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 Bologna/Milan, Italy - 7 nights
Available October - Sunday to Sunday
Join Mary Beth Clark, renowned chef and founder of The International Cooking School of Italian Food and Wine, for an incredible week of hands-on cooking instruction in an exquisite palazzo. Learn to make the perfect dough and classic Italian dishes as well as specialty dishes using the magical truffle.
Join us for our incredible week of cooking in Bologna, the Gastronomic Capital of Italy, and Alba, the Truffle Capital of Italy. Italy’s white truffle is considered by experts to be the most delectable truffle existing anywhere. We begin our week of cooking, wine and truffles in Bologna in Emilia‐Romagna. Then onto Piedmont for visiting a winery during the harvest, hunting for fresh truffles, Alba’s White Truffle Fair, and dining in exceptional restaurants. We’ll savor every delectable moment! Our course concludes in Milan ~ favolosa! 
You’ll love our two days of hands‐on cooking classes in Bologna, plus special demonstration class with a Michelin‐star chef in Alba. Standing alongside Italian chefs, you will make full Italian menus from lʹantipasto through il dolce including vegetable antipasti, brodo, ragu, fresh handmade pasta, luscious main dishes of meat and game, wine sauces, seasonal vegetable contorni and winning desserts! Excellent wines are served with every food‐and‐wine pairing meal, so you have the opportunity to learn about award‐winning producers while tasting a wide range of Italy’s varietals.  * In our modern, professional restaurant kitchen you cook side‐by‐side with professional chefs, learning authentic techniques while making dishes ideal for casual meals or for entertaining. Just wait until you taste the delicious dishes we make together in class ~ you’ll love every bite you make! You will easily recreate these dishes in your own kitchen, for our professional preparation and cooking techniques are unique and easy, and are proven to make you an even better cook.
*Make sfoglia, pasta fresca or fresh pasta, by hand using a wooden matterello, in our class with our incredible sfoglina, pasta chef. With her, you’ll make pasta that becomes a benchmark, it is beyond compare.  *Shop in Bologna’s famous outdoor food market. With many specialty stores offering authentic regional products and Italian cookware, you are sure to find utensils and lovely serving pieces for your table. Shop in Alba’s boutique stores specializing in creamy cheeses, salame, fragrant hazelnuts, porcini and truffles. Every block has an Enoteca offering exceptional Piemontese wines. (We’ll introduce you to our favorite shop owners ‐ and ‐ show you the luggage store just in case you need an extra bag. There are lots of goodies to take home!) We’ll drive through Emilia‐Romagna to Piedmont, Italy’s great wine region of Barolo,“The King of Wines and the Wine of Kings”. It’s the perfect time just after La Vendemmia, the Wine Harvest, and the White Truffle Fair in Alba. You’re sure to fall in‐love with this charming city nestled among the Langhe Hills.
 *You’ll love our gastronomic excursion on Wednesday on our way to Alba! Made only in Emilia‐Romagna, Parmigiano‐Reggiano and culatello are truly exceptional. You have an exclusive lesson with a renowned cheese master and see the entire process from caldaia of simmering milk to the aging of golden wheels of this prized cheese. Then we get to taste! We visit with a chef who makes highly‐prized culatello, the “filetto” of prosciutto. Not only will you taste this and other salumi, you will see how it is made and aged. A secretive process, this is a rare opportunity not to be missed! Of course, we’ll relax during a delicious luncheon paired with local wines.
