Holiday itinerary
Experience a sensory overload with this all-inclusive luxury cooking holiday which promises to impart on you the secrets to creating true Italian cuisine whilst gaining an insight into the culinary traditions of the region through culinary excursions.
During your six night residency you'll learn to prepare authentic dishes based on traditional family recipes passed down over generations, while staying in an enchanting eighteenth century private estate. The cookery school boasts a large gourmet kitchen which is the focal point of this holiday, with luxury fittings and even its own wood fire oven, to ensure your kitchen experience is like no other!
This intimate course, led by experienced cooks and locals, will combine guided practical lessons with culinary tours, visiting local producers and regular excursions to regional restaurants. It’s through this combination of activities that your knowledge and appreciation of Italian flavours will be further developed. You'll master the fundamental principles that are inherent in Italian cooking from perfecting homemade pasta and gnocchi, to creating stunning sauces, and other cherished delicacies.
With culinary excursions to a variety of local producers, from cheese to olive oil and beyond, to farmer’s markets, local seaside towns, and interesting historical sites, your week will be a true insight into the local culinary traditions and lifestyles and you experience the Roman countryside with all your senses.
Based in the historic mountain village of Castro dei Volsci, the cookery holiday takes guests on a picturesque climb into the Italian countryside, 100 kilometres from Rome and 25 kilometres from the sea. With its winding cobbled streets opening onto the occasional Piazza, and breathtaking views of the spectacular mountains, surrounding villages and the valleys below, it's impossible not to be seduced by the old school charm and authenticity this ancient town has to offer.
The estate too, set in the heart of Castro dei Volsci, retains many of its original period features, including its impressive antique wooden arches and decorative floor tiling. Etched into what was once the original entry arch, guests will also observe a visible keystone engraving dating the building back to 1797. It's this sympathetic pairing of traditional architecture mixed with modern conveniences that make the estate a truly magical destination for all that experience it.
If you're looking for a cookery holiday that teaches traditional methods and has culture at its core then this all-inclusive, luxury cooking holiday could well be the one to get your taste buds flowing.
Suitability
- Cookery holidays are suitable for all levels from complete beginners to experienced cooks
- No minimum though under 18’s must be accompanied by an adult and pay full price
- Your cooks are Italian but all speak excellent English so all cooking classes are taught in English
- Your host Gregory is from the United States and is half Italian so fluent in both English and Italian
Travelling Solo?
- These cookery holidays make great singles holidays and singles are welcome to join an existing group
- Solo travellers will be allocated their own private en-suite room for a compulsory supplement (see the costing and extras tab for more details on pricing)
Cooking Holiday Start Days
- All arrivals are on Sunday afternoons on set dates between January and September, after which seasonal wine harvest and olive harvest take place at the end of the year
- Cooking holidays are for 6 nights/7 days
- Transfer times are 11am-12pm, if your flight does not fall within those times, it is possible to book a private driver for a cost of €100
- If dates appear ‘on request’ please email us and we’ll check availability for your preferred day of arrival as quickly as possible
Cooking Holiday Itinerary
The itinerary is for guidance only and is subject to change depending on the group’s needs and wishes but is typically as follows:
Day 1- Sunday – Arrival, welcome aperitivo and light lunch, guided walk of Castro Dei Volsci village and dinner at pizzeria in Porfi
- After arrival at Rome Fiumicino airport, you will be transferred to your accommodation and check in to your room before enjoying a welcome aperitivo and light lunch
- After lunch take a guided walk around the Castro Dei Volsci village to get a feel for your surrounding before having the afternoon to relax and settle in to your room
- Dinner this evening is taken out in the nearby town of Porfi where you’ll head to one of its best pizzerias and enjoy its delicious pizza and pasta dishes
Day 2 – Monday – Visit to local olive oil mill, gelato stop and cooking class with pastry chef
- Enjoy a leisurely breakfast before heading out of your first culinary excursion
- Today you’ll visit olive country and in particular the town of Arpino as well as visiting a local olive oil mill where you’ll learn about how Extra Virgin olive oil is made as well as having the opportunity to taste the goods
- A light lunch will be served enhanced by flavours of the oil and samples of the owner’s organic wine will accompany the meal
- There will be a chance for you to stock up on some quality olive oil before heading back towards the accommodation, making a stop at Meringo’s to taste the best gelato that Ciociaria has to offer
- Around 4pm you’ll head in to the kitchen to begin your first cooking lesson and meet the pastry chef Giustino
- Following the class you’ll sit down with your fellow guests and enjoy dinner accompanied by wine
Day 3 – Tuesday – Visit to cheese producer, farmer’s market, Fossanova abbey, seaside town and anti-pasti cooking class
