OUR PHILOSOPHY
It is important to us to make people feeling at home. Guests who join our cooking classes feel at ease in our familiar and informal atmosphere which is important to create a confidential relationship.
Annamaria (the lady who leads the classes) knows almost every typical recipe from Tuscany. She grew up with her grandmother who taught her how to cook in the traditional way, choosing the best ingredients and combining the right spices. Cesare (Annamaria’s husband) knows much about spices and vegetables, about wines and game food. He explains to our guests how to combine the right wine with the right food.
Raffaella (who is in charge of taking guests around in Tuscany) speaks 5 foreign languages and loves to entertain people about the history and the culture of this extraordinary region where she grew up.
We are able to welcome guests all year trough. We provide to our guests comfortable arrangements in old Tuscany style. The apartments and rooms which we place at your disposal are all very close (just a few meters away) from the kitchen where we perform our lessons.
As we are settled in an area famous for its wines, olive oils, truffles and cold cuts, we will of course take you to the producers to see and taste those delicious products of our beautiful region.
Although our organisation hasn’t got any really “fixed program” because we are able to mix our offer (cooking lessons, creativity workshops, language courses and visits to the towns) we propose to our guest a kind of standard weekly program which can be slightly changed upon your request.
Naturally we will be glad to provide to you an offer according to your personal needs and interests. So please contact us if you wish to stay longer of shorter than one week, if you are coming alone or with a group, if you want us to mix our offer or to arrange other activities (sport, wellness, etc).
Scheduling of a standard arrangement
Saturday |
Transfer from the airport to Montopoli, welcome cocktail and supper together with the staff of Arte e Mestieri |
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Sunday |
Breakfast and excursion to San Gimignano, lunch in a local restaurant. At 5 pm will take place the first cooking session of the week. |
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Monday |
Breakfast and tour to Pisa. We will have lunch together back in Montopoli. At 4 pm we will go out for a wine tasting in a beautiful farm located at the top of a hill and surrounded by cypresses and olive trees. You will have supper in Montopoli together with our staff. |
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Tuesday |
After breakfast you will have time to rest. At 4 pm we will start our second cooking lesson whose main focus will be “hand made pasta”. |
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Wednesday |
Breakfast and visit to the olive oil mill of San Miniato and to “Macelleria Falaschi”, which has recently received an award as one of the best butchers in Italy. After that we will spend a visit to the beautiful monuments of San Miniato and enjoy the magnificent sight to the countryside below. At 5 pm we will be vack in Montopoli for the third cooking session |
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Thursday |
After breakfast we will leave to Vinci, birth place of the Italian scientist and artist Leonardo da Vinci. There we will visit Leonardo’s birth home and the museum. We will be back in Montopoli for lunch. At 4 pm we will leave to Florence. After visiting the famous cathedral and others monuments in the historical centre we will have supper in a local restaurant. After supper before coming back home we will go by car up to a panoramic place where we will drink a coffee admiring the beautiful view |
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Friday |
Today we will visit Volterra, an ancient town which was one of the capitals of the Etruscan civilization (the inhabitants of Tuscany before the Roman Empire colonised this area). At 6 pm we will start our last cooking lesson. |
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Saturday |
Brunch and transfer to the airport |
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