*A private cellar tour and tasting at an award‐winning winery. This is a rare and wonderful opportunity for “Wine Talk” with the experts, discuss the current harvest, best varietals to collect and what vintage is ready for drinking now. During our intimate tastings with this renowned enologist, you’ll be sipping a little bit of history‐inthe‐ making. *Only for us: Exclusive class with Alba’s best Michelin chefs. You’ll learn easy techniques for making their signature Piemontese dishes ‐ these dishes made them famous, garnered a Michelin‐star and are outstanding. Then we’ll have a great dinner paired with wonderful boutique wines ~ a memorable evening “all in the family”. *La Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco d’Alba ‐ Alba’s famous annual White Truffle Fair: During our stay,we’ll meet with experts, good friends of Mary Beth’s, who will help us get the best fresh truffles at reasonable prices. (There’s nothing like opening your refrigerator at home and taking out your own truffle to shave on a delicious dish you’ve just made!) Plus truffle sauces, truffle oils, truffle slicers. *Our very own truffle hunt on acres of wooded private grounds with a professional trifolau and his trained truffle dogs ~ youʹll always remember finding your first white truffle! SAMPLE ITINERARY (This itinerary changes bi-annually because of the bi-annual Slow Food's Terra Madre event and Il Salone Internazionale del Gusto). Torino is included in 2012. For 2012, the difference is we depart Tuesday (not Wednesday) for Alba, stay in Alba for 2 nights then depart Thursday for Torino for Slow Food’s Terra Madre and Il Salone Internazionale del Gusto. BOLOGNA ‐ EMILIA COUNTRYSIDE ‐ BUSSETTO ‐ ALBA ‐ MILANO (*Tour begins in Bologna and ends in Milan)
(Bologna: Course begins Sunday afternoon in Bologna. Departure is from Milan anytime Sunday morning. For your convenience, all transfers during our course are provided by private coach.) DAY ONE - SUNDAY Private Tour of Historic Bologna, Welcome Dinner Check into your hotel in Bologna’s Historic Center. Meeting in your hotel lobby at 3:15‐3:30 p.m., we’ll get acquainted during our 2‐hour Insider’s Walking Tour walking under the medieval porticoes. We’ll visit the Basilica di San Petronio, Piazza Maggiore and many fascinating historic sites. Hearty welcome dinner at Bologna’s best traditional restaurant enjoying their signature dishes. Day Two - Monday Seasonal Harvest in Market, Truffle Tasting, Class with Multi-Course Food-and- Wine Luncheon  October is an exciting time to stroll through our colorful market, shopping for ingredients for our class. Visit the beststores for Italian cookware and tabletop, too. Onto our palazzo and cooking in our professional kitchen withchefs...Ready to learn superb dishes that are guaranteed to win you applause? Exclusive pasta class with our professional sfoglina, Italian pasta chef. Rolling‐out by hand with a traditional matterello is such a extraordinary opportunity! We’ll make pasta and classic Ragu Bolognese for our primo piatto. You’ll cook delicious antipasti, brodo, ragu, a seasonal main dish with vegetables and dolce. Indulge in Our Famous Truffle Tasting of fresh truffles and truffle products. Tips for selection, storage. All part of our exceptional food‐and wine pairing luncheon we make together. Evening at leisure.
Day Three - Tuesday 
More fabulous hands-on cooking making our multi-course luncheon featuring specialties of il mare, local fresh seafood. Together with the chef, we’ll make his extraordinary light gnocchi with seafood sauce, a wonderful main dish and his signature dessert! Late afternoon is perfect for visiting a museum, purchasing some regional goodies to stock in your kitchen. Evening free enjoying Bolognese nightlife or a jazz concert. DAY FOUR - WEDNESDAY  Incredible treats await ~ Exclusively for us ~ Made only in Emilia-Romagna. We’ll see the fascinating production of Parmigiano-Reggiano, how it is traditionally aged for years and taste with the award-winning casaro. A rare opportunity, we’ll meet with one of the few traditional artisan makers of Culatello di Zibello DOP, for a lesson on how it made and aged for one year. Prized for its superior flavor and silken texture, culatello is the “filetto” of prosciutto. Of course, we must taste, so we’ll lunch in the villa and savor every bite of his homemade salumi, breads and wines. Onto Alba, Italy’s premier White Truffle Capital, with the evening free to explore this delightful-and-delicious town. DAY FIVE - THURSDAY It’s La Vendemmia, Harvest Time in Piedmont, such an important time to privately meet enologists at a multiple award-winning winery and taste wines while discussing the harvest. Later, we’ll meet with expert buyers to discuss the current truffle market, best prices for fresh truffles, learn about truffle products and other food specialties of Piedmont.
