About the location: Discover a little piece of Tuscan heaven and savor the very best in Tuscan living
gathered together in our kitchen and around our table.
The Tuscan Chef is based in one of a number of wonderful private villas in the area near Vorno, a small town outside of Lucca.
Your week might take place at the Villa al Boschiglia,
while other weeks may be held at the charming Casa Matteucci or
another equally wonderful private villa.
The villas are all of the same caliber, surrounded by wild and stunning olive grove terraces or fruit orchards reaching out over Monte
Pisano with views across lavender and lemon scented Italian gardens towards the enchanting walled
town of Lucca. They each feature a small selection of wonderfully outfitted rooms (usually only 6 to 8 rooms) with private en suite
bath
or shower facilities. Your cooking classes are held in the charming Tuscan kitchen of your villa, with meals served in the
elegant dining room. During your free time you can enjoy the lovely grounds or the gracious Italian living areas.
About the cooking lessons: Our hands-on cooking courses are under the guidance
of professional Italian chef, Valter Roman, one of our top collaborators for many years!
If you asked Valter what he wanted to do when he was a child, he would have always said "be a chef."
Like, many, he began his "studies" at the side of his mamma and grandma learning the traditions and kitchen culture that are today the essence and basis of any successful Italian chef.
Valter studied professionally at the Instituto Alberghiero di Casargo, which led to many successful positions in renowned restaurants throughout Italy and the world. His mentor, Ugo Amato, trained him in London in the art of pastry where he created some of the most sought after pastries and cakes and even supplied the British Royal family. He has also studied with the formidable Tuscan chef Alvaro Maccioni and after three years of study has achieved his sommelier status to accompany his vast kitchen knowledge.
Craving the "bella vita" life of Italy, Valter returned to Tuscany with his English wife, Julia, where together they have teamed up for the last ten years to create the ideal cooking vacation.
The classes are fun, informative and full
of tips and tricks of the trade. You will discover and explore the tastes and
textures of some of the finest ingredients from fresh home-made pasta and plump
potato gnocchi with their various complimenting sauces to truffles, fragrant
garden Italian herbs, porcini mushrooms and wild asparagus, freshly pressed olive
oil, creamy pecorino cheeses and classic Italian wines. Kitchen studies are enhanced
and complimented by a special touring program to some of the most enchanting
and personally selected towns, markets, vineyards and other hidden treasures
of Tuscany.
The Week with The Tuscan Chef at the Villas of Vorno
Lucca, Tuscany
Sample Itinerary (Itinerary may vary slightly according to season)
Day One - Sunday
- Transfers from Pisa or Florence airports or train stations (or from Lucca train station) for
arrival at your accommodation on the outskirts of Lucca around midday for
a welcome buffet lunch prepared by your Italian chef for the week, Valter Roman.
- Buffet lunch - meet your hosts & cooking colleagues with time to settle in and relax before the first hands-on cooking lesson.
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Hands-on cooking lesson with preparation of dinner:
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Fiori di zucca ripieni & fritti con cestini di parmigiano - Deep fried, ricotta filled zucchini flowers with oven crisped parmesan baskets
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Gnocchi di patate con pesto Genovese - Potato gnocchi with a basil, olive oil and pine nut sauce
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Tiramisù – A little “pick-me-up”
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Cantucci di Prato – Almond biscuits from Prato
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Welcome aperitivi and orientation before dinner.
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Day Two - Monday
- Breakfast available.
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Join us for a leisurely morning stroll around the ancient walls of Lucca.
- Pasta and its Sauces - a specially themed cooking lesson.
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Tagliolini al pomodoro ciliegino & basilico – Long thin pasta with a cherry tomato and basil sauce
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Ravioli di asparagi selvatici con una salsa tartufata di stagione – Wild asparagus filled ravioli with a seasonal truffle butter
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Maltagliati con funghi porcini & niepitella – Bad cuts of pasta with a porcini mushroom and calamint sauce
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Torta di formaggio – Chef’s summer cheesecake
- Lunch al fresco followed by a short guided tour of Pisa & its Leaning Tower.
- Hands-on cooking lesson and preparation of dinner.
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Melanzane alla Parmigiana - Oven baked layers of eggplant, tomato and parmesan
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Risotto ai carciofi – Artichoke risotto
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Torta di ricotta con grano & aranci - Orange & grain ricotta tart
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Limoncello di Nonna Maria - Grandma Maria’s lemon liqueur
- Aperitivi and dinner.
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Day Three - Tuesday
- Breakfast available.
-
Depart for a Chianti adventure stopping off at an enchanting market town as well
as renowned vineyard for wine-tasting and lunch followed by a further vineyard and distillery visit.
