Cooking in Tuscany

if food and wine are your interest, than this tour will introduce you to "slow food" and organic wine and how to make pasta, fresh deserts and the best of the historic Tuscany area

This trip was historically informative, and fun along with the culinary experience which is the highlight . Our leader Cristina was over-the-top helpful, informative and always willing to accommodate our concerns/questions. Cristina is the real asset to this program. Clearly she is passionate at preserving her love for Lucca and her country. Our other Lucca historical guide for two days Elena is very knowledgeable about the city and it preservation. She is not your typical tourist guide, but passionate about preservation of history in Lucca. There is free time to shop the old city of Lucca and people watch, drink wine or coffee or cappuccino. The various tours of wine estates, a creamery, a marble estate and the city of Pietrasanta's many mediums of art was fascinating . The restaurants included in this program were fine dining exquisitely presented. Ellen W.

Because of Cristina Viti my experience in Tuscany was unforgettable, memorable, most enjoyable and FABULOUS! She is hospitable, friendly, welcoming, and extremely knowledgeable about Lucca and the surrounding area. Without a doubt, she went over and above to give us a fabulous experience. This was my first Road Scholar trip and I have never enjoyed a trip more than this one. I hope all your other destinations have someone like Cristina on your staff. The hands-on cooking experience at the International Academy of Italian Cuisine was truly hands-on from appetizers to desserts. I learned new techniques and recipes and had so much fun cooking with Gian Luc and my fellow travelers. Gian Luc was welcoming and made my experience so much fun. Each day was planned in detail by Cristina from tours to dinners and everything in between. There was not one experience in which I was bored or wished it was not on the itinerary. I felt immersed in the culture with each area that we visited. I do wish we would have spent more time in Pietrasanta to explore the art galleries and its history.

This tour greatly exceeded my expectations with the combination of history, cooking, and sightseeing. Being my first trip to Italy, I was thrilled to have such an comprehensive tour.

If you love to cook, and learn new cooking techniques, plus ways to use foods more creatively, this is the place for you. You'll discover new foods, fresh ideas, and work with an internationally famous chef. It's like having Chef Pardini right in your kitchen, at your finger tips! You'll see a well-stocked kitchen, learn new recipes, and taste delicious food, plus, you'll bring home the recipes to try in your own kitchen!

What a wonderful trip! It combined an ideal blend of activities and free time. We loved learning about the area from the locals and not being amidst the throngs of tourists. Can't wait to try the recipes at home!

The cooking part of Cooking in Tuscany is truly outstanding! However there are so many other outstanding aspects to this program as well!!

If you love learning and want to be steeped in the history, culture and food of Tuscany this program is a must!

Totally enjoyable experience with an excellent mix of history, interesting “slow food” oriented excursions and enjoyable cooking lessons. Excellent tour leader and perfect group size.

This was the best vacation/trip my wife and I have ever been on. We learned new things about Italian food and cooking, explored interesting regions with expert guides and found new friends we would seek out to travel with again! Kevin J. Sherry

This program was an excellent opportunity to learn about the "slow food" movement. Kristina Viti was a charming program leader who brought her love of Tuscany to life. Her knowledge of the area was outstanding. I was very impressed with everything I did and learned on this adventure.

Cooking in Tuscany is a wonderful program that encompasses much more than cooking. Christina takes you on a personal tour of an area of Tuscany that she knows intimately and clearly loves. Her enthusiasm and knowledge make the program as she shares the history and culture of her country. She takes you to places you would not find on your own and introduces you to local people who share their passion for wine,olive oil, art and more. I highly recommend spending a week with her and as well as GianCarlo,Elena and their other friends!

Overall 4+ stars. Well worth it, a memorable experience. I highly recommend this program. 5 stars for well balanced itinerary with excellent tour guides. Christina and Elena know their stuff and add unique insight to each of the tour stops. There was a wide variety of tour stops with something for everyone. I enjoyed them all, some more than others though. Airport pickup and delivery was seamless. 4+ Stars for the cooking school. We had four wonderful meals all with interesting menus and some unique dishes. Local ingredients were outstanding - too bad I will not be able to duplicate that at home. I would have liked more hands-on opportunities to practice techniques but that is a personal preference. The demonstrations were instructive. Gianluca is a terrific, if not inspiring, instructor. I definitely will try 3-4 recipes at home. I already upped my gnocchi game. 3 stars for the accommodation. The hotel staff was more than attentive and accommodating. The hotel was clean and comfortable. Breakfast was more than adequate. However my single room though overall comfortable was somewhat spartan. It had an open shower area adjacent to the commode - it was fully functional and I had no problems in getting a good, hot shower. Street noise in the early morning was somewhat of a problem, garbage collection was quite noisy. The location of the hotel was in easy walking distance to most of the points of interest in the walled city.

