with a lot of laughter."

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"On my bucket list was to learn how to cook in Italy. This is where chef Carmen comes into the picture. She has an amazing 6 day cooking course and tour of the Amalfi coast, Positano, Ravello, wine tour, dinner at a Michelin star restaurant called Don Alfonso, transfers to and from your hotel to airport and vice-versa, including a wonderful hotel I stayed at called the Grand Ambasciatori. This amazing woman made me felt taken care of. She looked after everything I needed. I never felt I was alone. The food we cooked was beyond delicious. I now know how to cook homemade fettuccini, ravioli, squid fish, and many deserts including cannoli and tiramisu. I would recommend chef Carmen over and over. Bravo to amazing time for me."

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"Carmen was amazing, a patient teacher, loads of fun and a wine pusher too! From ravioli to potato crusted sea bass. It was such value for money, we learnt so much and I can now confidently tackle all the dishes on my own. The biggest chore was trying to eat it all at the end of the class. We did our best though."

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"Chef Carmen is a charismatic and warm teacher who projects her love of fresh food that is prepared with love and attention. We cooked for 2 to 3 hours and the time flew! Everyone cooks the entire dish being demonstrated and the lesson is filled with laughter, thorough explanations and many helpful tips. Sharing time with Carmen was wonderful and we are now sharing the dishes we learned with our friends at home.Class sizes are small. There is great variety in the dishes prepared and you are left with a rich understanding of how the food and the ingredients are part of the local culture. An added bonus, you get to meet many of the local providers who pop in daily with deliveries or to visit Carmen - they all become your friends as well."

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"If you are interested in food and wine you will love this trip. Chef Carmen is not only awonderful teacher and cook but a warm and joyful person. The meals we made were not onlydelicious but filled with laughs and music, not to mention vino! The hotel and grounds are lovely and I wish I stayed on a few extra days to savour the surroundings. Lots of great side trips including making mozarella at Mama Rosa's house."

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"We recently spent time in the Naples region of Italy. Our stay at Oasi Olimpia just capped off our holiday break. It has a wonderful ambience and the staff are just perfect. The cooking lessons are a treat and relaxing time by the pool makes it a holiday to do again."

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"Our family of six had the highlight of our trip to Italy with Chef Carmen. The gorgeous facility and atmosphere was only the bonus to our evening while learning from an amazing chef. Chef Carmen has an engaging personality and our family thoroughly enjoyed her company! We highly recommend the cooking class to anyone! From the very beginner to the chef that wants to expand their knowledge. Her attention to detail and professional approach to her craft is refreshing. Thank you to all the staff at Olympia for a wonderful experience!"

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