Exclusive Demonstration Class and Dinner with renowned Michelin-star chefs. They show us how to make signature dishes that made them famous. Dinner is prepared just for us pairing their traditional Piemontese specialties with exceptional wines
DAY SIX - FRIDAY It's truffle hunting time! You’ll go on an exclusive woodland hunt, on private grounds, with our expert trifolau and his dogs, stalking that elusive treasure! Memorable....
Tonight provides a special opportunity — our tasting dinner exclusively for us, pairing luscious specialties of Piedmont with Piedmont’s fine wines from l’antipasti through il dolce.
DAY SEVEN - SATURDAY
We’ll visit the famous White Truffle Fair meeting trifolau, sampling local foods. With her truffle friends, Mary Beth arranges to purchase fresh truffles if you wish to bring some home. In the afternoon, we drive to Milan. Remainder of the day free for browsing trendy fashion shops on Via Monte Napoleone, visiting La Galleria and Milan’s magnificent Duomo.
DAY EIGHT - MILAN - SUNDAY  Morning Free for Sight-Seeing
Browse Sunday Antiques Market, visit museums or see The Last Supper. Noon check out. Buon Viaggio!
* For our meals, if you prefer a beverage other than wine, we are happy to accommodate your taste preference. BOOKING INFORMATION
$4295 — Including First-class hotel accommodations in Bologna, Superior hotels in Alba, Torino and Milan
$4495 — Including Deluxe hotel accommodations in Bologna, Superior hotels in Alba, Torino and Milan Single room supplements: $515 — With First-class hotel accommodations in Bologna
$595 — With Deluxe hotel accommodations in Bologna (Includes hotel single supplement fees for Alba, Torino and Milan.) (Bologna: Course begins Sunday afternoon with departure anytime Sunday morning from Milan.) After availability is confirmed, a US$395 per person non-refundable deposit and the completed and submitted registration form is required to register in the course. Upon receipt of your deposit, we will send you a confirmation, if space is available. Final payment is due in full no later than 75 days before the cooking course begins. *Seven (7) nights' hotel accommodations (double occupancy or single occupancy with supplement) in the Historic Center of Bologna near museums, shopping, the famous outdoor market and restaurants for three (3) nights, in the Historic Center of Alba for three (3) nights and in city’s center of Milan for one (1) night near museums, shopping and restaurants
*All hands-on cooking classes with professional Italian chefs
*International Cooking School binder filled with course recipes and apron
*Daily breakfast, multi-course lunch and dinners paired with Italian wines as specified in the itinerary
*Transportation for private excursions to the Italian countryside and cities described in the itinerary Airfare, personal expenses, and other ground transportation are not included.
For further inquiries or to register, click here.
Click here to return to top of page. CANCELLATION POLICY Please contact us for cancellation policy information. Travel insurance is highly recommended.
CLIENT REMARKS
"Dear Jo-Ann - This tour was one of my top five trips. Mary Beth's knowledge of the history of the region and the people is amazing. Her personal contacts allowed us to experience parts of Italy few get to see. Thanks for a great time."
"This trip surpassed our expectations big time! Mary Beth was very professional and made sure everyone had a good time while showing us different techniques and tips in making and sampling all kinds of different food. All the excursions she took us to were eye-opening and most of them were very exclusive. Everyone had such a good time and we met very fun and enjoyable friends from the trip. It's a trip that we'll never forget! Thanks so much Jo-Ann!"
Click here to return to top of page. MAP* This exciting region is depicted below. You can also access Google MapsTM by clicking HERE. 
*In some cases mapping may give clients a general sense of location due to changes in venue. Please inquire about specific location. Click here to return to top of page. |
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The October Truffle Festival