Cooking in Tuscany is an excellent program which I enjoyed very much. It is the perfect combination of cooking (4 lessons) and other excursions in and around Lucca. The group leader Christina was fantastic, and her personal connections made for intimate and rewarding experiences that I will remember forever. Gianluca has a real passion for Tuscan cooking that he enjoys sharing with all. If every Road Scholar program is as good as this one, then I will be attending many more!

Great trip. The hotel and staff were lovely. I really liked the small size of the group. Learned a lot about the area.

Outstanding blend of culture, history, food and wine in one of Italy’s most beautiful locations, perfectly paced.

The opportunity to visit local artisans was exceptional, and the town of Lucca was the perfect place to use as a base for a meaningful Tuscan adventure!

Cooking in Tuscany was the best trip I have ever been on. The cooking with Gianluca was great, as is expected. But the tours of Lucca with Elena, the dinners, the field trips with Christina to wineries, the marble quarry, art galleries and more, were indescribably wonderful. I cannot recommend this highly enough - it was incredible!! Sally, September 2018

This was a fabulous trip and so much more than we were expecting! All the tours were excellent. Loved the town of Lucca and have talked about returning. Hard to recommend this trip highly enough.

The Cooking in Tuscany tour in bella Lucca was a spectacular trip. It was a week full of more sights, sounds, smells, and tastes than I had dreamed I could ever experience: the beautiful Hotel Palazzo Alexander and Mario’s attentive care at breakfast; Elena’s knowledgeable expertise as we toured the churches and ancient cobbled streets of Lucca; Gianluca’s expert instruction as we made fabulous Tuscan meals; and of course, the incredible food, wine, and liquors we enjoyed every day. Our tour organizer, Cristina, was simple amazing. We spent the days exploring Lucca’s streets and buildings, peering beneath its surface to view its ancient ruins, learned about the deep rich history of this place, and experienced the beauty created by the Luchese masters. We experienced the hidden secrets off the beaten path and saw Lucca through the eyes, heart, and mind of someone who knows and loves this gem of a city. Cristina did all of this with grace and patience and expert skill. It’s clear that her deep friendships with the shop owners, artists, chefs, expert guides, and vintners helped to open the doors for us so we could have these intimate and deeply moving experiences that filled up our senses. We spent four fabulous sessions at the International Academy of Italian Cuisine. Gianluca is an expert chef, a talented instructor, and a very personable and engaging man. At his beautiful Tuscan school, we made and savored 4 course meals. My favorites were a delicious artichoke pudding with pecorino cheese, trout fillet with seasonal vegetables and light homemade mayonnaise, risotto with asparagus, gnocchi with arugula pesto, ravioli with Buffalo mozzarella, and truffle-scented veal with fennel gratin. And I can assure you, every bite was foodie heaven! I would highly recommend this trip to anyone who loves to explore, learn, cook, and enjoy experiencing delicious Tuscan food and wine!

Love the cooking school in Lucca we stayed in a refurbished but opulent Boutique Hotel with warm welcoming staff. I've enhanced my knowledge of cooking a thousand fold is every minute brought me to a new level

If you have an interest in Italian culture and food....if you are looking for a more in-depth interaction with the people and the history of a place....if you enjoy getting to experience the hospitality and warmth of a welcoming hotelier then this program is an excellent choice. The tour director, the city guide, the master chef and culinary teacher plus the hotel owner and host were exceptional. We were immersed in the passion for learning and living well...the Italian way.

Learning to cook with GianLuca Pardini at the Italian School of Cooking in Lucca was a 5 star, hands-on, learning experience. Great food, great fun. Our tour leader, Cristina Viti, enthusiastically shared her love of life and all things Italian. This was an outstanding program because of them.

This program was wonderful, very educational, fun, and fabulous food!