Active Gourmet Holidays is pleased to offer some exciting new tours in Spain and Italy - with more on the way to new and exciting destinations!

For questions on specific tours, please email info@activegourmetholidays.com
or call 1.203.732.0771

NEW TOURS!

ITALY

NEW ! Cooking with Carmen in Sorrento - Sorrento, Italy - 4 or 6 nights

Carmen invites you to the Gulf of Naples in Sorrento for fun, yet professional hands-on cooking classes. Cooking classes will be held in the small but very professional kitchen built specifically for the Relais. Carmen will teach you to prepare such typical Southern Italian dishes as Sorrento-style gnocchi, stuffed calamari, and Neapolitan-style artichokes. Enjoy gorgeous accommodations in a luxury Relais, delicious Mediterranean cuisine and visits to the gems of this unforgettable locale on the Amalfi Coast.
Available year round

NEW! The Tastes of a Roman Holiday - Sabina (Rome), Italy – 3 or 6 nights

Learn the most popular recipes from Roman and Tuscan kitchens as you spend your time just outside of Rome for a fun filled week of creative cooking lessons. Aside from cooking lessons you will have a guided tour of the Eternal City of Rome, taste fine wines and partake in delicious meals. Your home for your visit will be in a medieval village in a restored farmhouse or historic apartment with incredible views of the countryside.
Available March to July, September to December

NEW! Authentic Home Cooking in Puglia - (Options: Day Cooking Classes, Italian Lessons, Custom Tours and Three Night Program) - Puglia, Italy - 3 or 5 nights

Cinzia and Marika invite you to their hometown in Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot, for an authentic gourmet holiday. Your visit will feature hands-on cooking lessons with the sisters who will teach you only the recipes their nonna (grandmother) taught them as children. You will stay in their beautiful renovated Palace House and will be treated like family by these true locals who have the knowledge and passion to show you the authentic Puglia, including some wonderful artisan and market visits. *See Cinzia and Marika's delicious recipe below!

Available year round

SPAIN

NEW! Culinary Delights of Andalusia- Iznájar, Spain - 3 or 6 nights

Stay in a small hilltop Moorish village in Andalusia which overlooks breathtaking views. Your stay will include hands-on cooking classes with a professional chef who is also the owner and along with his lovely wife, you will have a magical week of cuisine, wine, exploration and immersion into this magical place in Andalusia. The farmhouse (finca) where you will be staying has been tastefully restored retaining its charm and beauty indicative of the region.
Available year round

NEW!- The Cuisine of Catalonia - Catalonia, Spain - 4 nights

Enjoy professional hands-on cooking classes with Chef Vicenç Fajardo. Chef Fajardo has a diploma from the North Point Institute in Tafe a Brisbane, Australia, where he stayed a few years, and from the cooking school Sant Narcis of Girona, Spain. He started working in some important restaurants of Catalonia such as Fonda Caner, Sa Punta and Arcs de Monells. In 1998 he starts working in the very famous restaurant La Cuina de Can Pipes where he becomes the chef after a few years.

Available March to June and September to October – Monday to Friday

FRANCE

NEW! Active Gourmets in Bordeaux- Bordeaux, France - 6 nights

Enjoy a six night culinary and wine tour in the Entre Deux Mers. We can tailor your holiday and depending on your interests we can include cooking instruction, wine tastings, garden visits, spa, exploration and more. Stay in a lovely bed and breakfast situated on the edge of a small village and get to know the French in this renowned region in France.
Available year round - Saturday to Friday

NEW! Cooking in the Dordogne- Dordogne, France - 7 nights

Take hands-on, personalized cooking classes from a French chef in her 18th century country home. The program includes hands on cooking lessons with daily visits to the local outdoor markets and suppliers to select the freshest ingredients as well as sightseeing visits to the surrounding countryside and villages to discover the authenticity and architecture of this magnificent area.

Available April to October

HIGHLIGHT ON:

Active Gourmet Goes Tuscan - Tuscany, Italy - 5 nights

Active Gourmet Holidays is offering an unforgettable getaway to the renowned Villa San Michele Cookery School in Florence. Nourish your senses, refuel your body and replenish your spirit with a savory array of food and wine tours, paired with culinary education, visits to Chianti wine cellars, shopping in Florence with a personal shopper and visits to the artistic treasures of Monteriggioni, San Gimignano and Siena.

ONLY ONE DATE IN 2008 - OCTOBER 12-17 - LIMITED AVAILABILITY!!

RECIPE OF THE MONTH - TAGLIATELLE ALLA PUGLIESE

"Authentic Home Cooking in Puglia" with Cinzia and Marika

This is the perfect recipe for a summer lunch with your friends in your villa on the beach or in the countryside. It is also perfect for a formal dinner with your colleagues.

4 servings

For the sauce:

1 garlic cloves

A spoon of cappers

4 salted anchovies

10 cherry tomatoes

A spoon of tomato sauce

1 spoon of bread crumbs

Rocket salad

A spoon of extra virgin olive oil

Red pepper

For the pasta:

warm water

a pinch of salt

300 grams flour for pasta

To make the pasta:

Dissolve 1 teaspoon salt in about 2/3 cup warm water. Put the flour in a bowl and turn the salted water into the flour. Knead the pasta in the bowl for a few minutes. Once the dough is amalgamated turn it out onto a board. Continue kneading on the board.

Using half the pasta at a time, roll it out into the thinnest possible sheet. Cut the sheet into long noodle strips. Leave to dry the pasta.

In a saucepan add olive oil, the garlic clove, the red pepper, the cappers, the cherry tomatoes cut in pieces and the tomato sauce. Wash the anchovies to remove the salt, cut them in pieces and add them to the sauce.

In another pan boil the water and add the pasta. When the pasta is al dente, remove from the heat and put it in the saucepan. Gently stir the pasta into the sauce and add the rocket salad and the bread crumb.

Let cook the pasta for 1 minute at very low flame.

Always use extra virgin olive oil but NEVER use it while you are cooking the tomatoes. Always add it in its raw state, after you turn off the heat! You will taste more of the flavours....and it will be much more healthy!