Rita Lucherini's hands on cooking class was a delight. With one day's notice, she picked us up at…read moreour hotel in Barga. In her large kitchen we made bruschetta, farro soup, 4 kinds of pasta from scratch (tagliatelle, maccheroni, ravioli, and spaghetti), 4 sauces (pomodoro, ragu, Salciccia , and butter with fresh sage), and tiramisu. Lots of chopping and simmering and getting our hands "dirty"! While cooking we had white wine, then red with dinner. She's a great teacher. Nothing fancy, just how to make good food in a simple way. Price was 85 euro each....we thought that was quite reasonable for 5 hours of cooking and eating, with recipes to take home! She's Italian, born in Scotland, so excellent English.
Rita also has a few apartments and a B&B called La Mezzaluna, so she offers 4 and 7 day cooking experiences with some side trips to nearby places in Tuscany. Much less expensive than the upscale, pricey things I've seen advertised. I think her website is www.residencelamezzaluna.it
She's also on Facebook.