Cooking class with olive oil tour
Cooking ClassesDuration:6 hours
Rates
FOOD AND CULTURE THE BEST COMBINATION
If you only have one day to spend with us, but still want to do a cooking class and a cultural tour then this is the tour for you! We will enjoy together a cooking class focused on extra virgin olive oil and we will take you to a traditional olive mill in the area.
Rita’s farm, the perfect setting for your cooking class
As most of the cooking traditions of Tuscany date back to the times in which the locals were mostly all farmers, the best setting for our cooking classes focusing on traditional foods is an original Tuscan farmhouse. We bring you to Rita’s farm in the countryside just outside of Montefoscoli, between Pisa and Volterra, and we start our class with a quick historical framework to let you understand much about the origins of our cuisine.
At Rita’s farm you’ll have a stroll among the olive trees with our expert guide and experience a very interesting blind tasting of several olive oils so that you can appreciate the difference between a good extra virgin olive oil and a commercial one.
A cooking class with focus on extra virgin olive oil
We will enjoy together a private cooking class which focuses on how to use olive oil to prepare food, obtaining the best out of this precious ingredient in the Mediterranean diet. Fresh olive oil will be used to dress a typical salad or a typical soup, to prepare the base of a delicious meat or vegetarian sauce, and even for making a cake!
After the class the meal with the delicious olive-based dishes are served. With your private guide you’ll also visit an oil mill to complete the experience and learn more about the olive oil production.
A guided visit to an olive mill
After lunch we will drive to an olive mill of the area to complete the experience and learn more about the production of extra virgin olive oil. Together with your guide you will visit the premises of the mill and you will learn in deep all the steps to produce the best extra virgin olive oil.
What you taste
This is a list of specialties that you are likely to sample as part of the program of this class. Please, note that the specialties of the menu prepared at the class may vary according to the season and the availability of the products in the day of the class.
In our cooking class we like telling you a lot about Tuscan farms and farmers' cooking traditions, introducing you to Tuscan people with their personal stories, careers and characters.
You will have one of our guides as a language assistants and coordinator with you during the whole class. Please, see below all the guides and language assistants who can be with you.
During this experience you will also meet one of our Tuscan cooks who give you the cooking class. Please, see below which cooks you are likely to encounter.
Ciao, I'm Ester, one of the cooks of Arianna & Friends'. I've been working with them since the beginning of their adventure.
I love cooking together with people from all over the world, especailly with young kids.
What I prefer to cook is pasta dishes, pizza and desserts, like for example the stunning cake is what I made to celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary.
I live, like the cook Licia (we are good friends), in the little village of Lajatico, birthplace of Andrea Bocelli and from my home I can hear his voice and see something when Teatro del Silenzio takes place in July.
I live in a farm and I have chickens, rabbits, a large vegetable garden; I make my own olive oil and wine together with my family.
I hope to be able to cook with many of you in the years to come to teach you a lot of our typical Tuscan food. 
Ciao, I'm Silvia, the youngest among the cooks at Arianna & Friends. I'm a cook, this is my passion and I like to cook any traditional dishes for the toursits, and I love baking pizza, but also I like a lot to try at home innovative food and special contemporary techniques. Since I've been working with this company I met an incredible team of collaborators and with them I finally feel joy and serenity in what I do. I love my job very much and I enjoy a lot to be in contact with people.
To introduce me even better I can say I love the sea, being at the beach, I have a passion to travel and being in the company of my friends is the best thing. I could define myself as a "free spirit" and I have a passion for... hats !!!
Any time I work as cook I breath air of freedom and this makes me happy.
Looking forward to meet you again, so that we can cook together, and you'll try our best traditional food and enjoy our wonderful countryside. 
The total rate for this activity varies according to the number of people in your party.
Check rates in the table below.
cooking class with olive oil tour– RATES 2023 – |
|
|---|---|
NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN YOUR PARTY |
TOTAL RATE |
| 2 persons | € 580 |
| 3 persons | € 630 |
| 4 persons | € 680 |
| 5 persons | € 730 |
| 6 persons | € 780 |
| 7 persons | € 830 |
| 8 persons | € 880 |
| Extra Adult | € 50 |
| Extra Teenager (12-17 yrs) | € 45 |
| Child (4-11 yrs) | € 40 |
Rates include
- local chef at your disposal
- English speaking tour leader. Also available in French, Spanish, German and Russian
- ingredients and printed material
- privare cooking class
- lunch served with the dishes prepared
- olive oil blind test
- visit to an olive mill
- tax
Rates do NOT include
- transportation
This cooking class takes place at Rita's farm in the rural area of central Tuscany, among Pisa, San Gimignano and Volterra, 10 km from Selvatelle
MEET-UP LOCATION:
Unless differently specified, the meeting point with the guide is at our office in La Rosa or at an agreed meeting point
DURATION: 2 to 3 hours for cooking + time for lunch, 1 hour visit to an olive mill. Time for transportation not included.
AVAILABILITY:
Available all the year through, From Monday through Saturday. Timing is flexible. After a morning class lunch is served. After an afternoon class dinner is served.
LANGUAGE:
This class is available in English, German, French, Spanish, Russian or Italian with no surcharge.
DIFFICULTY LEVEL:
Easy
CHILD FRIENDLY:
Ideal for children
CLOTHING:
No particular clothing required.
FOOD RESTRICTIONS:
The foods served during this cooking class might contain gluten, lactose, nuts and alcohol. If you have any food restriction, please inform our personnel during the enquiry process.
TRANSPORTATION:
This program and its rates do not include transportation and are set on a self-driving base. For further information see the box "transportation options".
The destinations reached during this activity are in the Tuscan countryside, in areas off the beaten track that cannot be reached by public transport. We highly recommend renting a car or a scooter in order to reach them. As an alternative, we can offer a valued service by chauffeured car, van or minibus. Any cost of transportation is to be added to the rates displayed on the rate table of this page.
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