GUEST CHEF Mary Berry GUEST CHEF Mary Berry - Tuesday 8th & Wednesday 9th April 2008. price £75 per place or £70 for 2 or more bookings. Mary Berry will be coming back to Cooking with Class in April. I always feel very honoured that she likes to come to us. Mary has lots of friends and fans here in Hereford and so will be here over 2 days. She is understandably very popular so don't delay- book up quickly. See schedule for further details.
New Cooking Class Schedule My current cooking class schedule offers dates up to March 2008. All the dates & topics are here on this site - go to the schedule page for details. A mixture of old friends and new ideas & hope you'll find something to tempt you....... dates now announced for the October 2008 Italian Cooking Week (see below) - sign up to enjoy the skills, charm and talent of Antonio Petruzzi and his colleagues, and also a full range of other activities for the real Italian experience. All the delights and interests of past trips. If you're not already on our mailing list please leave your details here to be sure of getting a copy.
ITALIAN COOKING WEEK Saturday 11th – Saturday 18th October 2008     PRICE - £1200.00 per person An extra charge of £100.00 per person will be made for airport transfer, and all transport during the week, if you would like this.
Our last Cooking Week in Umbria was action packed and so much fun!  We got to know each other whilst making pasta, went to a beautiful chestnut wood with the delightful Lausiana (our mushroom expert) and ate copious quantities of porcini (and truffles) throughout the week. We shopped with our chef for our lesson at Sansepolcro town market and cooked in the wood fired oven. We fitted in a visit to a winery, where we toured the cellars, drove through the vines at sunset and were treated to the most generous tastings of wine and olive oil. We visited a fish market and then had the most sensational fish dinner that night.  We dined at La Taverna in Perugia and I Vecchi Tempi at Santa Maria. We couldn't decide just which meal was best! On top of all this we learnt about local ingredients and cooked a wide variety of dishes, learning from our chef the secrets of Italian cuisine. And believe it or not everyone found time to relax in the garden,  go for a walk or take off in the car to see things farther away.
On the strength of this success we are running another cooking week in Umbria this year, in the beautifully restored farmhouse Belvedere di Prato, situated in the upper reaches of the Tiber valley north of Perugia, just off the E45 dual carriageway and between the market town of Monterchi and the walled medieval Città di Castello (where you'll find Raphael's Creation of Eve).  The party will be limited to a maximum of 10 participants so everyone can  enjoy the surroundings and be fully involved in the cooking and other activities
			Autumn is a beautiful time in Umbria with fresher weather which makes sight seeing more pleasurable. A good time for mushrooming and truffles too. And a great time to get to know Italy and to learn the secrets of its cuisine in beautiful surroundings.
Belvedere di Prato is a gorgeous 3 storey farmhouse set in the midst of farmland with wonderful views of forested hills.  It has typical features of exposed beams and terracotta flooring.  The kitchen, dining room and terrace (with original working bread oven) will be the our hub of our activity, and there are also 2 sitting rooms with fireplaces and a large garden with olive grove, swimming pool and tennis court.  Accommodation (which is sold on the basis of 2 people sharing a room) is in beautifully decorated bedrooms, most with en suite bathrooms.
The week will start with arrival after 5pm Saturday 11th October and end with our departure around 10am Saturday 18th October.  The first Saturday evening will be a chance to relax, meet your fellow students and the chef, and enjoy a magnificent dinner cooked by him. After a relaxed breakfast, lessons will start on Sunday. Our intention is that you will learn a wide range of local and national dishes over the week.  Antonio Petruzzi, a highly talented and charming chef from this area will, as last time, teach most of the classes, assisted by a second chef.  Other classes I will teach. Most days you will work towards preparing and cooking lunch and dinner;  there will also be a market visit to Sansepolcro and a fish market visit in Santa Maria di Angeli, plus a guided fungi foray at nearby Celli.  We will go to a winery near Umbertide and take in two fabulous restaurant meals. And of course the results of your hard work will be enjoyed over long relaxed meals in the dining room or on the terrace at Belvedere.
We are well aware that you are having a holiday too, so I will take you to Assissi and Perugia and there will be time to go off for independent visits to nearby attractions including Sansepolcro, Citta di Castello, Deruta and Torgiano.  Perugia is 40 minutes drive South and the Eurochocolate festival should be on that same week.
TRAVEL & ACCOMODATION  The price for the week includes 7 nights stay, all tuition and meals but not your travel to and from Italy.  Various cheap flights are available & we can point you in the right direction.  We do strongly recommend that you consider hiring a car for extra independence Otherwise arrangements to meet you at Pisa Airport on Saturday 11th and deliver you back there on Saturday 18th , if that would be helpful, can be made. Please be sure to let us know if you would like this option when you book. An extra charge of £100.00 per person will be made for this service. This also includes all transportation during the week.   Accommodation is on a twin share basis.  Some rooms have en suite bathrooms and those that don't have a bathroom very close.
GETTING THERE   Belvedere is situated between the A1 motorway on the west and the E45 dual carriageway to the east and if you are coming independently we'll provide full directions when your booking is confirmed and full payment has been received. You can fly to Perugia (40 minutes south), Florence and Flori (1½  hours away),  Pisa, Bologna, Ancona and Rimini (2¼ hours), Rome (3½ hours) or Venice (4 hours).  If taking the mainline train Rome to Florence, the nearest stop to the house is at Arezzo (30 minutes away).
BOOKING & PAYMENT   Don't delay!!  We need a (non-returnable) deposit of £250.00 per place on booking, and the balance of £950.00 per place not later than 30th June 2008. It is a condition of booking that you have your own adequate travel insurance to cover both your trip itself, and the possibility that you might have to cancel beforehand, so do please make sure you arrange this in good time. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUERIES OR CONCERNS before you make up your mind……  please don't hesitate to phone me on 01432 830185.  It will be a fantastic week: you'll learn so much, and with so much to enjoy and such charming Italian hosts, you can't fail to have a great time! Victoria O'Neill