Staff = 5 Cooking classes = 4…read more Lodging / Accommodations = 1 We enjoyed the Tuscany cooking class. Chef Paola was a real professional -- articulate, interesting, fun, engaging and so knowledgeable. Everything we cooked was fresh, local, in season -- just perfect. We learned a lot and can't wait to share some of the recipes we learned with our friends back at home. In the one-week course, there are 4 afternoon classes. Everyone gets an opportunity to prepare an appetizer, first course, secondi (pasta) or entree and dessert. Note: I said prepare. The students did all the cleaning, cutting, chopping, rolling, mixing, filling, etc. The kitchen staff did all the cooking, plating and presentation. It was like going to a fancy restaurant every night, except we had done all the prep work and knew what went into the dishes. We sampled just about everything Tuscany has to offer in the Spring -- Beef Steaks, Pork Tenderloin, Guinea Fowl, Rabbitt, Quail, Branzino, Cod, Ground Beef, and pasta, stuffed pasta. Everything made from scratch. It took time, and the results were worth it in every bite. Wine was served with each meal and after there after dinner drinks. Overall, it was a lot of really great food and wine. We also met some nice like minded foodies who contributed to each of the meals during the week. The staff was fantastic. From the general manager, to the chef, to the kitchen staff, drivers, and the other workers, if you mentioned something, they were on it. Everyone had a can do attitude and made sure everything was dealt with efficiently and effectively. ...and they were all extremely nice. The lodging and accommodations were disappointing, however. I requested a room on the ground level with minimal steps before I made the reservation. The owner of Tuscookany promised a room with only two steps. Upon arrival, we were assigned a room with six steps, one up and five down. That made it tough for my spouse. The room was also dimly lit and spartan. The real challenge revealed itself the next morning when we discovered there was minimal hot water. The bathroom shower and faucets both started off warm and then went to cold. For three of the first four mornings, the staff tried to fix the plumbing with various maintenance efforts. On the fourth day, they moved us to another nearby villa where there was hot water. So that solved one issue but created another because we now had to negotiate a staircase to the second level and trudge over loose gravel even further each day to our cooking classes. I understand and appreciate the challenges of a historic 200-year-old villa like Casa Ombuto and I enjoyed its charming appearance. I don't understand how the management can promise one room and deliver something completely different and so under maintained.

My daughter and I recently went to Casa Ombuto and had the most amazing time! Our chef, Paola, did…read morean amazing job teaching us all things Italian cooking! Her love for food, cooking, and teaching was beautiful! We spent an unbelievable week at our Tuscan villa learning the ins and outs of cooking Italian food. The accommodations were beautiful and perfect, and every single staff member did an amazing job taking care of us. I'm felt like we were welcomed in as family and spent an entire week in Italian paradise!!!

The food was delicious! The cooking tips were priceless! We had the best time cooking with Nonna…read more We felt like we were being taught our very own Italian Nonna! We so enjoyed the fruits of our labor dining at the big wooden table with our fellow chefs.

Cannot say enough good things about our experience with Nonna and Paolo. We attended a lunch…read morecooking class in mid-April, along with 2 other visitors to Tuscany. The menu included 3 types of bruschetta, tagliatelle with asparagus, chicken with a vin santo reduction, and zabaglione for dessert. This was one of our best meals in all of Tuscany. Not only because of the quality of the food (many of the ingredients came fresh from neighboring farms), but also because of the warmth and hospitality shown by Nonna and Paolo. They were both incredibly kind, genuine, and knowledgeable about the cooking techniques and ingredients, but perhaps the most enjoyable part was their lovely relationship and the way they made everyone in the class comfortable with one another. By the end, we were all laughing and joking together. Please go visit Nonna; you won't regret it!

What a fun experience for the everyday American that thinks he/she is a cook. :) we can always be…read morebetter. Manuela (Simon and Sophie) were fantastic hosts who brought us to this little farm, let us pick fresh from the garden ingredients and the help make/cook the lunch we ate later. Lunch was obviously fantastic with vineyard owner pairing wines with each course. Thank you Manuela!

