My daughter and my 3 best friends had the week of our lives! Pat and Paolo were superb hosts and excellent teachers. The amazing hilltop villa and its' surroundings are breathtaking and so tranquil that it makes it an ideal place to "decompress" from busy lives. The cooking class does more than teach you how to cook such wonderful food, it encourages you to "taste" and carry that "novel idea" back to our loved ones at home. Excursions into the historical villages, the witty sidebars about "what really went on", the laughter and rides up and down the winding road to the villa, are memories never to be forgotten. We're going back, again and again and taking our friends and family with us. Romantic for couples and a "MUST" for girlfriends' trips! My body and soul has been nourished!

Over a year ago my friend decided she wanted to go to "cooking school" for her 60th birthday. She asked me, a friend whose normal rule of thumb is to cook with 5 ingredients or less, to go with her and 3 others. It has been my lifelong dream to go to Italy so I jumped at the chance. Clearly my cooking skills need a boost as well!
We spent our first week going none stop in Rome, Capri and Venice. We are so happy that our trip to Tasty Tuscany was at the end of our Italy vacation.
Patrizia picked 5 women and 10 suitcases up at the train station in Pontedera. I had warned her via email that we had shopped a lot before we got to Tuscany so they had taken a seat out of the van to accomidate all of the luggage. :)
The drive up the mountain was like no other...the road winds very quicky in every direction and Pat would honk to let oncoming traffic know we were lumbering up the mountain. It is a one lane road. The beauty of the Tuscan hillside is a wonderful distraction to the winding road.
Pat asked if we had eaten, which we hadn't so provided with us with a lovely lunch of wonderful cheeses, bread and salad to snack on.
We had an "Under the Tuscan Sun" movie viewing before we went to Italy and their Tuscan Farmhouse is similiar to houses you see in the movie. Each room sleeps 2 people and has its own private bathroom and shower. The windows all have shutters on the inside which was great for sleeping and keeping the light out. The windows also opened so we could enjoy the crisp mountain air. The rooms are very clean, a nice size and comfortable.
We ate dinner the first night with the other 2 guests from Florida that had arrived separately, Pat & Paolo and a few of their friends. The food was amazing. Flavors burst into your mouth...fresh herbs and veggies! We learned about their friends' winery and bio-dynamic grape grape growing. They welcomed our questions on the process and their over all culture.
Paolo took us on daily excursions to nearby villages and educated us on the history of the erea. He is a great storyteller and very knowledgeable about the area. Be sure to have your walking shoes. (really the entire time in Italy!)
I wish I had the right words to describe the beauty of the Tuscan countryside. There are mountains, valley's, all types of tree's and farmland, olive groves, vineyards, gorgeous homes and homes that time seems to have forgotten. While still standing after probably hundreds of years the roof might be missing. They stand proud and through the test of time, wars, weather and neglect. It is all part of the beauty and charm of the Tuscan region. It also happened to be fall so trees were changing colors. (Light jackets needed but perfect weather in our minds).
We met the locals in Volterra while shopping or enjoying Ribollita at La Vena Di Vino. A local poet stopped in for lunch and Bruno read us his poem in Italian. (it was beautiful even though we didnt understand a word of it!). It was about the town, Volterra. Another local stopped in who happened to be a musician and quite the character. He fit in well with our group!
We stopped at an Olive Mill and Paolo explained the process and gave us a tour.
Every day we ate amazing food and enjoyed the company of our hosts, Pat and Paolo. They were so accomidating and generally kind people.
Pat is so patient when teaching us her mouth watering recipes. She also put up with me snatching pictures of everything we made and ate! I love that she nick-named me "Lady Marion" clearly for the lack of my culinary skills. I am aware and accepting of this fact!
She has such a cute sense of humor and we all enjoyed learning how to make new dishes. It really is more fun to cook with friends and wine!
Paolo took 3 of us with him to Tango one night. We loved seeing the passion the locals have in their love of Tango. 2 of us even tried it out....one unwillingly I might add. (Sorry Paolo for stepping on your toes!) It was an experience I never would have had so thank you Paolo for educating us and the demo dance. I promise to never attempt it again! :)
Certaldo is the place one should run away to write a novel. It is surreal looking at my pictures of this historic place.
Florence was a bit of a whirlwind. The guide had a bit faster pace than the rest of us but seeing the real Statue of David is something I will always remember. The intricate detail in all of the art and architecure in Italy is nothing less than amazing considering how old everything is there.
Patrizia took us to an open market which was great. It was a farmers market and flea market all in one. You can buy boots and pork ribs all in the same place!
Tasty Tuscany farmhouse has GORGEOUS views. I have had people comment that my photos look like paintings. I can't wait to go back in the spring someday. Paolo said it is "like another planet" when everything is in bloom.
We wanted for nothing and left feeling like we had seen and done a months worth in a week..yet still rested. We gathered in the living room in the evenings with fireplace roaring to read and share stories.
If you are looking for a formal cooking school, this isnt for you. If you are looking to learn how to cook scrumptious Tuscan/Medeterranian food, relax with friends/family, enjoy their culture and history...and make new friends
then Tasty Tuscany is the place to go. We ate...we prayed...and we loved every minute at Tasty Tuscany! (yes, corny...but true!).
I could go on and on about the wonderful place/people and time we had but you need to experience it on your own. ;)
Thank you Patrizia, Paolo and "the girls" for everything you did to make us feel at home during our stay.

We just returned from a wonderful trip to Europe and the highlight was our week at Tasty Tuscany. The entire week was so well organized and they were very accommodating. We all wanted to see Pisa and Paolo had no issues changing the schedule to allow that. Pat is such a fine teacher and cook and was very patient with us as we learned. The intimacy of sitting down to dinner with Pat and Paolo added to the entire experience.
They kept us busy and still we had time for nice walks around the area on most days.
We higher recommend this wonderful place

My wife and I took the train from Firenze to Pontedera. Paolo picked us up and drove us into rural Tuscany. Down the highway, into a smaller road, then a turnoff into a very small road, then a gravel road… finally reaching a lovely hilltop villa, Podere Poggio.

It’s a working farm surrounded by olive orchards, with 4 guest rooms for a maximum of 8 guests at any time. We were lucky to visit in the quietest week of their season. Just my wife and I, and an Irish Aussie (Hi Frank!)

Each morning Paolo took us out on excursions to fascinating destinations off the usual tourist path. An excellent tour guide, able to inform about not only the ‘what’ but the ‘why’ of local history, all against the minivan soundtrack of tango music… (Paolo – we had a dinner party with the recipes we learned and, even though it’s not Italian, put on tango music!)

Afternoons gave us a couple of hours of time off, then into the cooking. Patrizia showed us a fun time with some excellent recipes that we have duplicated after our return, to rave reviews.

Our room was very comfortable. The best kind of aircon; windows and shutters that open to allow the welcome evening breezes. Each morning the sound of the hermit monk’s tolling bell from across the way. WiFi very limited – to an area out there in the garden… That was good-forced me to get out of my emails, but still available to allow Skype calls home.

An excellent value when you consider that lodging, tours, and food are all included. It is not an air conditioned hotel with room service and a shopping area nearby. But if you can deal with a quiet villa in a beautiful rural location with real people, and you enjoy cooking or eating good Italian food – this is for you!