4 Night Cooking & Culture in Abruzzo

What You'll Do

Experience Abruzzo, Italy’s best kept secret, on this 4 night cooking holiday, one of the most stunning and culturally rich regions in Italy. You will get to know the food, region and the people with your local guide Fabrizio who has put together some amazing culinary experiences.

If you’re looking for an immersive culinary holiday adventure, where you really get to know the food, region and people, Fabrizio, together with his family & friends, has put together the perfect Italian experience that combines passion, land and locals to bring you the best of Abruzzo.

Fabrizio, your host and guide for the week, uses his hometown, the history packed, medieval town of Vasto, as your base for the week. Each day will bring a new adventure giving you the insights to daily life, food & wine, culture and production in Abruzzo and will let you discover the authentic Italy in a balanced mix of experiences, relax, adventure and learning.

The cooks, farmers and producers you will meet are all native to the region of Abruzzo and part of Fabrizio’s family, there is simply no better way to get an insider’s view of Abruzzo daily life. They can’t wait to share their family secrets and tricks of the trade with you.

This holiday is very hands-on and you’ll experience every excursion first hand, so be prepared to roll up your sleeves as you cook delicious meals, don’t be nervous about milking a cow, trying your hand at fishing, or even helping out with the cheese making process, it is all a part of the experience! It isn’t every day you get the opportunity to work side by side with knowledgeable producers.

The hands-on cooking is simple, rustic and true to its roots, taught by people who have been living off the land, mastering family recipes passed down through generations, and using the best seasonal produce. If there is a dish you are missing during your stay, it simply isn’t the right season – there are perfect dishes that reflect different times of year. Trust us – no one knows better than the producers.

Experience
Highlights

Let your guide, Fabrizio & his friends and family, show you their beloved Abruzzo

Learn to cook regional specialties using the best locally sourced ingredients

Meet the local producers and gain insight into farming, wine and cheese production, and more!

Experience Itinerary

Arrival & welcome to Abruzzo dinner

– Arrive in Rome, where you will be collected at the airport and taken to Vasto on the Adriatic Coast after crossing beautiful Abruzzo mountains looking at amazing landscapes, hilltop villages and castles

– Check in, relax, meet your guide and enjoy a welcome dinner overlooking the sea and discuss the plans for your trip.

Accommodation

Baia Delphis Resort on the Adriatic coast

Market visit, cook pasta with Mamma & explore Vasto

AM

We’ll walk and visit Vasto’s colorful market to get seasonal products. Here you’ll have the possibility to practice a little bit of Italian even if you don’t speak any of it
Next we’ll drive to the beautiful countryside of Vasto where we’ll meet Fabrizio’s family to have an exclusive cooking class with them and we’ll learn how easy it is to make fresh pasta and we’ll be introduced to Abruzzo sauces
An example menu based on Fabrizio’s family recipes, includes Pasta alla chitarra with tomatoes or Cavatelli with vegetables, Traditional chhese and egg balls and Tarallucci (typical biscuits from Abruzzo

PM
• Lunch with the scrumptious dishes that we prepared in the morning, while enjoying the relaxing family atmosphere
After a short break to relax, in the afternoon we’ll explore Vasto historic center: Loggia Amblingh, a promenade overlooking the fascinating crescent-shaped coastline, the old town with its medieval Castle, charming lanes, a tower, the Cathedral and Piazza Rossetti, dedicated to Gabriele Rossetti, a poet from the town and father of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
Before free time, we’ll meet some local artisans or artists
In the evening you may experience dinner on your own in one of the many restaurants of
Vasto or at the restaurant of the hotel. After the big family lunch, based on our many years of experience, we know that nobody is looking for a rich dinner, so our travelers usually enjoy spending time like a local trying a simple aperitif, a gelato or a pizza. Obviously Fabrizio will suggest you his favorite places

