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| ethical accommodation |
organic tuscany
Join
us on an organic cookery holiday in Tuscany! We'll
visit local organic farms, learn to cook tasty, healthy food using the
freshest organic ingredients and savour the results together, washed down
with delicious biodynamic wine. We
are between Florence and Siena: one of the most beautiful landscapes in
Italy. As
well as seeing stunning countryside, we explore the medieval cities in the
area, and investigate their culinary traditions of great food and wine
through meals and tastings. The
Cooking Week Our
cooking courses are very hands-on. They are taught in English, but you
will acquire a smattering of culinary Italian. Local chefs will guide you
through the preparation of simple but delicious dishes (from Tuscany and
from other Italian regions) and reveal some of their culinary secrets.
Groups are small (maximum 8 people), so that everyone gets a chance to try
their hand at every technique, from making fresh egg pasta dough to
lovingly stirring an artichoke risotto to perfection. You
are free to pick and choose whether you'd like to join in the cooking
school activities on a particular day or not. If you fancy a day
horse-riding, hot-air ballooning or just going to the beach, let us know
and we'll help you do just that.
accommodation:
The
organic cooking course price includes accommodation based on two people
sharing an apartment. Accommodation
is in apartments in typical Tuscan villas or farmhouses ten minutes' walk
from our home, La Selva, where the cooking courses will be held. Some
of the larger apartments are ideal for two couples of friends sharing, or
several singles sharing. They
are all self-catering, so you can have breakfast at your leisure, and when
we are not eating together, try your hand at a dish you learned earlier in
the week, or just prepare a tangy tomato and basil salad to go with local
cheeses and breads. All the apartments have access to a swimming pool.
Certaldo We
are in a little hamlet three miles outside the medieval town of Certaldo.
Certaldo is a little off the usual tour routes, so its charming historic
centre is refreshingly free of tourists. Its claim to fame is that the
author of the Decameron, Giovanni Boccaccio, lived and died there. Forty
minutes away are the unique art towns of Florence and Siena, and half an
hour away is the little medieval gem of San Gimignano (which we can see
from the garden). Tuscany:
for decades the name of the Italian region has evoked the sun playing on
rolling hills covered with vines and olive groves, a stunning backdrop for
trestle tables laden with local wines and delicious fresh food. What
better place in Italy to get away from the crowds, relax and learn to cook
some authentically delicious dishes?
Our
commitment to sustainable travel We
are a small family-run business, and employ local people as instructors on
our courses. In
the vast majority of cases, purchases of goods and services we make are
local. We
seek to promote small organic and biodynamic farms in the area by buying
produce from them, visiting them and eating at their farm restaurants. Our
heating is low carbon wood-fired and our hot water is from solar panels.
All light fittings use low-consumption bulbs and we water the grass with
rainwater. Organic
waste is composted (unless the cats get it first!) and practically all
other waste (plastic, paper, cardboard, tetra-brik, metal and glass) is
recycled. We
are members of the International Slow Food Association who promote food
and wine culture, but also to defend food and agricultural biodiversity. We
are keen to protect the cultural identities tied to food and gastronomic
traditions, to safeguard foods and cultivation and processing techniques
inherited from tradition and to defend domestic and wild animal and
vegetable species. By
taking people to visit local organic and biodynamic farms, promoting their
work and buying produce there, we support their efforts to keep local
products and traditions alive. for
information and bookings: Or
call us From
the UK:(+44) 020 7870 3670 From
the US: (+1) 347 417 5907 email:
info@organictuscany.org
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