This is a 5 star experience through and through! Everything about this 1/2 day class is…read moreunbelievable. Host and cooking lead, Manuela is a gem. She is friendly, welcoming, knowledgeable but most of all knows how to take your trip to Italy to another level! She immerses you in a full on sensory experience to cooking. Smelling ingredients, touching and understanding textures, seeing the freshness of ingredients and the rich colors, and finally tasting the fruits of your labor. Mmmmm. We opted for a regional class that featured Sicilian recipes and it was fantastic! We made a four course meal. One of the freshest meals I've ever had. Our food was down right mouth watering! You must must must go here when visiting Florence for a truly rich cultural and culinary experience. Loved this day more than I can capture in a review.

Fantastic experience. Cooking class was amazing. Food, wine, setting all were absolutely…read morespectacular. An extraordinary day and a highlight of our trip.

Amazing! Authentic Tuscan experience. Wine and food in a wonderful setting. Coleen, the owner, is…read morea super host.

The best day we had in Italy was the day spent with Veronica, in her home, making the most…read moredelicious homemade Italian classics. My husband and I were on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Italy with our 10 year old and 17 year old nieces, and all ages were engaged in the process. We started the day seeing Veronica in town selecting fresh ingredients for our culinary adventure. We followed her from the center of town to her home, which is breathtaking on acres and acres of olive groves and other gorgeous landscaping. We had tasty homemade pastries and then got started. We did a roast, homemade pasta with both a meat and marina sauces, focaccia, salad of pole beans, feta cheese and a champagne vinaigrette, tiramisu and lots of fun and love! She sent us home with leftovers and olive oil from the property, which is sublime! We all agree it was our favorite day of the trip, and one day I hope to return and stay on the property and take another amazing class. Veronica is so knowledgable and warm, and she can teach any age and any personality. So blessed to have found her and spent the memorable day with her.

Veronica is an incredible chef and teacher. Her cooking class was the highlight of our trip to…read moreItaly. The food was delicious but the opportunity to spend an real Tuscan afternoon is something we will treasure always. Our kids were spellbound for the whole time!

The best location with the best food with the best service! Everything was delicious and the view…read morefrom the patio is amazing!

Perfect Italian restaurant by Ely and her family-crew…read more Superb Italian food. Freshly made every day. On a excellent location with great views. If You are in the region: a must taste! Make reservations! Service is top as well! Highly recommended!

La Scuola di Cucina Lorenzo Medici has to be one of the top flight schools of Italian cooking…read more Everything about it is so totally impressive form its huge open modern design to its formally attired chef and master chef instructors attired in their dress whites with 52 pleated chef hats. Unfortunately I didn't have the opportunity to attend any of the classes, though I wish I would have. However, I did carefully observe just about everything of their operations and the instructors left no detail to chance or uncovered. For example I noticed one student incorrectly cracking an egg against a knife edge and immediately saw two chef instructors showing him and instructing him on how to properly do it against a flat surface and they didn't leave him until he got it right. Also the instructors are constantly observing, tasting, having the students taste and advising throughout the entire process of students cooking. The instructions and classes are done in a totally "hands on" process of instruction. Furthermore you'll find that most of the students aren't comprised of armatures or wannabe cooks, but those who are already professionals and are there to improve and further hone their culinary talents. I've fortunately had the opportunity to observe many schools of cooking and culinary instruction including those of the Culinary Institute of America and have to say that those of the La Scuola di Cucina Lorenzo Medici were amongst the most impressive.

Took a cooking lass at the Central Market! What an amazing experience. Go on their website for…read morecooking class dates. €50 per person per class. You will not be disappointed

Ayoub was a FANTASTIC chef to lead our cooking class. He made the experience so memorable. He had…read morewonderful enthusiasm and made the class fun. After the class, we got to enjoy our food at a table on the streets of Siena. Thank you Ayoub for the experience!