- Breakfast today is taken at the local bar in Castro Dei Volsci before heading out to visit the local farmer’s market to gather ingredients for the evening’s cooking class and dinner, and for the chance to get a taste of how the local’s live
- Next, its on to the local cheese producer’s or caseificio where you’ll sample local ricotta, buffalo mozzarella and provolone
- You’ll visit the abbey of Fossanova on your way to the seaside town of Terracina, where you can enjoy a stroll by the beach, visit local shops and eat lunch at a seafood co-operative
- After lunch, you’ll head back to the historic villa for some relaxation before your 2nd cooking lesson, which this evening will focus on the delicious Italian delicacies of anti-pasti
- After the class, sit down in the villa dining room and enjoy your carefully prepared feast where your anti-pasti creations will be enjoyed with local olives, formaggi and wine
Day 4 – Wednesday – Visit to a prosciutto producer, picnic lunch and pasta cooking class
- After breakfast at the villa, you will head off to visit a prosciuttificio (or prosciutti ham producer to most of us!) in the town of Guarcino (the Parma of the Ciociaria region) where you’ll meet the producer and learn about this famous Italian delicacy before pausing for a picnic lunch of fresh hand cut prosciutto or porchetta
- After lunch its back to the villa to begin your 3rd hands-on cooking lesson where you’ll be introduced to the ‘Queen of Pasta’ - Pasqualina, resident pasta maker
- You’ll learn to cook a variety of primi patti (starters) and learn the art of making fresh pasta before sitting down with another great bottle of wine to enjoy the fruits of your labour
Day 5 – Thursday – Cheese and wine tour, and cooking class
- Today’s breakfast is taken at the local coffee bar for a chance to experience a true Italian start to the day
- After breakfast its straight on to Pastorella to visit another producer at work, this time crafting local sausages before next heading to the vineyard at Cantina Tullio, a vineyard in the Val Comino region famous for its excellent Cabernet wines
- At the vineyard you’ll have the opportunity to visit the cellar and bottling plant to elarn all about the process that goes behind bringing Cabernet wines to your table, as well as learning about the vinification process on how the wine is made
- There will be a wine tasting to finish off your visit here before you leave to go to the nearby town of Atina which is famed for its annual jazz festival
- You’ll enjoy lunch in the town at the old cantina Visocchi, which has been restored to a sophisticated restaurant with wine cellar and tasting rooms decorated with antique winery relics which adorn the walls and make this a memorable lunch spot
- You will enjoy a taste and sampling of another regional wine with Patrizia Pattini, a professional sommelier who will guide you through the flavours of the wine
- The afternoon will see you back in the kitchen for your 4th cookery lesson which today will focus on main courses and side dishes to accompany them
- Sit down to enjoy your home cooked meal with fellow guests, accompanied by wine at the historic villa
Day 6 – Friday – Food sculpting cooking lesson and cultural tours in Casamari,
- Begin the day with breakfast at the palazzo and then head to the kitchen for your final cooking lesson of the holiday
-For the final cookery lesson you’ll be under the guidance of Stephania who will teach you how to go about making food sculptures as you learn to carve vegetables to put the final touches to any plate or table
- Lunch is taken at the villa and you’ll have a few hours in the afternoon to relax on your final day
- Later in the afternoon you’ll take a trip to the Casamari area to see the wonderful Abbey of Casamari and the waterfall of Isola Liri
- A farewell dinner is served at a local agriturismo where you’ll enjoy locally grown, prepared and served food products for a your last night in the region
Day 7 – Saturday – Departure day
- After a leisurely final breakfast, guests are asked to check-out of their rooms ready for the transfer service back to Rome Fiumicino airport, taking home with them authentic Italian cooking skills and secrets as well as a unique insight in to the Lazio region of Italy with memories that stay with them long after the holiday is over
About Your Chefs And Host
- Your host is Italo-American Gregory who spent much of his life in the United States before a family trip to the Roman countryside led him to Ciociaria in the Lazio region of Italy
- It was in the summer of 2006 that Gregory found himself in the village of Castro dei Volschi and immediately fell in love with the beautiful 17th century palazzo that he now calls home
- The palazzo needed a huge amount of work but Gregory’s interior design background helped restore it to its modern glory and in to a welcoming, boutique luxury home
- Your chefs are Pasqualina, Stefania, Giustino and Anna who all bring to the classes a unique personal speciality of Italian cooking
- Pasqualina is known as the Queen of Pasta and will teach you how to make fresh pasta and perfect the techniques for making a range of pasta dishes
- Giustino is an expert pastry chef among other things and will guide you in making some exceptional pastry treats
- Anna is the resident pizza maker who will teach you how to make fantastic stone baked pizza in the kitchen’s special wood burning pizza oven
- There are also a number of women from the village who are also on hand to make sure things are running smoothly and to assist with the cooking in the holiday
- This exceptional team are all extremely passionate and knowledgeable about Italy and the Ciociaro Roman region where you’ll spend your holiday and they aim to impart this knowledge of their wonderful cuisine to all guests
What Will I Learn?
