Toscana Saporita School/Class Info

Toscana Saporita's modern, professional kitchen occupies the ground floor of a villa built in the late 1400's. For hundreds of years, this large majestic room was used to house the estate's fine wines, stored in huge wooden barrels. The barrels are gone, but the terra cotta floors and original wood-beamed ceilings are still with us. Class instruction in bread, pizza, and foccacia-making are held next door, using a wood-fired oven that baked the estate's bread for hundreds of years.

During your stay, students live in one of three suites located above the school, each with its own living room, bathroom facilities, and a kitchen fully supplied with breakfast provisions, so you can begin your day as you please. Suites contain from one to four bedrooms and are charmingly decorated with Italian country antiques.

Students include everyone from beginners to accomplished chefs who come to study the unique nature of Tuscan cuisine. Taught by experienced, professional instructors, all classes are small in size (never more than 12), completely hands-on and conducted in English.

No matter which course you choose, the school's instructional emphasis is always focused on the same three things: traditional Tuscan technique, innovative use of ingredients, and esthetic presentation. In addition, each course devotes special attention to pairing foods with appropriate wines.  What changes is the seasonality of the food.

Spring Festival classes focus on the wondrous foods that emerge in April and May: wild leeks, new potatoes, spring onions, wild asparagus, succulent shellfish, and fresh new cheeses.

Summer Abundance classes are built around juicy tomatoes, fragrant basil, white eggplants, yellow, red and purple peppers, apricots, peaches, and melons.

Autumn Harvest programs emphasize mushrooms, chestnuts, truffles, newly-ground polenta and freshly-pressed olive oil.

Advanced Fundamentals of Tuscan cuisine including pasta, sauces, soups, fish, meats, desserts, pastry, vegetables, cooking with wine, and wine pairing. In addition, the week includes wine, cheese, truffle and olive oil tastings, plus a tour to the celebrated Cennatoio winery in Panzano-in-Chianti for a wine tasting and dinner. Other excursions include a visit to the central food market in Viareggio for a lesson on Tyrrhenian and Mediterranean fish, and a visit to a local shepherdess for a cheese-making demonstration.  (The Advanced Fundamentals class is not offered during some years.)