Tuscan Cooking Class in Central Siena

Lela (chef/owner) was the highlight of our Tuscany vacation. We're cooks but Lela is passionate about Tuscany food and even the Etruscan culinary history of the region! She explained to us nuanced techniques of roasting and elements of it's resting, ie not just let the roast sit, but how to test it without cutting it to make sure it's properly cooked! We made our own Siena pasta, rolled by hand in an delicious, fresh tomato sauce that had only perfect, cherry size local tomatoes that was so sumptuous we can't wait to make it at home! Our first course was totally amazing! A cheese tart that was more souffle than tart, made with fresh, Piezo Picorino cheese and a roux that was fabulous. Truly the highlight of our vacation. We'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Francesco did an excellent job explaining not only how to prepare the meal but with general cooking. The food was delicious. We can’t wait to try to cook it at home.

My wife and I took the tuscan cooking class with Lella and absolutely loved it! It was one of the highlights of our vacation to Italy. Highly recommend making this part of the itinerary. Truly memorable experience.

Overall the class was okay and the setting was beautiful. Main problem was that the written recipes we were given did not match what the chef prepared in several cases. (For example we had a recipe for a white cheese sauce over the fresh pasta but the chef prepared a tomato sauce.) We met some great people and had a good time but as far as taking away recipes we'd make again that was kind of lacking.

This was our first cooking class ever and to have it right in Siena it self, WOW!! The food was great and I know that a couple in our party of 6 have already cooked these same recipes at home with much success! My only negative was the delay in translation. English was not a strong option for our instructor. Other wise all was great and we will certainly consider having this type of experience again!

My boyfriend and I attended this cooking school last week - 4pm-8pm with four course meal. We were a little late to start the class because of a large family who were on the fence about joining. This was a bit annoying but our teacher decided to start anyway... so we ended up a private lesson for two and had the recipes altered / technicality increased! We made a traditional Italian soup for starter, which was less to my taste, then pasta - a must-do in Italy, followed by steak and deep fried courgette flowers, delicious almond based biscuits for desert. Added extras such as bruschetta were given to us likely because we were just two, and all was served with a bottle of Tuscan wine. Excellent evening and great memories.

We had a great time in this class and Julie and Francesco were our teachers. We made a soup, potatoes, pasta, pasta sauce, pork tenderloin stuffed with herbs and Almond cookies. All of the food was amazing and the group participants were a lot of fun. We each had a turn to chop, stir, mix or help in some way, and we each made our own pasta. I would recommend it and will probably do it again if I am ever in Siena!

An excellent way to introduce yourself to the local cooking techniques. We had Francisco as the chef and Julie as translator. Our class only had four people so it was quite intimate. This activity beats going into another church, which are beautiful. Take the four hours and learn something and then enjoy your meal. What a bonus. DON'T miss this class. My wife is the non cooker and absolutely loved it. Don't hesitate it will give you a life experience that you won't stop talking about.

Amazing. This was so much fun and the meal we prepared was among the the best we had in our 2 weeks in Italy.

This was a great way to spend an evening - meeting new friends, learning a bit of Tuscan cooking and then eating what you learned. Lelle, Julie and Francisco did a nice job teaching and entertaining.