Food
and cooking articles and information:
Hub-UK
in
Tuscany ~ a week of cooking and relaxation in Tuscany
This
week has actually been and gone and is no longer available
- it was a one-off - but if you would like to see
what the week was actually like . . .
more
info
I
wanted to do something a bit special in 2005. After
giving it some thought I came up with the idea of hosting
a Hub-UK
cooking week in Tuscany. After all one of the great
pleasures in my life has been cooking good food and
then sitting down with friends to eat and relax together
with a glass of two or wine . . . and to do so in the
Summer sun of Tuscany just sounded idyllic to me.
What
is more having the contacts out there who I know and
trust has meant that the whole idea is practical and
achievable. John Garner who runs Herein Italy has lived
in Italy for over twenty years. After a career in newspaper
advertising in England, including advertising manager
at the London Evening Standard, he moved near to Rome
and then Tuscany. Five years ago John started Herein
Italy, planning and arranging cooking classes and tour
packages, villa and apartment rentals, custom designed
vacations and food and wine tours. He has created and
done cooking tours in Tuscany since 1996 and on the
Amalfi Coast since 2000. John has been happily visiting
and living in Italy for more than thirty years. And
some of the people you will meet on during your trip
will have been his great friends of his for all that
time . . . he knows a lot of people and a lot of places
only locals know. With John in charge we can't fail
to have a good time.
 So
now there is the opportunity for a limited number of
you to join Hub-UK
deep in open countryside on the borders of Tuscany and
Umbria. Close to Cortona and to Montepulciano your home
for the week will be Alla Corte del Sole a four
star relais. Extremely comfortable with pool, gardens,
lounge bar in the Orangerie and a small restaurant
all in beautifully restored old farm buildings. The
old cantine (cellars) are where we spend happy,
convivial evenings learning simple Tuscan cooking by
the old farm fire. Surrounded by stacked wine bottles
and hams hung up to keep them fresh, our farm kitchen
will become a hive of activity as Chef Jonathan assisted
by David of Hub-UK
let you into some of the secrets.
Your
accommodation
Alla
Corte del Sole is an old Franciscan monastic village
which has been skillfully turned into a romantic and
charming relais. The original village architecture has
been restored and modernised with many of its original
features beautifully preserved, such as decorative beams,
old wooden doors with their original frames and the
stone and terracotta tile floors. The whole blending
into the Tuscan landscape.
In
the attractive and lovingly tended garden, which looks
towards Cortona and the Trasimeno Lake, can be found
the Orangerie Bar Lounge - an invitation to enjoy a
few relaxing moments.
Rooms
are tastefully furnished with the period furniture giving
a touch of simple elegance. Everything has been created
with a great care for detail, making every stay unforgettable.
All bathroom walls are frescoed - flights of butterflies,
cornfields, fronds of ivy, vases and baskets of flowers
and rustic scenes.
Photo Gallery:
The
images below are intended as a guide to the accommodation
at Alla Corte del Sole. If you click on any of the pictures
you will be able to see a larger photograph.
Your
week in Tuscany
- Day
1 - Sunday
Following your arrival at Rome's International
Airport, FCO  you
will be met outside the customs hall by our driver.
Transfer in air-conditioned minibus to Tuscany and
your home for the week.
Unpack and relax in your new surroundings - Alla Corte
del Sole.
Your comfortably furnished room will be one of the
seventeen very special rooms each with en-suite bathroom
and individual heating / air-conditioning.
This evening after a welcome drink in the orangerie
or a dip in the pool supper will be served in the
intimate atmosphere of the dining room.
- Day
2 - Monday
 At
10.00 departure for a visit to a local olive oil mill
with a full explanation of this marvelous local product.
Many incorrect assumptions and myths will be shattered.
Bar lunch in Lucignano.
Cookery lessons will start at 18.00. There will be
3 hours of cookery lessons followed by dinner with
wine included.
- Day
3 - Tuesday
At 10.00 the minibus will leave for Pienza for a walk
about this intriguing medieval jewel of a town. Its
shops displaying local cheeses and other products
vie with its architectural treasures for your attention.
 Later
in the morning we will go to local well-known winery,
Innocenti, in Montefollonico for a visit to their
cellars followed by tasting of the end product. A
short walk takes us to 'I 13 Gobbi' a small, friendly
local trattoria for lunch including wine. Return to
the villa.
Cookery lessons will start at 18.00. There will be
3 hours of cookery lessons followed by dinner with
wine included.
