Cooking Schools in Italy

In the setting of a Renaissance villa, you can spend an indulgent week learning the nuances of Italian food and wine with cookbook author Giuliano Hazan. He knows his culatello from his prosciutto—after all, his mother is none other than the famed doyenne of Italian cooking, Marcella Hazan. In his weeklong sessions, held in 2008 in the months of June, September and October, the enthusiastic instructor takes small groups of students to source the best ingredients from local markets and artisanal producers, and then gives hands-on training in the villa's kitchen. The five-hour daily classes end with a leisurely multiple-course meal paired with wines presented by the school's wine consultant.

From €2,750 per person, including room and board.

You could take several courses with Flavours Holidays and never tire of the location. That's because this Scotland-based company hosts programs at a variety of private villas and palazzos in Lazio, Puglia, Rome, Bologna, Ravenna, Tuscany and Sicily. The company's Scottish founder, Lorne Blyth, is the real deal, having built her business out of love over the past ten years. In each destination, the small classes are taught by local chefs excited to share their regional specialties with you. Many of them also run their own restaurants. The four- or eight-day long getaways are great for singles, couples, mothers and daughters or groups of friends.

From £799 to £1,499 including room and board and airfare from the United Kingdom. (If you are coming from elsewhere the rate is approximately £150 less).

Back in the 11th century, monks at this abbey in Chianti began planting vineyards. Today, Badia a Colitbuono is a beautifully restored private estate and resort, and a renowned producer of top-quality wines and olive oils. The cooking school was founded more than twenty years ago by the proprietress, Lorenza de' Medici, a culinary celebrity and author. It's the place to learn the art of Tuscan cooking—and sample fine wines to match. The daily, three-day and weekly courses are now taught by Lorenza's son, Guido Stucchi Prinetti, who instructs foodies how to prepare a full meal, from bread to dessert. You'll have to book well in advance to secure a spot in the course held during Siena's renowned Palio horse race in July—all students get a coveted seat in the Piazza del Campo.

Day courses €155; three-day, including room and board from €900; five-day, including room and board from €1,950.

How can you not trust the culinary skills of a jovial Italian woman called Mamma Agata, especially one who early in her career prepared meals for the likes of Fred Astaire, Humphrey Bogart and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis? It's a family affair at Mamma Agata's home on the Amalfi coast: her husband, Salvatore, tends to the organic garden and farm and makes homemade limoncello, and their daughter, Chiara, plays translator and hostess to English speaking visitors. This is not a residential cooking school (we recommend that you stay in the nearby Palazzo Sasso hotel) but it's a place to spend a half-day with Mamma, who welcomes guests for morning cooking demonstrations. She prepares basic but delicious Italian staples, such as eggplant parmesan, spaghetti with tomato sauce, and chicken with herbs and lemon, which everyone then eats for lunch on her terrace overlooking the Mediterranean. Finish off the big meal with some homemade limoncello. For a special romantic evening, you can arrange to have Mamma orchestrate a private dinner served on the terrace at sunset.

€185 per person for a half-day class with lunch and wine.

For a laid-back cooking program that includes several excursions to local villages, produce markets, Chianti vineyards and dinners in local restaurants, book one of the spring or fall courses led by the handsome Chef Valter Roman, also known as the Tuscan Chef. Experienced cooks might want something more intense, as Valter tends to cover traditional basics, but he always has some new tricks to share and occasionally brings in guest chefs such as Alvaro Maccioni of La Famiglia restaurant in London. The six-day residential courses are held at a 17th-century villa with olive groves, or at another spacious and authentic house in Lucca, both with outdoor pools. Are you renting a villa with family or friends in Tuscany this summer? Ask Valter to come over and conduct a private lesson or prepare dinner in your kitchen.

Weekly courses from €2,400 per person, including room and board.