Mama Margaret & Friends Cooking Adventures in Italy

Since 1995, I've created and run Italian cooking school tours with my food and wine tour operator colleagues and dear friends, Elio in Piedmont in northwest Italy (since 1995), Raffaella Raspadori and Marcello in Bologna (since 1999) in central Italy and Lara, Franco and Pietro in Sicily (since 2006). We offer tours with set itineraries and custom designed tours in Piedmont, the Riviera, Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Umbria, Le Marche and Sicily.

With us, you immerse yourself in genuine Italian life and get to know a long list of local Italians one on one, from chefs to farmers to winery owners--people you'd never meet otherwise, often in places you'd never find on your own.

Exploring with your local guides, you feel you're travelling with Italian friends to see their favourite places and people. You feel Italian for a week!

Who are Mama Margaret & Friends Cooking Adventures in Italy?

Why travel with us in Italy?

2007 Mama Margaret & Friends Italian Cooking School Tour Calendar

Mama Margaret & Friends Tours with set itineraries

If these set itineraries don't suit you, let us custom design just the Italian cooking tour you want. For food and wine lover travellers and professional chefs.

Sicily: Mt. Etna and The Island of Stromboli

• Cooking, Wine & Volcanoes in Sicily's Mt. Etna and the island of Stromboli. 6 nights, 3 Italian cooking classes, wine visits, 2 walks/hikes in black lava Mt. Etna foothills and picturesque island of Stromboli with an active volcano, outdoor natural mud bath with warm jacuzzi in nearby sea, and sight seeing in Taormina, Etna, Aeolian islands of Stromboli and Vulcano. 2365 Euros per person (approx $3122 US; $3476 CAD).

For accommodations please see www.italycookingschools.com/accommodationsicily.htm

Piedmont, Riviera/ 5 Terre & Tuscany

• Cooking, Wine & Walking Extravaganza Tour in Piedmont's Barolo Wine Country, Cinque Terre/Portovenere & Tuscany's Brunello Wine Country, Italy
  3 regions in 8 days or 2 regions in 5 days. Five Italian cooking classes, many winery visits, walks in three different, beautiful regions. For the food & wine lover who loves both Barolo and Brunello wines & wants to go home weighing the same.

For accommodations please see www.italycookingschools.com/accommodations.htm

Tuscany: Brunello & Vino Nobile Wine Country

• Women Business Owners' Mastermind, Cooking & Wine tour in Tuscany. 6 nights. Sep 26-Oct 2. Stay in beautiful four star villa, four mastermind sessions, two cooking lessons, three wine tastings, explore & shop in pretty hill towns, walk lovely country paths. Go home energized with new ideas to grow your business!
• Cooking & Spa Lovers' Adventure in Tuscany.
  6 nights. Escape to a villa in the beautiful Tuscan wine country hills, pamper yourself 3 mornings at a spa, enjoy Italian cooking classes with 4 local chefs, peaceful country walks, heavenly food, top wines. Good for your soul! You'll feel like a new person!
• Cooking & Wine Lovers' Adventure in Tuscany's Magnificent Brunello Wine Country, Italy
  6 days. 4 Italian cooking classes in restaurants & farm. Wine, olive oil visits so you meet an incredible range of local people and feel immersed in Tuscan life! Optional country walks.
• Cooking & Wine Lovers' Little Indulgence in Tuscany's Magnificent Brunello Wine Country, Italy
  4 days. 4 Italian cooking classes in restaurants & farm. Wine, olive oil visits. A wonderful liitle immersion in Tuscan life!

For accommodations in Tuscany please see www.italycookingschools.com/accommodationtuscany.htm

Piedmont: Barolo & Barbaresco Wine Country

• Cooking & Wine Lovers' Adventure Tour in Piedmont's Fabulous Barolo Wine Country, Italy
  6 days. 4 Italian cooking classes in 4 restaurants. 5 Barolo & Barbaresco winery visits so you enjoy some of Italy's top red wines. White truffles too! Meet a wonderful array of local characters you'd never meet otherwise!
• Cooking & Wine Lovers' Little Indulgence Tour in Piedmont's Fabulous Barolo Wine Country, Italy
  4 days. 4 Italian cooking classes in 4 restaurants. 3 Barolo & Barbaresco winery visits so you enjoy some of Italy's top red wines. White truffles too! Meet a wonderful array of local characters you'd never meet otherwise!
• Wine Lovers' Adventure in Piedmont's Barolo Wine Country:
  Visit and taste at 8 wineries in 4 days, some big, some small, some famous, some not yet famous. Taste many wines right with the producers!
• Turin Marathon & Barolo Wine Country Adventure in Italy.
  8 nights in Turin and the small town of Barolo. Run in the Turin Marathon in April and celebrate your success after in the Barolo wine country. Visit wineries, walk in vineyards and eat in great restaurants.

For accommodations in Piedmont please see www.italycookingschools.com/accommodationpiedmont.htm

Riviera: 5 Terre, Portovenere, Camogli, Rapallo

• Cooking & Mediterranean Adventure Tour on the Beautiful Italian Riviera
  6 days. 3 Italian cooking classes with 2 restaurant chefs. Seafood, herbs, walks, beaches. Explore an incredibly colourful, lovely region, meet the people.

For accommodations on the Riviera please see www.italycookingschools.com/accommodationriviera.htm

The Countryside Around Bologna: Italy's Gastronomic Paradise

• Food Lovers' Little Adventure Tour in Italy's Gastronomic Paradise: The Countryside Around Bologna
  5 days: 2 Italian cooking classes in restaurants, balsamic vinegar,and Parmesan cheese producer.
• Food Lovers' Little Adventure Tour in Bologna
  5 days: 2 Italian cooking classes in restaurants, balsamic vinegar,and Parmesan cheese producer.
• Food Lovers' Adventure Tour in Italy's Gastronomic Paradise: The Countryside Around Bologna
  6 days: 3 Italian cooking classes in Italian restaurants. Cheese, balsamic vinegar, herb, art visits. Food lovers' version of heaven!
• Food Lovers' Adventure Tour in Bologna
  6 days: 3 Italian cooking classes in Italian restaurants. Cheese, balsamic vinegar, herb, art visits. Food lovers' version of heaven!

For accommodations in Bologna please see www.italycookingschools.com/accommodationbologna.htm

Umbria: (no single supplement for this cooking tour.)

• Food Lovers' Adventure in the Green Heart of Italy: Hill Towns in Umbria 4 days. 2 Italian cooking classes in a restaurant and a family home. Olive oil, truffles and winery visits. A wonderful immersion in life in Umbria!
• Food Lovers' Adventure in the Green Heart of Italy: Hill Towns in Umbria 6 days. 4 Italian cooking classes in restaurants and homes. Olive oil, truffles, and winery visits. A wonderful immersion in life in Umbria!

Le Marche: The New Tuscany

• Fish & Wine Lovers' Adventure in Le Marche: The New Tuscany
  6 days, 3 Italian cooking classes in homes, many winery visits, truffle hunt, beach, country homes, medieval hill towns with six residents. Explore an undiscovered region with lots of local people!