Cooking Vacations in Italy

About Travel & Places Wednesday, March/13/2019 Wednesday, March/13/2019 2 104

Culinary vacations are available throughout Italy.Pasta image by Yvonne Bogdanski from Fotolia.com

Hundreds of cooking class vacations are available in all parts of Italy. You can select your class based on a wide variety of options including geographic region, type of food and length of stay. The chefs teaching these classes assume students will have varying skill levels.

Locations

Puglia is a coastal region on the Adriatic Sea.Lungomare di Bari, Puglia image by Antonio Conte from Fotolia.com

Italian cooking is known worldwide for its various flavors and techniques. There are endless ways to categorize Italian cooking. Meats, pastas, pizzas, breads, and desserts are just a few of the food variations you might encounter when planning your trip. A few examples of the major cooking regions include Tuscany, Sicily, Veneto, Lombardia, Puglia and Umbria.

Cooking classes are available in all major cities in Italy. While larger Italian culinary schools offer classes to culinary tourists, many Italian chefs offer cooking lessons in their own homes. In smaller towns and villages, classes are often held in medieval villas.

Some trips include vineyard visits for wine tasting and food pairing.vineyard image by Brett Bouwer from Fotolia.com

Most classes offer instruction recipes based on individual preferences, so be prepared to use local ingredients. For example, seafood is common along the coast, while beef and veal are more common inland. While nearly all classes teach students how to cook main courses, many other classes include salad creation, bread making and dessert making.

Many cooking vacations, including the one-day options, include trips to local markets to buy ingredients. Some longer trips include visits to vineyards to taste and select wines to pair with the meals you prepare. Because cheese is such an important ingredient in many of Italian dishes, vacations often include trips to dairy farms where you can watch the cheese making process and taste a variety of cheeses. In order to make your stay in Italy complete, many of the vacation packages offer side trips to Rome, the Vatican or the canals of Venice at an addition cost.

Lucca square in Tuscany is a popular destination for visitors.Lucca square Anfiteatro in Tuscany Italy image by Ivonne Wierink from Fotolia.com

Because many cooking vacations are multiple days, the cost of some vacations may include accommodations close to the school, restaurant or home kitchen where you will be learning. A select few vacations are all-inclusive and cover meals and transportation. Prices for a one-day class range from $150 to $500. Prices for multiple-night vacations, with accommodations and some meals included, can be low as $1800. As some cities, towns or regions, such as Tuscany, are more popular, you might find more affordable vacation options in lesser known locales.