- Day
4 - Wednesday
Free time before lunch at a trattoria in nearby Montepulciano.
This evening will be a feast of pizza making in the
outdoor wood oven. As local wine flows and conviviality
grows you can take the opportunity to try your hand
at making your very own version. Twirling and throwing
is allowed!
- Day
5 - Thursday
 This
morning we will leave at 10.00 for the local street
market in Camucia, Cortona's 'down the hill' suburb.
Taste the produce, decide what you want and we will
buy it so that you can return to the hotel and have
an alfresco picnic, weather allowing, around the pool.
Cookery lessons will start at 18.00. There will be
3 hours of cookery lessons followed by dinner with
wine included.
- Day
6 - Friday
At 09.00 the minibus will leave for Siena for a day's
shopping or more sightseeing. Lunch optional.
The minibus returns at 16.00.
Cookery lessons will start at 18.00. There will be
3 hours of cookery lessons with special menu for a
great farewell dinner with wine included.
- Day
7 - Saturday
Check out of villa and transfer in minibus to
Rome FCO airport.
Your
tutors:
Chef
Jonathan Arthur and David Jenkins of
Hub-UK
 Chef Jonathan Arthur started his culinary career
managing and cooking for Huffs small chain of trendy
restaurants in Chelsea, Camden Lock and Hampstead in
the eighties. During this time he developed a passion
for the history of food and its importance to civilisation.
This naturally brought him to Italy where he now lives
near Cortona.
 In great demand as a home chef for villa
parties with clients coming from as far afield as New
Zealand, Australia, the USA and Dubai, Jonathan took
up teaching almost by chance. In the past he has been
the guide and inspiration on many cookery courses assisting
local chefs and visiting Master Chefs in everything
from translating to procuring the best and freshest
foods for the lessons. It was at this time that he both
realised that not only does a teaching chef have to
know his subject he also has to communicate directly
with his clients. He does this with a natural panache
and enthusiasm so guests really can get the flavour
of Italian cuisine first hand.
David
Jenkins is one of life's cooking enthusiasts. He
likes nothing better than to be creating something in
the kitchen and his philosophy is that all meals are
worth taking the effort to prepare and enjoy.
As
the founder and driving force behind the cooking and
recipe web site Hub-UK
David
has demonstrated time and again his love of good food.
With regular visitors to the site from all over the
world David caters for those who are complete beginners
needing help and advice to providing recipes that even
the professional wants to use.
Being
in the kitchen can only be fun!
Tuscany
 Tuscany
is probably the most loved region of Italy and whilst
Rome is the capital, Tuscany is the heart. Stretching
from the Apennines to the sea, midway between Milan
and Rome, the region is the picture of Italy we all
have in our mind's eye.
Its changing scenery is unmatched anywhere else in Italy.
Its towns are famous for their wealth of fine architecture
and art, but visitors often go home even more enthusiastic
about Tuscany's unspoilt hilly landscapes, about the
delicious Chianti wines produced by vineyards on those
hills, and about the robust and flavorful Tuscan cooking.
Winding roads lead through the magical Chianti countryside,
past small, picturesque hilltop villages and beautiful
stone farmhouses.
Tuscany is almost certainly the most loved region of
Italy. It presents that ideal green Italian landscape,
dotted with pink stone hilltop towns, where cypress
trees stand between olive groves and vineyards. The
capital of Tuscany is Florence, a centre of the Fifteenth
century Renaissance.
Siena is probably the most noble Tuscan city with its
roots going back to the Etruscan period. It is probably
best known for its 'palio' which has been passed down
from generation to generation, and recollects Siena's
rich history and frequent periods of war notably those
conducted against the Guelfi Fiorentini. The Palio itself
is a famous horse race whereby the horses hurtle around
a shell shaped course whilst the jockeys use any means
possible to get to the post first. The race takes place
twice a year and keeps alive the fighting spirit of
Siena's citizens.
Activities:
| |
 |
Five
hands-on cookery lessons with Chef Jonathan Arthur
and David of Hub-UK |
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|
Pizza-making
lesson |
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|
Freetime
in the beautiful Tuscan countryside |
| |
|
Visit
to an olive oil mill |
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|
Visit
to a Pecorino cheese farm |
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|
Visit
to local winery |
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|
Shopping
day in Siena |
Webmaster
note:
I
have left this page on the site as it gets found on
the search engines and it does show what is offered
on this sort of holiday. If you want my personal commenst
about this sort of holiday feel free to email
me.
To
see what the week was actually like . . . more
info
|