- Your week will teach you techniques to creating authentic Italian ingredients, as well as offering an insight in to the works of artisan local producers
- You’ll cover pastry work learning from pastry chef Giustino
- Preparation of Italian anti-pasti
- How to make fresh pasta from scratch
- Techniques for confidently recreating dishes back home, from preparation to presentation
- How to make a variety of starters and main courses
- How to embellish a plate or table piece with carved vegetables and food sculptures
- Learn how to taste regional wines
- Learn about the production of a variety of local produce from prosciutto ham to cheeses
Sample Menus
Dishes vary according to the season and what food is available but may include:
- a range of anti-pasti including bruschette, crostini, fritatte, firtelle di zucchini, grilled peppers and eggplant, stuffed courgettes
- fresh pasta
- zuppa di pane
- sagna con fagioli
- fettucine con tartufo (truffle)
- gnocchi
- involtini (roulade)
- various pastry dishes
- salsiccia con patate e peruola
- scaloppini alla mela
- a variety of side dishes
- Please note that if you do have dietary requirements (including vegetarians) they must be communicated at the time of booking
The Accommodation
- Your accommodation is set in the medieval village of Castro dei Volsci in the Roman countryside in the Lazio region of Italy
- You’ll stay in a luxury, converted, 12,000 square foot former 17th century palazzo
- The palazzo belonged to former nobility and has been lovingly restored by host Gregory
- The 3 storey property boasts coffered wooden ceilings, exposed wooden beams and original tile flooring
- A part of the palazzo was also once a fratoio where horses used to turn the old stone wheel to mash the region’s olives and produce olive oil and is attached to the main building on the ground floor
- There are a total of 5 double guest rooms all with private en suite bathroom
- If you are travelling solo, stay in a twin/double room with en suite bathroom for sole occupancy for a compulsory supplement
- Solo travellers cannot share a twin room with another guest of the same gender for this holiday
- Rooms have been carefully decorated to a high standard as your host Gregory was a former interior designer
- Rooms all have heating and air conditioning, beautifully tiled in-suite bathrooms(soap and shampoo for guests), Jacuzzi bathtubs or showers, heated towel bars and hair dryers, beauty mirror, flat-screen TV, and free Wi-Fi
- The large dining room is comfortable and inviting and easily seats all guests together for group meals
- There is also a large living room area for guests to relax in away from their rooms and it has a selection of pictures and guide books for guests to browse as well as a small refrigerator for guest’s to help themselves to complimentary refreshments
- The kitchen is the focal point of this holiday and as such is an impressive semi-professional area complete with all necessary appliances as well as a wood burning pizza oven
- The historic villa is set on a hilltop and the views from the pallazo’s terrace is a spectacular one over the Roman countryside and ideal for enjoying over a glass of wine with guests
- Accommodation is included for 6 nights / 7 days
- Check in anytime after 12pm on day 1 and check out by 10.30am on day 6 (subject to flight times)
Meals
- All breakfasts, lunch and dinners are included for the duration of the holiday
- All soft drinks and hot beverages are included and guests can help themselves to refreshments from the small refrigerator in the communal area of the villa
- A bottle of wine per person per night is also included (additional wine charged as extra)
- If you have dietary requests these must be communicated to us at the time of booking
Free Time In Italy
- This luxury Italian cookery holiday is packed with culinary delights but it is well placed for exploring the rest of the Lazio region before or after your stay in Castro dei Volsci
- The medieval village of Castro dei Volsci is a pretty hilltop village which is easy to explore in the evenings or free afternoons
- With the capital city of Rome just over an hour away, you may like to begin or end your trip discovering the Coloseum, the Trevi fountain, the Vatican and Sistine chapel, the Spanish steps, or the pantheon – there’s an endless supply of interesting historical monuments, culture and places of interest
- The rest of the Roman countryside and the Lazio region are also lovely places to visit, including some picturesque landscapes in the Sabina hills
Visit local producers, enjoy luxury accommodation and take part in fun hands-on cooking classes with true Italian chefs on this inspiring, relaxing and sociable luxury Italian cooking holiday and bring back new recipes, experiences, friendships and memories that will last a lifetime.