Cooking with La Mamma
Profi cooking - as La mamma is the profi
Cooking with a professional - la Mamma
A country, an area, a region is not only defined by its cultural treasures. It is the interplay of nature, culture and cuisine that makes the whole.
A trip dedicated to the culinary highlights of the central Italian Marche region will not only introduce you to the local dishes. It should also help you to learn where the basic products come from that you then use in your cooking. In addition, of course, how you can spoil your guests and yourself with homemade Italian delicacies in the future.
Day 1: Benvenuti in the land of harmony
Arrival at the Agriturismo Vecchio Gelso, which was awarded the best in Italy in 2007 and 2012. Here you will meet your tour guide. After check-in and an aperitif, we discuss the programme and set off for a first exploration: the Vecchio Gelso estate, where most of the products used both in the cooking course and in the restaurant are grown. You will also have the opportunity to enjoy a swim in the covered and heated pool. Afterwards, it's time for the first taste experience! Buon appetito with a delicious menu.
Day 2: The gold of the south and delicious wines
Today in the morning we go to one of the world's 500 best olive oil producers near the agriturismo, Agostini. Awarded with all kinds of prizes, the most impressive being the Golden Award for Olive Oil in New York, you will experience a very special tasting of oils and learn a lot about the olive, the production of olive oil, etc. that only few know about it.
Afterwards, you will have a light lunch in the stronghold of green anise in Castignano. At a producer of the best distillates, the Anice and the Vino Cotto, you will be shown over a small lunch what aniseed can be good for (please let us know if anyone doesn't like aniseed). In this small distillery, directly from the producer Giovanni, three very special types of Anice are produced (from 27% to 47%), as well as the Vino Cotto, which accompanies the Marchigiani from birth to death (winged word). You will learn what this means and how it is made during the tasting. Now it's back to the agriturismo, where Giovanni and Anna are ready with cooking tasks. Have fun cooking and enjoying the menu!
Day 3: Paradise of delights - the Sibillini Mountains
The morning drive takes you to the high mountains, the Sibillines. If you have a longing for paradise - you have found it here! First you will go to the highest place in the Sibillines, Montemonaco. There you will get to know the "treasure chamber" in the Corona butcher's shop. Hundreds of hams and salamis are air-dried here. The hams mature for more than two years! Each ham has its own "passport", so that you can see where the pig was born, where it grew up, and so on.
At Madonna dell'Ambro near Montefortino you have lunch in a special little restaurant. In fine weather, under the ancient trees, the murmur of the Ambro river as background noise...in front of you a plate of delicious specialities of the mountains....life is beautiful. It goes without saying that the farm's own products are used here too.
Return to the agriturismo in the afternoon. At around 16.00 hrs you will be challenged. After the previous day's introduction, today you will once again learn the great art of genuine Italian cooking under the guidance of the chef Giovanni and the lady of the house Anna. After finishing the menu, you will have some time to relax until you enjoy your home-cooked meals for dinner.
Day 4: Black gold and 100 towers
In the morning we start with what all countries love by now: espresso. To give you an accurate idea of the production, you will take part in the roasting process and learn some facts about espresso that you surely didn't know before. Afterwards, you will visit Ascoli Piceno, the city of 100 towers, the jewel of the Marches, almost reminiscent of a theatre set. We will wander through this beautiful town, built entirely of travertine. In one of the ten most beautiful Art Nouveau cafés in Italy, the Meletti, you will have a speciality that you can only taste here in the original, the anisetta. You will also enjoy a lunch with Ascoli's speciality par excellence, the Ascolan olives and creminis. In the afternoon you return to the agriturismo for a cooking class.
Day 5: Traditions live on
Parmesan cheese is familiar to everyone, but Italians don't use it for everything - another secret of Italian cuisine! Pecorino, the sheep's cheese, is far better suited for some things. Today you will be present at the preparation of a handmade pecorino. There are no machines, it can only be done by hand! Let yourself be surprised and enjoy life in the countryside. After a small lunch, we pay a visit to Cupra Marittima. Cupra Alta, or more correctly Marano, the ancient core of the town, lies above the sea and transports its visitors into a completely different world!
Then it's back to cooking with Giovanni!
Day 6: The sea - part of our lives
San Benedetto del Tronto is the largest fishing port on the Adriatic and the second largest in Italy. In the morning you will therefore visit the fish market. After the quite exhausting days you now have the opportunity for a little relaxation. On Tuesday and Friday mornings, the largest market in the Marche region is held here. From wooden spoons to model dresses, everyone can find everything. Or you can simply take a stroll along the longest palm tree parade in Italy, with more than 10,000 palm trees and fragrant oleander in between. Lunch is at your own choice. In the afternoon we go to Offida, one of the small towns listed in the directory of the most beautiful places in Italy. It is not only the centre of lace-making, but also the stronghold of the red Rosso Piceno Superiore and the white, the Pecorino and the Passerina. All three varieties are autochthonous vines and you will taste these wines here at one of the most renowned wine producers in the southern Marche in their wonderful showroom. But before you indulge in these physical delights, don't miss a visit to one of the most impressive churches, S. Maria della Rocca. A visit here has little to do with faith, but with the exciting history associated with it. Let yourself be surprised!
After the last varied days, you won't have a cooking class today, but can let yourself be pampered.
So you can end the last evening comfortably with a menu at the agriturismo.
Day 7: Arrivederci!
Today you leave the Marche with hopefully many new experiences.
©ulla kastner
Min. 2, max. 8 participants
Tour dates 2023
12. till 18. March
27 March to 01 April
16. till 22. April
14 - 20 May
11. till 17. June
01 to 07 Oct.
15 to 21 Oct.
29 Oct. until 04 Nov.
other travel dates on request
Services included:
6 x half board in the Agriturismo Vecchio Gelso
with shower/WC, air conditioning/heating, TV, garden area, heated and covered swimming pool,
4 x lunches
4 x cooking classes
tastings incl. drinks
Permanent German tour guide
Services not included:
Travel
Drinks, unless otherwise stated
Entrance fees (total approx. 5,00 €)
Transfers (these can be organised, please contact us)
Price per person in double room: € 1.530,00 for 2 persons or more
Price per person in double room for single use: € 1.680,00
Price per person in a double room: € 1.375,00 for 4 or more persons
Price per person in double room for single use: € 1.532,00
Price per person in double room: € 1.270,00 from 6 persons
Price per person in a double room for single use: € 1.420,00
