An Unforgettable Experience in a Tuscan Home Kitchen
I am a born and bred Tuscan home cook: I learnt to cook thanks to my grandma, and to feed the people I love thanks to my mum. I’ve been writing professionally about Tuscany for 10 years, teaching classes for more than 12 years and cooking for all my life, standing on a stool in the kitchen next to my grandma and mum.
You’ll visit my family house in the Sienese countryside. Here, you will roll up your sleeves and wear an apron, as you will learn traditional recipes passed down from generations and sit for a family-style meal. My husband Tommaso will take care that your glass is never empty and he will gladly share our homemade limoncello.
Choosing a class with us means escaping for a day to the slower-paced countryside, far from the charming buzz of big, touristic cities. Slow down and be ready to live a day as a local: hearty homemade food is included.
Every meal will be an excuse to travel through Tuscany thanks to local recipes, memories and stories.
Choose your FOOD EXPERIENCE
Market to Table Cooking Class
A market visit is a shortcut to discovering a country’s culture and food traditions.
In the early morning, we will meet for an Italian breakfast at a local café: we will get to know each other chatting over a selection of pastries, and enjoying a cappuccino, espresso, or macchiato.
Then, we will shop together at the local market for fruit and vegetables, and we will visit the local butcher. This will give us the chance to create the menu together, picking just the freshest local ingredients. You will learn how to choose and use the best seasonal products.
After the market, we will drive to our kitchen studio in the countryside, where we will cook together a Tuscan seasonal feast, working on a traditional menu, from appetizers to desserts.
The class will end with lunch, that according to the weather, will take place in our olive garden or in the studio.
Class Highlights
- Italian-style breakfast at the bar
- Shopping at the market and at the butcher
- Half-day hands-on cooking class
- A relaxing Italian-style lunch, with local wine (and homemade limoncello to end!)
- One Juls’ Kitchen apron to bring home with you, to remember Tuscany when you cook
- An uncountable amount of fun and laughter in the kitchen
Price: €180 per person (includes 22% VAT)
Tuscan Country Cooking Class
A half-day hands-on cooking class in the Tuscan countryside.
We’ll meet in the morning in our kitchen studio, located in our family house in the Tuscan countryside.
The menu is market-inspired, based on the season’s offerings, We will cook a full meal from scratch, from appetizers to dessert, using only the freshest seasonal ingredients. Every dish will be introduced by a family story or a local tradition. You will learn to cook as Tuscan grandmothers and mums do every day in their kitchens for their families. It will be a chance to get to know better local ingredients and to work on your kitchen repertoire adding reliable Tuscan recipes.
Curious about fresh pasta? We’ll make it together from scratch.
The class will end with lunch, that according to the weather, will take place in our olive garden or in the studio.
Class Highlights
- Half-day hands-on cooking class
- A relaxing Italian-style lunch, with local wine (and homemade limoncello to end!)
- One Juls’ Kitchen apron to bring home with you, to remember Tuscany when you cook
- An uncountable amount of fun and laughter in the kitchen
Price: €160 per person (includes 22% VAT)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Masterclass
An immersive masterclass to appreciate the culture of extra virgin olive oil and learn how to pair and cook with one of the quintessential Italian ingredients.
This class is designed in partnership with Dievole, a charming wine resort in the Chianti Classico area, that also produces excellent extra virgin olive oil.
We’ll meet in the morning in our kitchen studio, located in our family house in the Tuscan countryside.
We’ll delve into the culture of extra-virgin olive oil, talking about the different Italian olive tree cultivars, and the best way to store and enjoy extra-virgin olive oil. We will taste a selection of the finest Italian extra virgin olive oil produced by Dievole, and we will learn how to pair them with food.
We will create and cook a whole menu from scratch based on the season’s offerings, pairing each dish with a specific extra virgin olive oil, from appetizers to desserts.
The class will end with an aperitivo and a lunch, that according to the weather, will take place in our olive garden or in the studio.
Class Highlights
- Immersive extra virgin olive oil talk and extra virgin olive oil tasting
- Half-day hands-on cooking class
- An aperitivo with a selection of the best Italian extra virgin olive oils, cruditées, and tasty tidbits
- A relaxing Italian-style lunch, with local wine (and homemade limoncello to end!)
- One Juls’ Kitchen apron to bring home with you, to remember Tuscany when you cook
- A discount to purchase Dievole extra-virgin olive oil
- An uncountable amount of fun and laughter in the kitchen
Price: €220 per person (includes 22% VAT)
Tailored Cooking Class
A private course to share with your family and friends.
An experience designed for larger groups and available on reservation. Contact us to organize a class with a tailor-made menu, full of seasonal surprises, to share with your group of friends.
After the class, you’ll sit down at the table and enjoy the delicious food we have made together.
Class Highlights
- Designed for larger groups, 4 to 8 guests
- Half a day hands-on cooking class
- A relaxing Italian-style lunch, with local wine (and homemade limoncello to end!)
- One Juls’ Kitchen apron to bring home, to remember Tuscany when you cook
- An uncountable amount of fun and laughter in the kitchen
Price: From €200 per person (includes 22% VAT)
A photographer can be hired for the day to capture the most significant moments of the class
FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions
Location: the countryside of Colle di Val d’Elsa
Venue: Juls’ Kitchen Studio
Starting time: 9:00 am (8.30 am for the market class)
Duration: approx. 6 hours (including the final lunch)
Number of participants: minimum 2 – maximum 6
Classes are available on Wednesday.