- Leave Chianti and return home for an informal pizza supper in the lively village trattoria, just a short walk from the villa.
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Day Four - Wednesday
Breakfast available.-
Chef’s tour of the bustling market town of Pistoia to choose fresh produce for dinner followed by a kitchen
challenge where students and chefs work together to prepare a buffet lunch with items found at the market.
- Lunch followed by free time to relax and enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the villa.
- Hands-on cooking lesson and preparation of a special wine-tasting dinner.
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Pappardelle con cinghiale & finocchio selvatico – Pasta ribbons with wild boar and wild fennel
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Tagliata Fiorentina con funghi porcini & rucola & fagioli zolfini – Florentine steak dressed with a porcini mushroom sauce or rucola
topping and served with zolfini beans
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Pesche agli amaretti con gelato di cannella - Amaretto peaches with cinnamon ice-cream
- Introduction to the wines of Tuscany followed by dinner with wine tastings to accompany each course.
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Day Five - Thursday
- Breakfast available.
-
Guided tour through Lucca followed by a specially selected tasting menu for
lunch at Valter’s restaurant, The Gazebo at Locanda L’Elisa.
After lunch there’s plenty of time to discover Lucca for yourself with great
shopping along Via Filungo or to return to the peaceful haven of the villa for an afternoon of relaxation.
- Hands-on cooking lesson and preparation of dinner.
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Crema di fagioli con gamberi al guazzetto - Cream of cannellini beans with pan-seared prawns
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Pesce in cartoccio -Fish in a bag
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Sorbetto di limone & salvia - Lemon & sage sorbet
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Preparazione panna cotta – Panna cotta pudding preparation
- Aperitivi and dinner.
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Day Six - Friday
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After breakfast, your hands-on cooking lesson specializing in pastry and dessert techniques.
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- Lunch is followed by an afternoon at leisure to either relax and enjoy the villa,
spend some last-minute shopping time in Lucca and/or join Valter at Enoteca Vanni in
Lucca for an olive oil tasting session.
- Return to the villa for your final hands-on cooking lesson and preparation of
your final dinner.
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Crespelline Fiorentine – Fiorentine spinach & ricotta crepes with a walnut sauce
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Ossobuco alla Milanese con riso pilaff – Beef shanks in a citrus vegetable sauce & pilaff rice
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Torta di pere e marzipane con salsa di cioccolato – Pear & marzipan pie with chocolate sauce
- Farewell drinks, graduation ceremony and celebratory dinner.
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Day Seven - Saturday
- Breakfast available and transfers to Florence or Pisa airport or Florence, Pisa or Lucca train station.
Goodbye, until the next time!
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If you wish to substitute any of the above activiites with one of the following tour options,
it can be arranged at an additional cost:
- Renaissance Florence with a tour of the Uffizi, the Ponte Vecchio, Duomo and Giotto’s Tower,
all complimented by Italian shopping on Via Tournabuoni.
- A visit to a local Lucchese press to watch the whole process of olive oil being made followed by a tasting (November-January)
- A boat trip along the Ligurian coast and the world heritage site of the five cliff-clinging
villages of the Cinque Terre with a visit to a local vineyard and a picnic lunch.
- An outlet shopping experience which includes Prada and the new Gucci Mall featuring a host of Italian designer names.
- Time out on the golf course (with the chef!).
- A visit to Vinci to see the Leonardo da Vinci museum with its life size scale models of some of
his incredible inventions. Stop off also at the Fratelli Taccini studio with a showroom full of unique ceramics,
vases, plates, jars, sculptures available for purchase.
- A tour of Siena, the one-time capital of Tuscany and one of the most beautiful cities in Italy.
This trip may also include a stroll around the small town of San Gimignano with its medieval
towers (of the original 76, just 14 have survived) and charming piazza.
- A visit to see the Bernardini family still in residence at Villa Bernardini, a stunning Lucchese
villa dating back to 1615. Tour the villa and it’s beautiful gardens before heading off on a 2-hour walk
through the hills to a hidden away restaurant where a special lunch has been arranged.
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Included in the Program:
- Six nights accommodation with en-suite
bathroom in private villa
- Seven hands-on cooking classes with Chef Valter Roman
- All food & house-wine
- Cost of pre-arranged restaurants
- Transfers to and from Pisa or Florence Airport, or Pisa, Florence, or Lucca
Train Station
- Transport for all arranged outings, guided tours & entrances to museums
as arranged
- Wine tours/tastings
- On arrival, each student will be presented with a course guide, a cookbook
of course recipes & an apron
- Graduation certificates
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Cooking Vacations 
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