Exploring Punta Aderci Nature Reserve & trabocco fishing house

– After breakfast you’ll explore the Abruzzo coast line, with a short and easy walk inside Punta Aderci Nature Reserve, one of the 10 most beautiful Italian beaches according to the British Daily Telegraph
– Next you’ll visit a trabocco that is constructed mostly from acacia wood and railway iron sleepers
– Weather permitting, host Rinaldo will show you how to fish from the trabocco, and tell you the secrets and history behind Abruzzo’s unique fishing platforms that have been featured in the BBC TV show: Escape to the Continent
– Rinadlo’s wife, Maria, will prepare a vegetarian meal for our exclusive lunch on the ocean

– In the afternoon feel free to relax, try your luck at fishing, or take some great photos of the surrounding beautiful marinescape
– On the way home, you’ll visit the enchanting San Giovanni in Venere Abbey that sits on a hill dominating the coastline, surrounded by orange, olive, oak and pine trees
– Have the dinner of your choosing at a traditional restaurant in the heart of Vasto

Visit a typical Agriturismo to experience Abruzzo farming with a farm to table lunch

AM

After breakfast we’ll make our way to a farmhouse where Pina and Berardino will reveal the secrets of farming letting you immerse in an authentic slow food experience. You could relax in the beautiful Abruzzo countryside or take part into some or all of these experiences
We’ll milk a cow
We’ll learn how to make a special bread called “pizza scima – stupid pizza”, a pizza without yeast
After collecting some organic wine from their winery, we’ll have an aperitif including a taste of their production: vegetables and extra virgin olive oil
Next we’ll learn how to prepare ricotta cheese
Finally we’ll collect the fresh vegetables from their garden that will be used for our farm-to-table lunch
A delicious traditional farm-to-table lunch will be prepared and served
Almost everything we’ll eat is produced in the farm (wheat to produce the organic flour to make different kinds of breads, cookies and fresh pasta together with eggs from their hens, organic extra virgin olive oil, wines, liquors, juices, jams, cheeses, many varieties of salami, meats and vegetables)

PM

In the afternoon we’ll drive inland to explore Abbruzzo’s castle in the charming village of Roccascalegna, ranked by Conde Naste Traveler as one of the 9 most Beautiful Hiltop Towns in Italy
After our lunch at the farm, in the evening it will bbe a free dinner in one of the many restaurants of Vasto.

Goodbye

– After breakfast, you will set off for the airport (around 9:30 am) complete with new skills, recipes, and hopefully some local delicacies

Location Information

Set in the central region of Abruzzo, which boasts the Adriatic sea to the east and a lush mountainous landscape to the west, this unique Italian cooking holiday will prove to be a culinary adventure through your host Fabrizio’s home region. Based in his hometown of Vasto, a charming seafront town, you are perfectly placed to experience the tastes, culture and people of the area, where you will learn to cook in local kitchens or farms during the day, and have the nights to explore the city.

Nearest airports:
Roma Fiumicino Airport (around 3.5 hours away)

Return airport transfers:
Free airport transfers to and from Roma Fiumicino are included in the price.

FAQs

- Suitable for all levels and experience of cooking
- Minimum age 18 with no upper age limit (under 18s accepted accompanied by an adult)
- All classes are taught in both Italian and English
- Perfect for solo travellers and even families are welcome
- Each holiday offers a different foodie experience on the fourth day depending on the arrival date

- The lovely coastal town of Vasto is very walkable, with plenty of restaurants, shops, and medieval gems
- Don’t hesitate to ask the hotel staff for a bike rental for the day
- Beaches and a nature reserve are also nearby
- If there is anything you would like to see or do during your time in Abruzzo, please let your host know and he can help you plan

- Cook and spend time with local producers, farmers, Italian mothers, fisherman and families in the region
- Learn first hand about the production of olive oil, wines, cheeses, and fishing from generations old family farms
- Have a personal guide and translator with you for the week, who is native to the region
- This holiday provides you with the rare opportunity to be invited into homes and farms, as well into the daily lives of locals
- Stay in a lovingly cared for, modern family-run hotel right in the historic centre of Vasto
- All rooms are twin/double ensuite, with air-conditioning, TV and WiFi
- Around 3.5 hours from Rome Fiumicino airport, your transfers are included in the price
- Close to gorgeous, quiet beaches and a nature reserve for lovers of the outdoors
- Perfect for the whole family

BOOK WITH CONFIDENCE