I've only been to cooking classes in Asia, and this Siena one one was very enjoyable and our pasta…read moremaking came out better than expected. It was deliciously good and our tiramisu dessert was excellent and probably the best tiramisu I've ever had. The teachers explained clearly and easily what we needed to do...the worst cooks would have been successful. It came with wine and bottled water that enhanced the meal. I definitely would recommend the cooking classes as a thing to do if you have the time, as it made my stay in Siena more memorable.

This is a MUST if you ever find yourself in Umbria. Nonie and Tita are wonderful to work with! We…read morewere staying in Umbria at a villa for a week and wanted to experience a cooking class but wanted to do so at our house. Nonie and Tita came to our villa (which was quite out of the way) and for a very reasonable price, brought all the food, the cooking utensils and years of knowledge and walked away leaving 5 new Italian cooks! They were both so great to work with and patient. Whenever we threw a curve ball their way as far as something they had planned or not understanding and asking questions, Nonie would reassure us that this was our class and they would do whatever they needed so that we enjoyed ourselves and learned. AND WE DID! From those decadent lava cakes to flat breads and pastas (oh - we can't forget parmesan baskets with pears! Fancy!), we learned how to make everything traditionally Umbrian in a very easy and hands on manner. We all given our own packets with all the recipes in them and our work spaces and ingredients. I personally loved all the history that Nonie gave as we walked through the recipes. Why they used certain ingredients, the differences you would find regionally in those ingredients, why a dish was traditional and such. The best part was when we were finished cooking and Nonie and Tita shooed us into the living room while they set the table and prepared our plates and then called us in and served us 4 courses with all the embellishments. And once we had finished, there was no clean up as they took care of it all. The whole while talking and laughing with us. Umbriacook4u was definitely one of the very top highlights of our 2 week Italian holiday and I would recommend this activity to everyone! There are options for experiencing the same thing in Tita's farmhouse which would probably give you the feel of having experienced something "local". Either way - you'll get the package deal with Nonie (an ex-pat American who is the English portion of the class) and Tita who is the native Italian. You can't miss an opportunity to meet these two wonderful women and enjoy their true Umbrian hospitality!!!!!!

Rafaella was super quick on my last minute request for a class and was able to accommodate us the…read morevery next day! The instructor was super sweet and funny! She really loved food and to cook and it showed!! The food was delicious, torta with stracchino cheese with rocket, homemade pasta with pork cheek, zucchini and saffron, chicken arribiata and a fig and walnut crostada... OMG I am salivating as I type!! Can't wait to try these recipes at home ( yes, they give you the recipes to take with you, along with a cute certificate we framed and have hanging in our kitchen, and an apron!) Met 2 wonderful ladies in the class too! The one issue we had was finding the place... Perugia is tough to get around... would have been helpful to have directions given to us... otherwise it was PERFECTO!!!

I attended the course in 2010 with a friend and a nonparticipant (didn't cook, but did eat) and it…read morewas a wonderful first leg of our Italian adventure. Tuscany is absolutely gorgeous. The local agriturismo with the bee farm was lovely. Best honey ( castagna, acacia, girasole) in Tuscany. The sidetrips to Siena and Florence with great tour guides ( loved Elisabetta!) and the free time to explore San Gimignano and Volterra were great. Saving the best for last--the beautiful organic produce we used to cook with and the time we spent with Manuela, Riccardo, Tina and Shilpa were incredible..the dishes we created were simple but flavorful. I use Riccardo's ragu di carne recipe to this day. The desserts were wonderful, too! The course is a perfect mix of cooking and free time to explore the area. I have recommended this course to anyone who wants to learn some great recipes and still have the time to sightsee.

From the owner: Organic Tuscany offers cooking courses in the Tuscan hills. Our cooking classes are very hands-on…read more Our wonderful local chefs will guide you through the preparation of a variety of simple but delicious Italian recipes (from Tuscany and from other Italian regions) and reveal some of their culinary secrets. The classes are taught in English, but if you like, we can teach you some simple "foodie Italian" to help you order in restaurants and be polite to the locals.