7 Day Italian Cooking Holiday with Giuliano Hazan in Verona
Hands-on Cooking Holidays in Italy with Giuliano Hazan
Giuliano and Lael Hazan together with Marilisa Allegrini invite you to join them at their cooking school in Italy for a week of total immersion in Italian food, wine, and life. A limited number of students will participate in a week of intensive hands-on classes taught by Giuliano Hazan. We will make homemade pasta, risotto, meats, local fish, vegetables, and desserts. Each 5-hour class concludes with dinner in classic style composed of the several courses prepared during the class. Each class will also include presentations by Marilisa Allegrini on the major wine producing regions of Italy. The wines discussed, both from the Allegrini vineyards and other distinguished Italian producers, will accompany the meals.
Meet the instructors
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Highlights
- 4 hands-on cooking classes
- Enjoy participating in wine seminars
- Culinary field trips in the Veneto and beyond
- Visit an ancient rice mill where rice for risotto is produced
- Visit a frantoio to see how olive oil is being made
- Experience a seafood cookery in Sirmione
- 6 nights accommodation
- Daily breakfast
Accommodation
You will be spending six nights at the Renaissance Villa della Torre, where stupendous luxury rooms have been created in 2015. The entire structure revolves around the courtyard or Peristyle, the true "heart of the house". As in the "domus antiqua" or ancient Roman house, it welcomed a host of elite guests eager to experience the best of humanist leisure activities, such as poetry, music, classical literature, and the contemplation of nature.
Program
Culinary excursions
We will visit a rice mill where rice for risotto continues to be processed the way it was in 1648. We shall travel to medieval Sirmione on the southern shore of Lake Garda to experience a seafood cookery that epitomizes the exquisite, light-handed traditions of the lake. The olive oil from the Veneto is perhaps Italy's most elegant and we will visit a frantoio where it is made. We will also spend a day outside the Veneto to witness the making of Parmigiano-Reggiano and to taste the rare culatello, an air-cured ham that is even more prized than prosciutto.
Day 1, Sunday
- 19:15 Meet in the atrium of Villa della Torre for a get-acquainted and welcome reception.
- Dinner will be at one of the top restaurants of the Valpolicella region.
Day 2, Monday
- 09:45 Meet in the atrium for a tour of the Allegrini vineyards. Today, you will learn how Amarone is made and you will visit the winery.
- We will have lunch at Villa della Torre and savor the specialties of the Allegrini family.
- 17:00 Cooking lesson number 1.
Day 3, Tuesday
- 08:30 Depart for Padova.
- Enjoy a tour of the food market in Piazza Erbe, in the heart of the city. This is one of the region's most colorful and abundant fruit and vegetable markets.
- Lunch will be at one of our favorite restaurants in Verona, featuring typical Veronese cuisine.
- 18:00 Cooking lesson number 2.
Day 4, Wednesday
- 09:15 Depart from the villa to visit a traditional rice mill, in operation since 1648. There, you will see how rice for risotto is processed both with modern equipment and with the original mortar and pestle system.
- We will then go into Verona where we will have a guided tour of the city.
- Lunch is on your own.
- Transportation will be provided back to the villa.
- 16:00 Cooking lesson number 3.
Day 5, Thursday
- 07:45 Today, we leave the Veneto to go to the region where Parmigiano-Reggiano is made. Parmigiano-Reggiano is considered one of the world's great table cheeses. We will visit one of the many caseifici where it is made and aged.
- We will then proceed to the banks of the Po River to see the production of culatello, a cured ham that is rarer and more precious than prosciutto. Massimo Spigaroli, president of the consortium of culatello producers, will give us a tour of his facility, where his family has been making this ham for centuries.
- Lunch will be at his restaurant, Cavallino Bianco, where we will sample the traditional dishes of the region.
- We return to the villa late in the afternoon and the evening is free.
Day 6, Friday
- 09:15 Depart from the villa to visit a frantoio, an olive press of the area. We will learn how olive oil is made and what makes it "extra virgin".
- Afterwards, we will drive to Sirmione, a jewel of a town on the Lake of Garda.
- Lunch will be at one of the finest restaurants on the lake.
- 18:00 Cooking lesson number 4 with distribution of diplomas to those deserving.
Day 7, Saturday
- Following breakfast, proceed to check-out and then depart.
Included excursions
- Allegrini vineyards and winery
- Culatello production
- Historical rice mill
- Lake Garda
- Parmigiano factory
- Traditional food market
- Traditional olive oil press
Instructors
Giuliano Hazan
Giuliano Hazan and his wife Lael will be your hosts for the week’s activities. Giuliano Hazan is one of the foremost authorities on Italian cooking. He has published five cookbooks that have earned him a James Beard Award nomination and the World Cookbook Award for Best Italian Cookbook in the English Language. In 2007 the International Association of Culinary Professionals named him Cooking Teacher of the Year.
Marilisa Allegrini
Marilisa Allegrini is her family’s ambassador at large. She regularly presents the wines of her native Valpolicella, and introduces audiences to the terroir from which they spring at stellar events throughout the United States and Europe. Allegrini’s Amarone, La Poja, and Recioto Giovanni Allegrini have all been recipients of Italy’s prestigious “Tre Bicchieri” award. You will be the beneficiary of a behind the scenes winery tour - not available to the general public - guided by Marilisa Allegrini.
Location
This retreat will take place in Verona's wine country, at Villa della Torre in Valpolicella, Italy.
Features
Activities
- Cooking classes
- Wine tasting / tour
General
- Fireplace
- Garden
Services
- Tour assistance
- Wedding
Food
You will enjoy classic Italian cuisine of the highest level accompanied by the best Italian wines.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
What's included
- 4 5-hour hands-on cooking classes
- 4 dinners
- 5 restaurant meals outside the class
- 6 nights accommodation
- All field trips, with transportation in a deluxe chartered bus
- Daily breakfast
- Wine seminars
What's not included
- 1 dinner
- 1 lunch
- Transportation to and from Villa della Torre
How to get there
Arrival by airplane
The nearest airport to the location is Verona Villafranca Airport (VRN).
Arrival by train
The nearest train station is Verona Porta Nuova.
Arrival by taxi
You can take a taxi from the airport to Villa della Tore.
Distances
- Verona Villafranca Airport (VRN) - 20 minutes
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 30% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.
For this organizer you can guarantee your booking through Tripaneer.com. All major credit cards supported.