Explore one of Tuscany’s most distinctive culinary regions -- Lucca and the Garfagnana
Join us on an exploration of three kitchen standards of Tuscany. From the growers to the processors, to the table, you will enjoy what you harvest during this week-long immersion. This is not your tourist-laden Tuscany trip – this is where the locals live, eat and play.
Late autumn and it’s time for the olive harvest in Tuscany’s mountain region. |
 |
The oil is called ‘Lucca gold’, which is why it’s so surprising to see that the newly pressed oil is grass green.
But then, almost everything is surprising about this Adventure. Who would have thought that you could taste the difference between five polentas made with different maize flour — and want to take some home to cook it again and again?
Heather Jarman, your host, is a “guru” in the world of historical and tradition food production and cooking. Her year is now divided between England and the Garfagnana when she is not traveling and lecturing.
Heather’s intimate knowledge of the agriculture and culinary arts of Lucca and the Garfagnana mountain valley has opened up exclusive access to a network of small-holders and small-scale producers in the region – a world that not even the most intrepid travelers could discover for themselves.
We stay at the Hotel Villa Volpi. Located in Mastiano (Lucca), it is an elegantly restored 18th-century traditional farmhouse with 4 star amenities; en-suite bathrooms, a/c, and central heating.
|
- Wine and olive oil tasting
- Pick and press olives, and bottle your own oil
- Visit to a chestnut estate and taste cakes and beer made from chestnuts
- Visit an eighteenth-century water mill where wheat, maize and chestnuts are ground on traditional millstones
- Visit Alvaro Ferrari, maize farmer and champion polenta cook, to understand what makes ancient 8-row maize distinctive
- sightseeing and shopping in Lucca
- Learn to cook local autumn ingredients with chef Gianluca Pardini
- Polenta, salumi and wine tasting
- Six nights accommodations at Villa Volpi
- All breakfasts, six lunches and six dinners included
- Special guided tour of the gardens at Villa Reale
- Grand finale: dinner at Michelin-starred restaurant La Mora
- Fully escorted throughout by Heather Jarman
- Local English speaking driver and transportation from arrival at Lucca or Pisa Airport.
|
Call now to reserve your place.
972.771.3510
or 877.661.3844
Email hpartain@Epicopia.com |
2008 dates:
November 9 – 15
November 16 – 22
Land cost:
Cost: Euro 2150 per person based on two sharing
Single Supplement: Euro 190
Travelers must also purchase transportation to and
from Lucca or Pisa airport. |
|
