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Where we are

The cooking school is located 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 the regional culinary traditions of great food and wine through meals and tastings.

How to get to the cooking school

We are conveniently placed for both Florence (Amerigo Vespucci) and Pisa (Galileo Galilei) airports (50 minutes or one hour and 15 minutes drive, respectively). It is also possible to get to Certaldo by train from Rome or Milan (around 3 hours, changing in Florence).
If you will already be in Europe, you may also want to consider taking the train to Tuscany. There are often special offers for Paris-Florence trains on Rail Europe. Or make a week with us a part of a longer holiday travelling by train around Italy or Europe-wide, and buy an Inter-Rail pass (available for all ages).

Certaldo

We run the courses from a lovely farmhouse which is a few 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 and tourist traps. 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 (whose towers – which give it the jokey nickname of the Tuscan Manhattan – we can see from the garden).
The hills all around are covered in vines and olive groves, and there are great walks to be taken. Horse-riding is another great way to see the surroundings. The countryside is dotted with charming hamlets to explore, and of course farms and vineyards to visit where you can buy delicious produce and wines.

Map of Tuscany

Explore Tuscany

You can get to Certaldo easily by train from the local airports and from all cities in Italy, but once here, car rental is a must. In Italy, train services between cities are good, but the public transport system in rural Tuscany leaves much to be desired. We do not transport you in a minibus, so you need a car (we can put you in touch with other participants so you can share one, even as a non-driver!) This way you can also explore the area on your own and tailor the week’s cookery holiday programme to your wishes. For example, following your afternoon tour of Siena, you can stay and watch the city empty of tourists and dine at one of the excellent restaurants; alternatively you can explore the stunning countryside on your drive back, then have a dip in the pool and a healthy bite to eat in the garden outside the villa.

What people say about us

5 star ratingAAA+ Holiday Experience! It will be hard to do the experience we had at Organic Tuscany justice with words.....it was that amazing! Every part of the holiday from early on correspondence with Shilpa to having Ricardo greet us while making fresh focaccia for our first dinner and onwards to the full week of cooking and adventures, it was over the top excellence. I could go on and on but the best way is to simply book a trip for yourself and ENJOY!!

passthegravy Avatar
passthegravy
From TripAdvisor
11/04/2018

What a fabulous week ! Just the right amount of classes by great teachers, loads of fun, lovely people to meet , beautiful surroundings and comfy and clean accomodations! Learned loads. We are so happy to have experienced this week at Organic Tuscany :) Thanks Shilpa and Ricardo and team.

Erica Avatar
Erica
From Google
10/22/2018

A fantastic week! Just the right balance of scheduled events (the cooking classes are NOT to be missed!) and free time to explore Tuscany (ask to visit the estate where they make olive oil--just amazing!). The accommodations are lovely and clean, the hosts are friendly and knowledgeable, and their enthusiasm for the region's foods and flavours is infectious. Thank you, Shilpa and Ricardo, for truly making this a dream trip!

Gail Avatar
Gail
From Google
10/21/2018

5 star ratingRight Out of a Foodie Magazine If you are looking for a different way to experience Italy, I recommend Organic Tuscany! What could be more fantastic than a 7-day stay in the hills of Tuscany, complete with cooking courses, lessons in wine and olive oil tasting, tours of neighbouring towns, and "field trips" to an organic vineyard and an estate that bottles its own olive oil? You will think you've stepped into an article from "Gourmet" magazine! Shilpa and Ricardo have assembled a marvelous team of... read more

gailzyd Avatar
gailzyd
From TripAdvisor
10/21/2018
Our cooking week
Prices & calendar
The villa
Our team

Contact us

If you’d like more information about our cooking courses or you are interested in booking a space, you can contact us by email, by telephone or send us a message using the form below.

Call us

If you’d like to speak to us, you can call our UK or US numbers (we answer them from here in Italy!)
from the UK:  0208 144 9164
from the US:  347 410 9690