knowledge italy & mediterranean islands
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additional courses in Bologna, Tuscany and Puglia.
Motus in Sardinia specialises in person- alised cultural tours of the island. It has a range of foodie holidays on offer, such as “A Weekend of Wine Pleasures” and “Cook- ing Vacation in Sardinia”, which takes in a tour of local fisheries, wine tasting and three cookery classes. Recipes are bound to include pecorino sardo, as this hard cheese is the island’s most famous edible export. The unusual Sardinian bread – very thin, crisp rounds called carta de musica (meaning “music paper”) – is used as a base for many recipes, such as Pane Frattau, which layers the “papers” with tomatoes, egg and cheese.
Mediterranean islands
Your clients can hone their cookery skills with a three-night package at the five-star Masseria Torre Coccaro, booked with Sardatur
T
Italy
Tuscany is probably the most established and popular Italian region for food lovers and culture vultures. Active Gourmet packs a lot into its Tuscan Gourmand week, just one of the 58 gastronomic holidays it operates in Italy. Visit a honey farm, fish for clams, forage for wild herbs and of course learn how to put these ingredients to good use in the kitchen. Guests stay at an Art Deco hotel in the port of Viareggio.
Puglia is gaining ground as a cheaper, more offbeat alternative to Tuscany. It has been called the Saudi Arabia of olive oil since two thirds of Italy’s yield is produced here, so cooks-in-training can expect to use it lavishly in the vegetable-rich regional recipes. Sisters Cinzia and Marika run cooking and wine school Stile Mediterraneo in Lecce. Courses run from one day to four weeks, combining hands-on workshops with excursions to wineries and artisan kitchens. Send clients on Sardatur’s three-night cookery package at the five-star Masseria Torre
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hanks to a sun-drenched climate and bountiful coastal waters, Italy and the Mediterranean islands boast some of Europe’s most celebrated
cuisines, writes Estella Shardlow. Culinary tours
offer visitors the chance to embrace la dolce vita by mastering traditional recipes, tracking down fresh local produce and – most impor- tantly – sampling the fruits of their labour.
Coccaro (from £743) and they’ll learn to make traditional local dishes such as tiella of rice and Apulian pastries.
Sicilian cooking is a fusion of North African, Italian, Greek and Spanish flavours, the legacy of the various cultures that domi- nated the island over past centuries. A week at Love Sicily’s cooking school in the historical centre of Modica involves visits to a biody- namic winery, the chocolate lab of Bonajuto and Mulino Cavallo mill where the Sicilian’s staple durum flour is ground. Meanwhile Flavours cooking school at Villa Sicily in the south-east is conveniently placed among a number of renowned food-producing sites: Pachino for cherry tomatoes, Modica for chocolate and Avola for wine and almonds. Coloured, fruit-shaped marzipan is a Sicilian speciality. The company runs
In Mallorca, Prestige Holidays offers a “Master Chef Experience” package, incorpo- rating a day working alongside head chef Felix Eschrich in the kitchen of Bacchus, the hotel’s Michelin star restaurant. Guests stay at the Relais & Chateaux property, Reads Hotel. Meanwhile, chef Sergio Rifugio has launched Cooking Holidays Mallorca at the Yacht Club Cala d’Or. Master the art of making tapas or tour an olive oil distillery on a day trip.
Based in the popular resort of Bugibba, Solo’s Holidays’ Knights and Temples of Malta itinerary includes a tour and tasting session at the Marsovin wine cellars and a visit to an organic olive and fruit-growing farm. Wine and olives are both celebrated with their own festivals in August and September respectively. Spanish, British, Moorish and Italian influences all make an appearance in the Maltese kitchen, with seafood and stewed or stuffed meat dishes being island favourites.
La Balagne Villages on Corsica are renowned for their “route des sens authentiques” or “Artisan Trail” that visits local honey and cheese producers. Rustic properties on the artisan trail can be booked through Corsican Places. Go in early July, when winegrowers across the island throw open their doors for public tasting and the Luri Wine Festival begins.
CONTACTS
All of the operators featured pay commission ■
stilemediterraneo.it ■
activegourmetholidays.com ■
lovesicily.com
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holidayonthemenu.com
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motusinsardinia.it ■
flavoursholidays.co.uk ■
solosholidays.co.uk ■
prestigeholidays.co.uk ■
corsica.co.uk
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cookingholidaysmallorca.com
Active Gourmet Holidays has 58 gastronomic getaways to Italy on offer
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sardatur-holidays.co.uk
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