Diane De Filipi invites you to “Let’s Go Cook Italian” with Chef Roberto Zanieri at Villa Campestri Olive Oil Resort.Fall 2011 Tour will be from September 17, 2011 to September 23rd, 2011 (6 nights) and from September 24, 2011 to September 30, 2011 (6 nights).

Your private driver will be picking you up at Amerigo Vespucci airport near Florence or at the Central Train Station in Florence. Then, you will be invited to join me and your fellow travellers on the evening of your arrival for dinner at the Villa Campestri Olive Oil Resort where the family will embrace you with their warmth and welcome you with open arms.

Chef Jerry will once again be conducting our 4 unique 2-hour classes, which will commence on the second day of our adventure. Cooking classes will be offered on days two, three, four and five of your stay. Classes begin at 10 am, after you have enjoyed a hearty, traditional Tuscan breakfast.
Your classes will offer you instruction in traditional Tuscan cooking:
 Pastas, Crepes and Sauces
; Tuscan Renaissance Menu
; 4 Course Olive Oil Menu
; Tuscan appetizers.

Each day local farm products are delivered directly to the kitchen of the Villa, creating a farm to table experience. And, yes, Chef Jerry does share with us all of his wonderful recipes, many of which have been handed down for generations within his family. Classes are “hand’s on” under the watchful eye of Maestro Chef Jerry and therefore we allow a maximum of 8 students. There are no restrictions on the number of non-student companions that would like to join us.
Following class each day we will enjoy lunch served to us in the dining room or al fresco overlooking the exquisite Mugello valley. Our menu will be our very own creations from that day’s class! Should you have travelling companions who will not be participating in class they would, of course, be invited to join us for lunch at a pre-fix rate.

This first day of class will be followed in the afternoon by a 2-hour Oleoteca experience, conducted by Paolo Pasquali, the owner of the Villa and our host. Paolo will lead us through the traditional method of creating world class olive oils and, of course, we will participate in a unique olive oil tasting. The extraordinary oils of the Villa are created from the olive groves on the estate.

After lunch, each subsequent day you will be free to stroll the many walking paths of the Tuscan hillsides, travel alone or with new friends from class to the nearby charming towns of Vicchio, or Borgo San Lorenzo, visit the winery roads for tasting the impeccable wines of this region, go to the Ferrari Autodromo for auto or motorcycle events, horseback riding, golf, bicycling, or enjoy the sights and shopping of Florence. The choices are yours each day. On day 6 of our stay our van will pick us up at the Villa following breakfast and take us into Florence for a full day of sightseeing, shopping and dining. Here again, once we arrive in Florence you will be entirely free to explore the masterpieces of this city, the birthplace of the Renaissance.

On the day of your departure your private driver will return you to the airport or train station at a time that is most convenient for your travelling needs.

Sunday August 15th, 2010 starting at 7.30 p.m. – At Villa Resort Campestri Olive Oil a new event about Extra-Virgin Olive Oil & Cous-Cous, Taste of the Ancient Mediterranean… (more…)

Thursday, July 22nd 2010 – 7.30 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. – Imagine a midsummer evening in a Renaissance Villa overlooking the hills of Mugello and a glass of champagne as welcome sipped in company … Imagine a visit to the first Oleoteca in Italy. (more…)

St. Helena, CA, May 12, 2010– As part of a groundbreaking initiative to introduce super-premium olive oil in the United States, The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) recently launched the Oleoteca® Villa Campestri and related OliveToLive restaurant offerings at its Greystone campus in the heart of the Napa Valley… (more…)