“Tuscany Cooking School @ Casa Ombuto: A Life-Changing Experience”

5 of 5 stars, Reviewed on TripAdvisor by Hughhandley, December 2015

If you can only take 1 more vacation for the rest of your life, go to Italy. If you only have a short time or a limited travel budget available, spend it all in Tuscany. And, if you have only a week, take a cooking course at the Tuscookany school.

I took the 1-week Mediterranean cooking course this summer with Chef Laura Giusti at the bella Casa Ombuto near Poppi, and it was an amazing experience that will probably not be duplicated in my lifetime. We learned Italian, French, Spanish and Moroccan meal preparation plus desserts and breads. Chef Laura is a maven, magician, motivator and maestro. Her knowledge of foods and food preparation, of herbs and wines and sauces, of all things Tuscan is incredible. She makes magic happen every meal with the most succulent tastes and aromas. We worked for 4 - 5 hours straight during most of the meal preparation sessions, but she made us want to do more, better, succeed. And she orchestrated a finely tuned team out of 11 different characters from all corners of the globe.

As good as the cooking lessons and the meals and wines were, the Casa itself was a superb setting offering wonderful amenities and comforts. My classmates were stimulating and fun to be with. Run with expert hands by Sheenah Lamont, the Casa was the perfect bucolic location for this wonderful experience.

Room Tip: Spacious, well-equipped room with a central living area & kitchen shared by 2 bedrooms

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Green Features: Just look at their website: re-cycled water, renewable energy, etc etc; clean pool area nd workout facilities, hiking and biking. Plus, for a small donation to their charity, you can plant an olive tree in your name that will begin to produce fruit in 7 years.

• Stayed July 2015, traveled as a couple