Who Is Mama Margaret Italian Cooking Holidays?

Margaret Cowan
Heather Snedden
Elio Sabena
Marcello Tori & Raffaella Raspadori
Lara Mansfeld

Margaret Cowan

Mama Margaret in Vancouver, BC Canada

I'm Margaret Cowan, also known as "Mama Margaret". Since 1995 when we ran our first cooking, wine and walking tour in Piedmont, I've owned my cooking tour company, "Mama Margaret & Friends Cooking Adventures in Italy". I work with local Italian cooking tour partners who are now my friends: Elio and his guides in Piedmont for our Piedmont, Riviera and Tuscany tours, Marcello and Raffaella in Bologna for our Emilia-Romagna, Umbria and Le Marche tours and Lara and her team in Linguaglossa near Mount Etna for our Sicily tours. I just love creating new Italy travel adventures for food lovers. I love seeing clients on our tours so happy, slowing down to an Italian "joy of life" pace, laughing and getting immersed in Italian life with our cast of fun loving local characters and having the time of their lives with friends or family they really care about.

Italy Cooking School Tour Guide Writer

From 1995 to 2001, I wrote a guide to cooking school tours and classes in Italy, "Your Guide to 133 Decadent Cooking Holidays in Italy".

Italy Travel Expert and Cooking Tour Inspector

I've been travelling to Italy since 1972, lived in Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast for three years, speak Italian and now go to Italy twice a year, so I can give you first hand advice so you enjoy your trip to the max in my "second country".

During my guide book days, I visited about 40 cooking school holiday programs in Italy from north to south, so I can advise you well on choosing the best cooking tour in Italy for you.

I was also a client on three cooking tours in Tuscany and Sicily and have led our own Italy cooking and wine tours in Piedmont, Riviera, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria and Sicily with my Italian friends. I understand what different styles of holidays are like from a participant's point of view.

Many Lives, Many Loves

Born in beautiful Vancouver, BC, Canada, I live here in an apartment overlooking the sea. I graduated from the University of B.C. with a B.Comm. and a Master of Adult Education. I taught English as a Second Language to adults for 11 years so I know what a good class looks like.

Some of my favourite life experiences? Selling sweaters outdoors in Florence's San Lorenzo market, travelling by dog sled in the Arctic to dine and sleep in an igloo for a January night, riding a camel and camping in the Sahara for 3 nights in Tunisia, and teaching in job training programs I ran for immigrant women so they got jobs in Canada.

At home in Vancouver I love walking by the sea, hiking, sharing good times with good friends, writing and telling all too true, poignant but funny stories, dancing, public speaking, going to movies and plays that reveal lives different from mine in heartfelt or humorous ways, new adventures in new places, meditating, and reading biographies of feisty people, love stories, personal growth and business development books.

Heather Snedden

Heather Snedden in Vancouver, BC

Ciao! I'm Mama Margaret's assistant. I handle some tour sales for Mama Margaret and look after all the cooking tour details for our clients and all the paper work that goes along with it. I'm responsible for the web site updates, and any computer work that needs to be done. I take care of the business when Mama Margaret travels and do anything else Mama Margaret dreams up. I have a Bachelor of Business Economics from Brock University. My past jobs were in sales, marketing, and I even dabbled in the music industry as a band manager. I learned at an early age that I am good at promoting what I'm passionate about and I love to travel. I've travelled in Canada, United States, Italy and Egypt. My personal mandate is to travel outside BC at least once a year.

I've written my destinations list of where I want to travel to the most. My next big trip is to Peru. The trip will include the Galapagos Islands and a hike to see Machu Picchu. I took a month long tour of Italy in 2005 and I can't wait to go back.

I enjoy helping fellow travellers to plan and organize their cooking tours to Italy!

Elio Sabena

Elio & Mama Margaret in Barolo, Italy

Elio Sabena heads Associazione Trekking in Langa and has been a tour operator in Piedmont’s Barolo wine country in Italy since 1994. He designs and runs gourmet walking tours with stops at Italian wineries and great restaurants, cooking tours, special corporate food and outdoor trips, and cultural and outdoor events for musicians and children. He was born right in the area so he takes you to his favourite places to meet a long list of wonderful local characters. He's also well known for his detailed Barolo and Barbaresco wine country walking path maps. He's walked and labelled every path so he knows a lot of people and places to take you to.

Elio and I have designed and led cooking, wine and walking tours in Piedmont since 1995 and expanded to Cinque Terre and Southern Tuscany in 1999.

In 2002 Elio renovated an abandoned elementary school in a little hamlet among vineyards and transformed it into his B & B, Locanda Barbaresco.

In 2006 near Alba he opened his adventure park, Isola Verde, which he transformed from an abandoned, empty piece of littered land into an inviting, green property with a restaurant.

Marcello Tori and Raffaella Raspadori

Marcello & Raffaella

Marcello Tori and Raffaella Raspadori, were born in Imola, Italy, grew up in Emilia Romagna and live in Bologna. As a little boy, the effervescent, down-to-earth Marcello used to go cycling with his dad along country roads where they'd stop to chat and get invited in for a glass of wine. He knows a lot of off the beaten path places to show you and lots of wonderful people for you to meet in Italy. He's been a great traveller in Asia and Europe so he understands your travelling needs and does thoughtful little things for you.

Fun loving Raffaella learned to cook with her grandmother and brings her passion for Italian cooking and fine food to the selection of restaurants and menus, so you sample an incredible variety of dishes in a wide range of wonderful places. Marcello and Raffaella have been married for over 25 years and have three children. Daughter Francesca, 18, is a fabulous cook, speaks good English and helps in the cooking tours.

Since 1987 they’ve owned Le Torri Viaggi S.R.L., a Bologna travel agency with a wide range of international clients. For ten years through Bluone Tour Operator, they’ve specialized in customized, enogastronomic tours in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, for American, European and Japanese groups. Bluone is a branch of Le Torri Viaggi registered in July 1987 with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce.

Lara Mansfeld

Etna Trekking team

About 20 years ago Franco and Pietro created their tour company, Etna Trekking in Linguaglossa, a small town in the Mount Etna foothills in Sicily. Both had grown up in Linguaglossa and loved the mountains from boyhood. Franco was a seasoned mountain guide. Pietro was good at management and logistics. Lara, originally from Germany, was working in tourism in nearby Taormina when she met Franco. They married six years later. Lara is the general manager and Pietro is the transport manager.

Their two outstanding, fun loving, English speaking guides, Maurizio and Luca, have worked for them for six years. Maurizio grew up in Linguaglossa. In the winter he teaches skiing on Mount Etna. Luca grew up on the island of Stromboli. Both are passionate about volcanoes, the mountains and fun!

A very professional, competent, fun group of team playing friends!

E-mail us any questions at margaret@italycookingschools.com