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| No matter what the age of your child, cooking is a great way to spend precious quality time together. No child can resist the urge to please their parents, and what a fun surprise they will have when they learn to cook and appreciate simple and delicious meals the whole family will love. |
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July 19-26, 2008 - Cost: $3,200.00
per adult person Double Occupancy,
Exclusive of Airfare and car rental |
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Cost: $1,200.00 - per child ages 6-14
shared accommodation |
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7 Nights Lodging at Villa |
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All Meals & Unlimited Wine at Villa |
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Hands on Pasta Making with Donatella |
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Visit to Local Cheese Farm |
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Horseback Riding & Lunch Day |
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Artisan Bread Making and Pizza Tour |
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Chianti Wine Tour (Adults) |
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On staff Children's Activities Director |
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Children's Art Walk & Museum |
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Hands on Cooking Lessons for Children & Adults |
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 Forget pulling a rabbit out of a hat! Nothing is more magical than the look on a child’s face when they watch vine ripe tomatoes become pizza sauce before their very eyes.
Your children will learn the basics of reading a recipe, picking out the fresh ingredients and about the importance of "mise en place" (putting everything called for in order, ready to assemble). We will review numbers and concepts used in measuring, and meet the farmers and artisans who produce their wares.
But most of all, we will have fun in and outside the kitchen! How proud your budding gourmet will be when they serve you food they made themselves.
 Rise and shine, its market day. We'll gather around the breakfast table with coffee (for the adults) warm pastries; homemade jams and fresh squeezed orange juice, and discuss the meals of the day. Kids will plan the meal, list the key ingredients and create the list, with the help of Laura. Then, it's off to market where the scavenger hunt ensues!!
You and your family will have a ball plumping and squeezing your way through the market stalls in search of the evening's dinner ingredients!
While you will be treated to a week of delicious Italian pastas, meats, sauces, fish and produce, all admittedly delicious, no true Italian meal is complete without the dessert. We'll make everything from tiramisu to fruit pies.
One day we visit to learn about the other Italian specialty-- gelato!
Did you know that gelato has significantly less butterfat than ice cream's typical 18 and 26 percent? Armed with this information, we at Vagabond Gourmet say, "a gelato a day keeps the mind at play"!
Our friend Donatella joins us for a hands-on lesson in pasta making and lunch. No pasta machines here! Donatella will demonstrate hand-made pastas, sauces and baking.
Fortunately for the adults late spring is the season for artichokes, strawberries, asparagus, squash blossoms and arugula. Our lessons will appeal to the taller chefs as well. Delicious Tuscan favorites will include how to prepare Classic Ribollitta with Baked Cheese Crust; Risotto with Asparagus, Shaved Crete Senesi Pecorino and Truffle "Salsa;" Osso Bucco with Black Truffle Gremolata & Saffron "Strozzapretti; and The "Torta" Pasta Pie Layered with Homemade Sausages, Ham, Mushroom Tortellini Cheese, Pine Nuts and Spices. Just to name a few!
While the kids are having a ball with our onsite activities director, we've planned some outings for the moms and dads too (and older kids if they choose to come). The towered city of San Gimignano is most of Tuscany's most charming villages and another treasure trove of gourmet shops and delicious discoveries. The frescos at the Museo della Collegiato are nearly worth the trip. And if you haven't already bought enough goodies to take home try the balsamic or hot chili chocolates from the candy shop.
Tuscany is home to some of the finest wine in the world. The richness of the sun baked soil produces millions of gallons of wine and countless wineries. We've selected two of our favorites for a special day along the Chianti wine road while the kids have their own plans.
Our activities director has many things up her sleeve visiting local farms, arts & crafts, candle making, movies and a week-long scrapbook project that culminates in a 'show' for parents and a souvenir that you take home to remember us by.
For swimmers, a dip in the sparkling pool is always refreshing and a good way to pass a summer afternoon.
Visiting a nearby cheese producer we get to meet the animals and learn more about where our food comes from.
For years a local riding stable has worked with children and young people using qualified instructors who teach kids the love of horses. This family run estate is scheduled for us one morning and has a great rustic restaurant for lunch after a morning of play.
Of course the highlight of all our trips is the food and there is nothing more fun than our family style banquets around a large table or out by the barbeque. Laura has an apron full of mouth watering recipes that will please kids and parents... Some nights, the meals will be served by the children to their great pleasure.
Local wine included in all meals for the adults; Juice and water available for the kids.
The estate consists of a large comfortable farmhouse villa with several sitting areas, two huge wood fire places in the dining room and living rooms. The bedrooms are furnished with classic Tuscan furniture, armoires, queen sized beds and the bathrooms are new with showers and dressing mirrors.
 The house has been carefully restored to its original style of elegance and grace however, special care has been given to modern comforts. Satellite television, telephone a laundry room and swimming pool are among these.
Several of the large bedrooms have room for a child’s bed, one has a connecting suite with a sofa bed, and there are connecting rooms with bunk beds and an additional play room in the dependence.
We've done our best to look at things from your point of view; we've tried putting ourselves in the position of parents, travelling with children. To have fun and really enjoy a vacation you need the ingredients that will make it special and unique. A rich experience that they will be able to treasure over time, tucked away in a corner of their minds, a place for keeping memories of scenery, flavors and new cultures. We hope to share that with your family this summer.
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