This program offers travelers a wonderful opportunity to indulge in a week filled with hands-on cooking lessons, great food and excursions and the most wonderful hosts you can imagine! Not to mention the lovely scenic village and charming accommodations...
This gorgeous casa is your home for the week - dates back to the 18th century, featuring exposed wooden beams, solid stonework, and mellow-colored old brickwork. Enjoy great comfort while appreciating the character; there are no standard rooms in this beautiful and unique property.
About the location
This villa lies in the rolling hills of the Prosecco wine region, just one hour north of Venice.
The beauty of this region is that it is little known to tourists yet has so much to offer; including wonderfully rich cuisine and wines, a string of beautiful medieval towns filled with stunning castles and villas, and the spectacular Dolomite mountains in its background.
There is a famous castle that can be reached by a five-minute walk, followed by a short trip in a funicular (tram) railway. The castle has a spa, theatre and a number of bars - the views from its ramparts are wonderful and in the summer, it occasionally hosts concerts. Throughout the year there are various food festivals in local villages that one can also attend, if interested.
The unique wonder of Venice, the limit of most tourists’ trips to the Veneto, lies only an hour away. They felt they had so much to offer and wished to meet people from all over the globe, so the cooking school began to take shape.
About the program
In this program, you will learn to cook traditional Italian foods, though there might be several clever variations. Focus is on taste and presentation. All meals are based on seasonal ingredients, utilizing only the freshest ingredients thus creating a healthy culinary lifestyle.
Lessons are fully hands-on, instructive and fun. Small group numbers (maximum six) means greater flexibility – your hosts will tailor-make your holidays to satisfy your individual desires (within reason, of course!). They will look after you from the moment you arrive at the airport, so there is no need to rent a car - all transportation is provided.
Finally, at the end of a full and satisfying day, you will sit down in wonderful candlelit surroundings to enjoy the fruits of your lesson and drink carefully selected wines from the region.
Cooking Courses concentrate on the cuisine of the Veneto - antipasti, pastas, risotto, gnocchi, crespelle, sorbets. Learn how to make homemade pasta and gnocchi (small, dumpling-like starters).
Ingredients used are seasonal - for example, based on the time of year, you might prepare an asparagus lasagna, a pumpkin risotto or a crespelle (a type of crepe) stuffed with radicchio di Treviso.
Learn how to make a 'sgruppino' , which is a lemon ice cream made with vodka and cleanses the palate magnificently. Main courses might use guinea fowl, quail, pigeon or simply pork and beef. Desserts include homemade ice creams. Learn to be boldly creative and cook with confidence.
Wonderful food, detailed instruction, fascinating tours, impressive accommodations, and spectacular scenery …in Veneto you can have it all.
The idea for this school began to take hold in 2003. Antonella and her family enjoyed their large, beautifully restored home, but it was too large for the three of them.
Antonella's passion for cooking began at the age five, with lessons from her mother. It developed with personal study, experimentation, and courses in other cuisines.
Overview of the One-Week Cooking Course
Courses are conducted by Antonella, who has a real passion for cooking. Your cooking instructor takes traditional Italian recipes, but is not afraid to add her own creativity to produce wonderful results. There should be no mystery about cooking; you will learn to produce dishes that burst with flavor.
Classes are fully hands-on, with a maximum of six students. Each lesson lasts around three hours, the fruits of which are eaten afterwards in wonderful surroundings. Program is taught in English as this Italian native speaks it fluently and is married to a charming Englishman.
Accommodations
You will enjoy your stay in the Veneto at their gorgeous villa, which consist of two double bedrooms and a self-contained apartment with a double bedroom. A further single bedroom in the main house can be used if friends don't mind sharing a bathroom - it makes a small unit ideal for a family with one or two children.
Dining
Meals are accompanied by wines of the Veneto, Friuli, and Trentino Alto-Adige. One of the great joys of Italian wine is the existence of many indigenous grape varieties; there are hundreds of gems in the area just waiting to be discovered.
Taste the wonderful whites of malvasia, ribolla gialla and incrocio manzoni, and the reds of raboso, refosco and schioppettino - among others. There will be no dogma however; you can also drink your Cabernet Sauvignons, Merlots and Chardonnays.
Appetites are stimulated with the local sparkling prosecco, and local grappas can top off your meal.
Itinerary for the week
Day 1: Saturday
- Students will be transported from local airport (Venice) and transported to Casa Gialla
- Welcoming drinks and dinner.
Day 2: Sunday
- Breakfast and a relaxed morning, allowing a wander around the beautiful village.
- After lunch the first cooking lesson, followed by a lovely dinner based on the fruits of your afternoon labor.
Day 3: Monday
- Breakfast and second cooking lesson in the morning, followed by lunch.
- Afternoon tour around local area, seeing one of the best examples of 13th century abbeys in Italy, a beautiful old waterwheel, and a visit to a local wine producer
- Dinner
Day 4: Tuesday
- Breakfast and third cooking lesson.
- Afternoon trip to Villa Barbaro, one of Palladio’s greatest masterpieces, decorated with frescoes by Veronese.
- Then to the beautiful hill-town of Asolo
- Dinner
Day 5: Wednesday
- Breakfast
- Day trip. It could be to Venice, the Dolomites, Padova, Vicenza, Belluno, Bassano d. Grappa, Feltre, Treviso, or any other place within a reasonable distance.
Day 6: Thursday
- Breakfast
- Fourth cooking lesson and lunch
- Afternoon free to enjoy a local walk or visit to Castel Brando on the hillside or go clothes shopping at local factories.
- Antonella will bake bread in our 18th century bread oven.
- Dinner
Day 7: Friday
- Breakfast. Morning trip to food market at Conegliano
- Lunch
- Fifth cooking lesson, preparing for the farewell dinner
Day 8: Saturday
- Breakfast and Departure to Airports (Venice Marco Polo or Treviso)
Included in this course:
- Accommodations
- Meals and Wine (Except Lunch on Free Day)
- Transfer To/From Airport (Venice Marco Polo or Treviso) on arrival and departure (afternoon of arrival day and morning of departure day only)
- All trips per itinerary
- Apron
- Handout of recipes learned during your stay
2013 Dates
1500 euro per person
No single supplement will be added to this course for single travelers and they are ENCOURAGED to join a class at no extra charge. (very rare and a great deal!)
Non Cooking Guests are ALWAYS welcome too!
Price for Friend or partner not participating in cooking lessons is 1100 Euro
For guests who do not wish to participate in cooking lessons, they have the option of partaking in Italian language lessons or possibly woodcarving lessons - the choices are endless. Feel free to share your wishes with your hosts or Ciao Laura and we will do our best to fulfill them.
Much care will be taken to ensure a personal touch for every aspect of your stay in Veneto.Your hosts have catered to vegetarians, celiacs, and those with special dietary needs too, so please be sure to mention this in advance of your trip so that your hosts can accommodate your dietary requirements..
Reservation Policy
Minimum of two people (one can be non-participant of cooking classes) for any of the courses. Payment: At least 30% of total course fees to be paid when booking the course. The balance to be paid 30 days before the course begins.
Programs will be similar to, but not necessarily the same as, examples provided on this website.
