Add a dash of cooking or a drop of wine lore to your vacation with half-day cooking class options, which always include the meal with wine after the lesson. Classes are in English and on request for any day year round, based upon availability, for a minimum of two people. When a booking is confirmed for one or two people, it does not guarantee a private class, only that you will have a guaranteed space in that class. Bookings are confirmed upon receipt of your full prepayment. We regret we cannot confirm any bookings received less than 5 days before your departure date from home.

Tuscany

Learn the culinary secrets of Authentic Southern Tuscany at Palazzo Bandino, a winery near Montepulciano. Your hands-on lesson begins at 10:30. With well-known local chef Luciano Benocci, you'll prepare Sienese specialties that combine the season's freshest ingredients, straight from the Palazzo Bandino estate. Or choose the pizza lesson, something it is very hard to find anywhere in Italy! You'll learn to make two kinds of pizza, cooked in the estate's authentic brick oven, as well as Tuscan roast chicken and potatoes.
Whether you have the classic cooking lesson or the pizza lesson, afterwards you'll visit the wine cellars for an introduction to Tuscan wines and a demonstration of how they are bottled. Lunch with wine follows, after which you will receive a certificate. The estate is easy to find, located just outside Chianciano Terme only five minutes from the autostrada exit. Cost for the lesson for 2-8 people is 145 EURO/person; lunch with wine for a companion who does not attend the cooking class (with minimum two cooks): 30 EURO/person; adult cooks who also book a stay at Palazzo Bandino through In Italy Online receive a 10% discount. A maximum of two children ages 9-15 pay 50% when accompanied by two adults for a Family Lesson, which includes a visit to the vineyard and the olive grove and a simple, safe cooking or pizza lesson followed by lunch with wine. Not available on Saturdays or Mondays. You must have a car to take this class. Click here for former guests' comments.

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Tuscany Wine Lesson

If you are interested in learning more about Tuscan wines, tasting a wide variety of them and purchasing some at the lower local prices, then we have an extremely rare opportunity for you. Instead of driving around to visit each winery, and most likely being turned away at the door because they only accept groups or they are closed for the day, we offer a half-day wine appreciation and tasting session that encompasses all the great Tuscan vintages: Chianti, Rosso di Montepulciano, Nobile di Montepulciano, Rosso di Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino and Colli Etruria. Your morning at Palazzo Bandino (see above) starts at 10 a.m., with a very entertaining and informative explanation of the history of these wines, illustrating how and why Chianti evolved from a straw-encased staple of college dormitories to one of the world's most respected wine classifications, and then gave birth to the Super Tuscans, which have earned their place in the Olympus of world wine history. You will taste samples of each wine group, accompanied by cheese, olives and typical Tuscan bread. After this you will stretch your legs in the vineyard, and visit the winery to witness the process whereby a grape becomes a sip. Lunch with wine follows, after which you may purchase all the wine you want and pay the same price as if you visited each wine estate individually. Palazzo Bandino is easy to find, located just outside Chianciano Terme only five minutes from the autostrada exit. 145 EURO/person for a minimum of two people (participants who also book a stay at Palazzo Bandino through In Italy Online receive a 10% discount). Not available on Saturdays or Mondays. You must have a car to take this class. Click here for former guests' comments.

Rome Cooking

Learn to cook Roman specialties with Giulia, chef/owner of a very popular Trastevere restaurant. Roman cuisine is incredibly tasty but amazingly simple. It is based on quick-cooking the freshest vegetables and slow-cooking the least expensive cuts of meat. Many of the yummiest local treats were cerated in the oldest Jewish community outside the Middle East. Fried zucchine flowers, artichokes alla Giudia, rigatoni all’amatriciana, penne all’arrabbiata, gnocchi alla romana, saltimbocca, chicken with bell peppers, baccalà.... Need we say more? Giulia is thrilled to offer visitors a chance to make these delicacies and others among the traditional Roman and Roman Jewish dishes. Your hands-on lesson begins at 11 a.m. Afterwards, you'll sit down and enjoy the fruits of your labor with a glass of wine, some good conversation and a sampling of Giulia’s luscious desserts. Click here to see some of the recipes you might learn to make (actual lessons are based on what's in season at the moment). 2-4 people; 150 EURO/person. Available on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Not available March 20-25, 2008. Click here for former guests' comments.