COOKING IN CHIANTI
May 22 - 27, 2010
Join me in Chianti to cook and tour with my favorite Italian, Giuliano Bugialli. He is one of the most charismatic teachers you will ever learn from and passionate about all things Italian—you will experience Florence and Chianti with the expertise and enthusiasm of a local.
The week long tour Cooking in Chianti provides a variety of opportunities unequaled elsewhere. The beautiful Renaissance city of Florence is in itself a draw —one of the world’s great cultural destinations. And the neighboring Chianti region is as bucolic, as you can imagine―complete with castles, hill top villages and vine-covered valleys.
Classes will be held in ancient Chianti — a region famous for it’s wine and olive oil, located just outside Florence. We will cook in a kitchen, built into Giuliano’s beautifully restored 15th-century farmhouse situated amongst Chianti's vines and olive trees.
Participants will stay at the Pierre Hotel, a four-star boutique hotel in Florence whose rooms with ensuite baths are spacious by European standards. Located in the historic center of Florence, it is just one block away from Piazza Della Repubblica, with all the delights of the town within walking distance. A private bus will transport us daily to Giuliano’s farm house in Chianti and our other destinations.
Each day’s schedule varies, though food and wine are always foremost in the planning. Depending on the other events planned for the day, the hands-on cooking lesson may begin in the morning or the early afternoon. Some evenings we may have dinner in the city, other evenings may be at an elegant restaurant in the country, a rustic trattoria, or at the school. The itinerary is staggered so you have some free mornings, and afternoons for a little sightseeing in the renaissance city of Florence.
In our hands-on cooking classes recipes will range from simple and unusual sauces for pasta to complex special occasion dishes, so that participants with varying levels of expertise can all enhance their knowledge and abilities. Each week includes about 35 recipes and dozens of wines to be tasted. Giuliano's genial manner and ever present cheerfulness helps everyone learn to cook with ease. Giuliano will teach all the classes himself. His students know him as a scholar and a warm, caring teacher who generously shares his knowledge.
When we eat out each restaurants menu will be personally overseen by Giuliano—so no dish is repeated. The chefs take pride in preparing their regional specialties for Giuliano and his students, often presenting dishes that never appear in their regular fare.
Our excursions may take us to unique areas Giuliano has discovered or to other Tuscan towns, taking us off the beaten track to experience Italy in a way ordinary tourists do not. Past students who have been at the school agree that no advance description can possibly convey the richness and variety of the programs. Only in living the experience can one understand the unique qualities of Cooking in Chianti.
To register call 707.227.5036 or email (julie@cookingwithjulie.com)
CLASSES: Each course has five full-participation cooking classes lasting about four hours and followed by a full lunch or dinner paired with wine.
Giuliano teaches every class himself and each student learns to make pasta, focaccie, etc., under his personal supervision. Techniques are demonstrated first. When it's time to work, students choose the dishes they want to prepare from that day's roster of recipes. During the week we will cook about 35 recipes and taste dozens of wines.
HIGHLIGHTS: The program begins with cocktails and dinner at a renowned Tuscan restaurant. Other dinners are varied to feature both rustic and sophisticated settings. During the week we have in-depth tastings of special foods that are unique to Italy, including breads, cheeses and preserved meats from different regions. Diplomas will be presented at a final gala dinner.
FEES: $4,500 for participants in the full program sharing a double room; $3,600 for a spouse or friend participating in all activities except cooking lessons. Spouses and friends are invited to join in each day's lunch or dinner at the school. There are a limited number of single rooms available at an additional cost of $950. To reserve your space, a deposit of $600 is required. The balance is due 3 months prior to the trip (Feb. 17, 2010). There is a cancellation fee of $150 for cancellations up until Feb. 17, 2010.
• Seven nights at the “Four-Star” Pierre Hotel in downtown Florence. Breakfast included.
• Five cooking lessons full participation.
• An average of seven dishes are prepared per class.
• Lunch or dinner after each class.
• Snack and wine at the midpoint of class.
