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A CULINARY WEEKEND IN FLORENCE
Day One - Market walk and Cooking class with AnnaAnna B., a small, bouncy Sicilian lady of middle years, is esteemed by all and loved by many for her chatching good cheer and steady, irresistible warmth. Moreover, she is forever sought out for her lovely cookery.
She has been living and managing a hand-made children's ware workshop in Florence for over forty-five years. The wonderful tailor dresses she makes unfortunatelly now have become rare crafts.
Anna doesn’t speak English but loves to cook and to teach what she loves. Passionate and gifted in her art, she has found that over the years her enthusiasm, backed up by patient demonstrations and a dozen basic English kitchen terms, perfectly transmits her precious lessons to the eager learners who come to her from all over, with never a misunderstanding. Barbara, her lively and friendly young assistant, does in fact speak good English and acts as an interpreter where and when necessary.
Anna’s recipes are based on the blending of two strong and timeless but also counterposed cuisines: the Tuscan and the Sicilian. The watchwords of the prior are simplicity for the sake of freshness. The latter draws on a wider and often more exotic range of ingredients, as you’d expect to find on a subtropical island, and requires slower, more involved and well-articulated preparations to yield wonderfully tasty products very different from those of Tuscany. Anna B. will shop, select, tote, blend, match, balance, chop, braise, boil, bake, roast, fry and simmer to dish you up the Best of Two Worlds.
Anna B.’s home is in an eighteenth-century house just outside the old Florence city walls, in a quiet residential area up in the hills overlooking the city, a ten minute bus or taxi ride from the centre. In good weather everyone eats in the little garden.
Day Two - Wine Walk in Florence A fun and personable wine expert will lead you through the streets of Florence on this walk involving all of your senses. You will follow the echoes of Florentine wine life as it was in the Renaissance and the days of the Medici dukes, pausing to see famous and obscure landmarks that will unveil this little-known but fascinating heritage. You’ll also learn about Tuscany’s incredible winemaking legacy, famous throughout the world.
Your first stop will be in an enoteca, or wine bar, to taste two fine white wines from the outlying countryside, and delicious local snacks. As your guide leads you through the tasting, you'll talk about how wine is made in Tuscany and learn more about the region's traditions, its most esteemed wines, and leading producers and winemakers.
As you walk to your next tasting, you'll discover the grand palazzos of Florence's historic winemaking families, as well as tiny side-alley wine shops, learning even more about the city's colorful wine history. At another lovely, unpretentious enoteca, you will enjoy a guided tasting of two fine Tuscan red wines with a light snack of local specialties.
Day Three - San Gimignano, saffron and the chateau wineries of the Chianti Classico Once there were seventy-two, now there are fourteen. Towers, that is –– those medieval skyscrapers that are the unmistakable mark of San Gimignano, dramatically recognisable from miles away and dear to all Toscanophiles the world over. There are few medieval cities anywhere in Europe as well-preserved as this one, located in the land of saffron. Silvia a graduate in Italian history and a professional sommelier will be your guide and driver. In addition to learning about the art and history of this incredible city, you’ll learn about local gourmet products, especially saffron and, needless to say, Vernaccia, the local white wine.
Visit a beautiful, award-winning winery and a traditional local farm that cultivates precious saffron in addition to producing wine and olive oil. You’ll learn about the farm’s production during your delicious saffron inspired meal, served on the open terrace with a splendid view of San Gimignano and its towers. Your meal will include fresh savoury vegetables from the farm's green garden, home made pastas and excellent breads. Those who want to try their hand at the vendemmia (grape harvest) in mid-September, or the raccolta delle olive (olive harvest) in mid-late October, can slip into their boots and join the workers in the field. Or you can simply relax and look on.
Price per person in Four star Hotel starting from: 740 euros per person based on two participants
Price per person in Five star Hotel starting from: 840 euros per person based on two participants
Please contact us for a personalized quotation
The price includes: Two nights in four or Five star Hotel A cooking class with Anna A wine tasting walk with an esteemed wine expert (wines not included) The services of an English speaking driver guide Transport by Mercedes or equivalent level luxury sedan with pickup and return to your place of stay Visit to a high quality Vernaccia winery Visit to the saffron farm Saffron lunch at the farm |
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