Contact us for longer cooking experiences.
Since we are in the countryside, you’ll need a car – or a driver – to fully enjoy the class.
You’ll join a group of enthusiast food lovers. You’ll meet strangers from breakfast and by lunchtime, you’ll have new friends. We will still keep this a small party, though – not more than a total of 6 people will attend the class – as we like to have everyone involved in the cooking part.
If you are part of a bigger group, contact us to verify the availability for a class.
Yes, it is suitable for children of all ages.
We will prepare dishes that will delight both young and adults.
Children up to 5 years old join for free.
These are just a few options, menus will vary according to your preferences and the season. If you opt for the market class, we’ll choose the menu together during the morning shopping.
Appetisers: Cheese board with homemade jam, local charcuterie board, chicken liver crostini, fried sage leaves or fried zucchini blossoms, chickpea cake, seasonal bruschetta, homemade focaccia, stuffed grilled peppers, prosciutto e melone, panzanella.
First Course: Fresh homemade pasta like tagliatelle, tagliolini or maltagliati, stuffed pasta like tortelli or ravioli, hand pulled pici, lasagne, pillowy potato gnocchi. The first course will be served with a seasonal dressing. If you prefer, risotto or a seasonal soup such as pappa al pomodoro or ribollita can be prepared instead of pasta.
Main Course: Roasted pork loin, roasted turkey breast stuffed with prosciutto and cheese, beef meatballs, veal involtini with cheese and prosciutto, beef stew, fried Tuscan chicken, chicken cacciatora, veal carpaccio, fried cutlets stewed in tomato sauce, omelette in tomato sauce.
Side dishes: Roasted seasonal vegetables, grilled vegetables, vegetable stews, fresh salads and rich flans.
Desserts: Almond biscotti, zuppa inglese, olive oil cake, ricotta crumb cake, olive oil apple cake, chestnut cake, pastry cream, mascarpone cream with wine poached pears, fresh fruit salad.
Tuscan cooking is simple and essential, so the quality of the ingredients we use is paramount. We only use Italian extra virgin olive oil for cooking, and a favourite local extra virgin olive oil for dressing: we’ll have the chance to taste it together. We use Italian stone ground flour for our pasta, bread and focaccia.
Fruit and vegetables. We buy seasonal fruit and vegetables at our local market. It’s our favourite ingredient, as we take pride in showing you how delicious vegetables can be when local, in season, and doused in extra virgin olive oil. When in season, we will use herbs and vegetables from our vegetable garden.
Meat. We buy meat at our local butcher. It’s an interesting and fun experience, so we hope you can join us on our market tour. They have local organic beef and veal, free-range pork, chicken and turkey. At the butcher, they also make and cure their own charcuterie products: fresh and dried sausages, prosciutto, salame, crumbly finocchiona with fennel seeds, cured pork cheek, and pancetta.
Fish. Fish recipes are not as typical as meat ones in the hills of Tuscany, though when we go to the market we’ll also have the chance to buy fresh fish from the fishmonger stall. We’ll prefer local and sustainable fish such as sardines, anchovies, mackerels, sea bream, sea bass, clams and mussels.
Yes, vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options are available on request. Don’t hesitate to contact us regarding your dietary requirements.
Unfortunately, our classes are not suitable for gluten allergy.
Yes, we can tailor the cooking class to your dietary restrictions.
However, in the kitchen, we cannot guarantee that foods are not contaminated. Some foods may still contain traces of allergens.
We can cater for gluten free diets, but unfortunately, this class is not suitable for gluten allergic people.
Please mention your allergies when you book the cooking class.
The cooking classes are held in our Kitchen Studio, located, in a traditional country house in the heart of the Tuscan countryside, between Siena and Florence. You’ll meet my family, our dogs Noa and Teo, and our cats Wolfi and Pelù, and if the weather is good you’ll get the chance to eat outside in our garden underneath the olive trees.
Since our Studio is located in the countryside, you’ll need a car – or a driver – to fully enjoy the class. A private driver can be arranged on request for pick-up and drop-off (price not included).
We are one hour from Florence and about 30 minutes from Siena. Many of the best tourist destinations in Tuscany such as San Gimignano, Montalcino, Volterra, Pienza, Lucca, Montepulciano and Greve in Chianti are very close to us. We always give our guests the very best directions so they can locate us easily. We’re on Google Maps, too.
Stay Hungry with our Newsletter!
If you’re planning your visit to Tuscany, sign up for our newsletter so you’ll start hungering for new recipes, traditions, places to visit, best gelato to try and much more.
Letters from Tuscany is an anchor to Italy, to the Italian table and our loud conviviality, a reason to experiment with less known ingredients, and the voice of a friend in the kitchen.
Reserve your best FOOD EXPERIENCE in Tuscany
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
27 | 28 | 29 March 2023Market Class: 2 spots left 29 | 30 | 31 |
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | |||||
3 | 4 | 05 April 2023Market to Table: 2 spots left 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
24 | 25 | 26 April 2023Market to Table: 4 spots left 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
Check the availability and send us an email through the contact form below.
Note: free time slots will be booked quickly. Reservations are taken first come first serve, so early bookings are strongly advised. We update the calendar manually, so apologies for any delay!
If you wish to be added to the waiting list, just send us a message through the form below.