• One full day trip, most of the time visiting Lucca and Forte dei Marmi.
• One lunch at a restaurant
• Two dinners in restaurants
• One cheese and wine tasting at the school.
• One half-day tour to Siena or San Gimignano.
• Transportation (by bus) to and from Florence for all scheduled activities.
Non-cooking spouses/partners will join us for all activities except the cooking classes.
We will travel from hotel to school by 25-minute bus trip.
GENERAL TERMS
To insure your complete satisfaction, please read the following terms before booking your program at Cooking in Florence:
FEES: Fees for all programs include accommodations for the length of the program, all trips, dinners as listed and all scheduled activities, transportation on all school functions, recipes and menus, insurance for all sponsored functions, gratuities to personnel connected with the school.
Out-of-pocket costs will vary with the personal desires of the participants and might include laundry, drinks or special breakfast items at the hotels, extra nights at the hotel before and after the programs and the hard-to-resist Florentine shopping.
We will be happy to reserve extra nights at the hotel in Florence if desired, depending on the availability of space.
Cooking in Florence hopes to maintain its current fee schedule. If there is a drop in the value of the dollar against the euro by the time of final payment this balance will be readjusted to reflect the exchange rate of that time.
RESPONSIBILITY: Insurance carried by the school covers the student's safety during school hours and on all sponsored trips. However, Cooking in Florence cannot be responsible for loss or theft of baggage or personal possessions or the student's health or safety at other times.
ACCOMMODATIONS: Full hotel accommodations for seven nights with continental breakfast are included in the fee for cooking programs. Participants in these programs stay at a centrally located, modern, fully air-conditioned, first-class hotel with a private bath in every room. Cafes, shops and museums are all within a short walk. Students over the years have been delighted with its excellent location, attractive decor and the warmth of its personnel toward members of our groups.
Standard accommodation is a twin-bedded room with private bath or shower. Single rooms are limited and frequently smaller than doubles; in paying a single supplement you are paying for privacy rather than additional comfort. When a roommate is requested on the application form, an attempt will be made to make the most congenial arrangement possible. A request for a roommate cannot always be honored, in which case the payment of a single supplement would be required. Occasionally, especially with late reservations, the hotel can no longer supply a single room; in this case, the participant would be required to pay for a double room used as a single.
TRANSPORTATION: Transportation costs are not included in the fees, since school participants come from many different parts of the world and many people like to have flexibility in arrival and departure dates. We are able to help with suggestions on the best ways to reach Florence.
REGISTRATION: For all programs a deposit of $600 is required; $150 of this is a non-refundable registration fee. Payments from countries outside the United States should be drawn as American dollar checks from a bank with a corresponding U.S. institution; otherwise students will be liable for any collection charges that the cooking school’s bank may levy. Other options are US dollar money orders or a direct transfer from a foreign bank to the school’s bank. The school does not accept credit cards as payment for this class.
CANCELLATION: Full payment for each program is due 90 days before the start of the program. Deposits, minus the non-refundable $150 registration fee, will be returned if enrollment is canceled BEFORE THE PAYMENT DUE DATE. After the final payment date, no refunds will be made. Several companies offer cancellation insurance for a modest fee; we strongly urge you to get this and to read carefully the terms for reimbursement before buying.
The school reserves the right to cancel any program prior to its start, in which case the monies paid would be refunded in full.
Occasionally changes must be made in a scheduled program because of circumstances beyond control, but the school will make every effort to find an equally interesting alternative.
Giuliano Bugialli-
With his own PBS television series and numerous cookbooks published by Random House―includeint the latest, Parma: A capital of Italian Gastronomy.
Giuliano is one of the most popular Italian chefs in the U.S. After more than 25 years of successful activity, Bugialli’s school―Cooking In Florence― has gained world wide recognition.
Throughout the years its philosophy has remained the same: to provide a high standard of performance, a warm and comfortable atmosphere in which to learn, and a sincere respect for each individual student's needs and expectations.
