I’m always asked, “What is the best tour to take?”. If you love to cook or eat or both then this is the tour for you!
Florence Cooking Class and Lunch at a Farmhouse in Tuscany with Local Market Tour by Florence Cooking Class and Lunch in Tuscany with Local Market tour (walkaboutflorence.com) combines everything that I love about a tour (visiting local shops, talking with residents, trying foods from other cultures, learning how to prepare their foods, and so much more). We met Luca at 9am near the train station and immediately, I knew that I would love him and this tour. He brought us to Mercato Centrale which is the biggest food market in Florence. Luca was a celebrity and we were the latest guests on his “TV show”. We visited the cheese vendor, the butcher, the produce stall, the bakery, and the olive oil and balsamic shop. We sampled many items and purchased what we needed to prepare our four-course menu.
After our market visit, we boarded a luxury bus for the short ride up into the Tuscan hills to reach the estate where our class would take place. The view from the house was gorgeous: olive trees, vegetable gardens, rolling hills, and lovely countryside. We took it all in and then got right to work.
Carmela and her team were waiting for us and had our cooking stations prepped. We began by preparing the ragu for our homemade pasta. The ragu needed to simmer for a few hours and it was worth the wait! Next, we made a fabulous bruschetta that we were able to enjoy right away. I prepare bruschetta at home fairly often but this had a little magic in it- maybe it was the view?
After our snack, we got down to business and learned how to make homemade tagliatelle. I’m a good cook, but I’ve always been terrified of homemade pasta. Luca had such a light way of teaching us and made us all believe that it was impossible to do it wrong. Guess what, it was easy, and we did create amazing tagliatelle!
Because just pasta isn’t enough, we also learned how to make an incredible roast pork with potatoes. Garlic (like a LOT) is the secret and lots of herbs! For dessert, we prepared individual tiramisu cups.
Throughout our lesson, we enjoyed wine (for me after the cutting took place) and the happy banter that comes along with meeting new people while experiencing something that may be a little intimidating and out of your comfort zone.
Finally, our work was complete and we were able to sit down in their glass-walled room (to take in all that view) to enjoy our feast. We had the tagliatelle with ragu, roast pork and potatoes, and finally the tiramisu. Amazing!
Luca and Carmela presented each of us with a certificate stating that we completed an Italian cooking course. Such a nice souvenir!
So, you may still wonder why I consider this the best tour in Florence. The skills and knowledge that I gained here I have used many times in the month that I’ve been home. I even taught some friends and family how to make homemade pasta and ragu. I love being able to share my adventures with my family once I return home, and in my opinion, there is no better way to do that than through food. Buon appetito!
