Cooking Courses in Italy: All About Umbria Cooking Tours

All About Umbria
Spoleto, Umbria

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About the location: Set among thickly wooded hills, Spoleto is one of the most attractive towns in Italy, making it ideal for a cooking vacation in Umbria. At night, when the landmarks are illuminated and the city lights twinkle, it becomes a magical place, and is a fitting location for one of Italy’s most important performance arts festival, Festival dei Due Mondi, founded by composer Gian Carlo Menotti and the late Thomas Schippers. Long a destination of those seeking the best that Italy has to offer, Spoleto boasts ancient Roman ruins (including the Roman theater), the striking 13th-century aqueduct, Ponte delle Torri, the imposing medeival fortress, the Rocca Albornoziana, and the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, completed in 1227, which contains the tomb of the famous 14th-century artist Filippo Lippi.

This medieval yet sophisticated city is also undeniably Umbria’s most gastronomic town, and you will explore some of the best Umbria has to offer at the warm and inviting Hotel Clitunno. When you arrive at the lovely historic building you are in for a surprise, for behind the modest facade is a hotel of taste and beauty. Under the guidance of the well known architect Bellini, the three-year renovation of the hotel has resulted in a stunning yet welcoming environment. The hotel is filled with antiques, oriental rugs, and objets d’art; it has cozy sitting areas with fireplaces, an intimate bar and an elegant dining room. The bedrooms are charming and characteristic with lovely bathrooms. But even more wonderful than the charming ambiance of the hotel is the warm hospitality of the Tomassoni family, who own and operate the hotel.

About the cooking lessons: The restaurant offers typical specialties of Umbrian Cuisine and innovative dishes based on the most traditional flavors of the region. Your Italian cooking courses will be held with Mamma Giovanna, manager of the hotel’s San Lorenzo Restaurant and matriarch of the Tomassoni family, along with one of the chefs of the restaurant. The Umbrian cuisine is incredibly rich and varied, famed for its heady olive oil, truffles, cured meats, homemade pastas—and the wines are among the best produced in Italy. We at The International Kitchen consider the meals you will prepare and enjoy with Mamma Giovanna and her staff some of the best you will find anywhere in Italy: incredible flavors, fresh ingredients, centuries-old traditions, and warm laughter with good friends.

All About Umbria Itinerary

Day 1

Note that the 4-night itinerary generally follows the first four nights of the 6-night itinerary, with departure after breakfast on day 5.

  • Transfer from the Rome Fiumicino Airport to the Hotel Clitunno in Spoleto.
  • This afternoon, enjoy a welcome drink and a short presentation on your cooking course from Mamma Giovanna or one of the chefs of the restaurant.
  • This evening, enjoy dinner and a welcome night’s rest at your hotel.

Day 2

  • After breakfast, your introduction to classic Umbrian cooking gets underway with the presentation and preparation of some typical appetizers: crostini with chicken liver pate, homemade focaccia stuffed with caciotta cheese and ham, bruschetta with garlic, tomatoes, and truffle sauce. Enjoy preparing and tasting the dishes you’ve prepared.
  • After your first lesson, relax and have lunch at the trattoria “La Cantina.”
  • In the afternoon depart at around 3:30 pm for a walking tour of Spoleto on your own. Make sure to visit such sights as the famous Dome of the City, the Church of Saint Eufemia, the entrance to Rocca of Albornoz, and the recently restored heart of the village.
  • Dinner tonight will be at the hotel.

Day 3

  • After breakfast, depart by minibus at 9:00 a.m. for a guided tour of legendary Assisi, the city of Saint Francis.
  • Lunch in a typical restaurant.
  • Afterwards, it’s on to the famous town of Montefalco, land of the Sagranino red wine, visit of a local winery where you will be invited to taste wonderful wines.
  • Return and dinner at the hotel this evening.

Day 4

  • Breakfast, followed by your next cooking lesson.
  • Today the emphasis will be on first courses, with the preparation of such dishes strangozzi (homemade pasta) with truffle sauce, gnocchi (potato dumplings) al sugo, farro in umido. As always, you will taste the dishes you have prepared and lunch in the hotel.
  • In the afternoon, free time.
  • Dinner at the hotel this evening.

Day 5

  • Breakfast. (End of Four-night itinerary).
  • Cooking class on the preparation and tasting of sweets like crescionda and attorta.
  • Depart at 12:00pm for a visit to nearby Norcia, home of the Black Truffle.
  • Lunch in Norcia’s most famous restaurant, “ Il Granaro del Monte,” which will feature the remarkable tastes of these mysterious tubers.
  • Afterwards, a guided visit to the parks of the Sibillini and the Valnerina, two of the most fascinating parks of Italy.
  • Return to the hotel for a late afternoon dinner.

Day 6

  • This morning, after breakfast, you will have a chance to learn the secrets of an Italian Chef, as you accompany him to the local fruit and vegetable market to choose the ingredients for this afternoon’s cooking lesson.
  • Today you will tackle main courses, with instruction in the preparation of trout valnerina style, zucchini and fried eggplant, frittata of asparagi, and tagliata di bue with balsamic vinegar sauce.
  • This evening, you will taste all that you have made, and celebrate your graduation at a grand dinner at the hotel, where all participants will receive their “Italian Cooking Course Certificate “.

Day 7

  • Breakfast at the hotel, final farewells, depart for your transfer to Fiumicino Airport in Rome.

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