Tuscany Cooking School Trip Report

Andrea (left) and friend at Il Campo Cucina – a Tuscany cooking school.

Remember the Tuscany cooking school contest? Last year Authentic Luxury Travel offered subscribers a chance to win a week at Il Campo Cucina, a unique cooking school in tiny Radicondoli. Andrea Cafarelle was the lucky winner. Did she have a good time at the Tuscany cooking school? Read her trip report:

The view from a bedroom window at Il Bel Canto bed & breakfast.

In June last year, I entered a contest on Elizabeth Hansen’s Authentic Luxury Travel website. The Grand Prize was a trip to Il Campo Cucina in Tuscany to attend a weeklong Food and Wine program.  I’d never won anything before in my life and was reluctant to enter, but everything described about Il Campo resonated with me, an avid traveler, cook and Italian American.

Two months later, I received an email from Elizabeth and Marlane Miriello, the owner of Il Campo Cucina, explaining that I was the Grand Prize winner. I was elated to hear the news. Yet, I had no idea how much I would enjoy my time at Il Campo Cucina nor that I would count my stay at this Tuscany cooking school among the top vacations that I had in my life.  (This means a lot considering that I first went to Europe in 1990 and have returned a few times every year since.)

Breakfast at Il Bel Canto in Radicondoli, Tuscany, Italy.

About Marlane Miriello

Marlane has a deep passion for providing a personal and authentic experience to her guests.  She is a long-time resident of Radicondoli, the quaint village of 600 residents where you stay.  What makes the Food and Wine program at this Tuscany cooking school unique is the opportunity to meet and interact with local folks who have preserved an approach to cooking and appreciation for the ingredients from this region within Tuscany. As Marlane explains it, this program represents la vita vera italiana. Although I’ve travelled extensively in Italy and eaten my way through many large and small restaurants and trattoria, I have never felt as close to the source of what makes everything so beautiful and delicious…it’s the people.

At Il Campo Cucina, local mammas teach guests how to prepare local dishes.

I stayed at the lovely Il Bel Canto B&B owned by hosts Alessandra and Horst. Marlane understands how to make guests feel welcome. I arrived to my charming room to find a welcome note from Marlane tucked into a gift basket with a few thoughtful items such as olive oil, fruit, a linen towel and my very own Il Campo Cucina apron. A vase of sunflowers adorned the windowsill of a window that provided a breathtaking view of the rolling Tuscan hills. The Tuscany cooking school classes were conveniently located in the common kitchen immediately down the hallway from my room. All the amenities are provided—wifi, fully stocked fridge with wine and bottled water, showers with massage jets and olive oil-based toiletries. I also took advantage of the massage services and Christina worked out all the kinks and issues with my back and neck so that I felt as malleable as a noodle or pici. (Pici is a local pasta that I made in one of the classes. Cristina Martini is a good friend of Marlane’s and very talented massage therapist and energy healer.)

Tuscany cooking school: agroteka sashimi.

Have a little honey with your pecorino

This is a Food and Wine program, so as one would expect, there is an abundance of food and wine. Each morning, the breakfast spread is varied, ample and beautifully presented. Alessandra offered to scramble up an egg for me, but the cereal, yoghurt, pastries, cheese and meats were more than what I needed to start off the day. And the breakfast table is adorned with flowers or foliage that is one of the many special touches demonstrating the care that goes into everything associated with Il Campo Cucina Tuscany cooking school. Alessandra encouraged me to have some pecorino with local honey. I was so glad to take her up on her suggestion. Both the cheese and honey capture the essence of the plants and herbs from the area, so I won’t taste anything quite like this elsewhere.

Pecorino tasting at the home of a shepherd near Radicondoli.

Advice for guests at this Tuscany cooking school

As general advice, I caution guests to try to be disciplined. Temptation is strong and ever-present. I had the opportunity to consume more gorgeous, delicious, and oftentimes, rich food than I could have imagined. But, I appreciated the meals and the overall time better because I was careful about over-indulging. Yes, being on vacation and enrolled in a Tuscany cooking school is the perfect reason to indulge, but it was better to relish and enjoy the food and flavors without over-eating. Otherwise, there was the risk of arriving mid-week and feeling bloated and lethargic instead of sincerely enjoying each bite and precious morsel of food on my plate. I had to stifle that little voice in my head saying, “Oh my God, that is so delicious, I’ll have one more plate of tortellini, fettuccine, pizza, fill in the blank.”

The days at Il Campo are varied. On one day, the schedule may include a cooking class at lunchtime followed by a side-trip to the hill town of San Gimignano where guests can explore and do some shopping.  Guests re-group after a break for dinner in a local restaurant. Or, another day, lunch follows a day-trip to Siena and the evening meal is a cooking class conducted by Fulvio, a former chef from Naples who now owns a restaurant on the island of Elba.  He taught everyone how to fold tortellini and it was not easy.

Il Campo Cucina chef teacher and Andrea after “folding tortellini” lesson.

Tuscany cooking school tortellini.

Lunch with a shepherd

I consider myself fortunate to have been a lunch guest in the home of a real-life shepherd. Giovanni Porcu, the real-life shepherd, his wife, Giovanna and their family warmly welcomed everyone to their home and proceeded to cook a simple, but supremely satisfying lunch that included coco nedosso, (ricotta and farina pretzels), followed by maccheroni larghi or limbetta (which means little tongue) in a fresh and flavorful pomodoro sauce. The best part was not the copulettas (biscotti filled with quince, figs, lemon and almonds), but the pecorino. How much more authentic can it be to taste pecorino with the shepherd whose sheep produced the sheep’s milk?!?  We had a tasting of several varieties, both aged and unaged, and even one whose rennet was flavored with wild artichoke thistle. I recall that afternoon at Podere Paugnano as one of the highlights of my time at this Tuscany cooking school.

Il Campo Cucina vines in the sunshine.

When I reflect on the October week I spent at Il Campo Cucina Tuscany cooking school, it never fails to bring a smile to my face and perhaps a rumble in my belly. I am grateful to both Marlane and Elizabeth for arranging this opportunity to immerse myself in the local culture of a small village within Tuscany and to encounter the warm, charming, knowledgeable people who are eager and willing to share their experiences with the guests of Il Campo Cucina. I’m looking forward to returning someday soon and reacquainting myself with these new friends.

Please note:  I also included some general tips and practical information for potential guests here at www.lifeinallcaps.com

Note from Elizabeth

I’ve met at least a dozen people who have been guests at Il Campo Cucina and every single one of them describes their time at this Tuscany cooking school as “the trip of a lifetime.”

Seriously, I don’t even cook, and I know it’s just a matter of time until I enroll

Cheers,

Tags: bed & breakfast, boutique hotel, contest, cooking chool, cooking lessons, food, Il Bel Canto, Italian, Italy, Radicondoli, real experiences, travel, Tuscan, Tuscany, vacation, wine

Category: Cooking schools, Italy