The Italian kitchen is work and meeting place in one. Conversations around the kitchen table may start with neighborhood gossip and move to politics, but they eventually all come back to the one argument dearest to every Italian: food.

Raffaella’s recipes have been passed on in the homes of friends and relatives or picked up during a chat at the food market or with the local butcher; some are foolproof, others are small gourmet adventures and most of them – think pizza or pasta making – are fun to try out with kids too. Based in the Val d’Orcia, the cooking classes are Tuscan at heart, but anything from pizza to risotto can be included for a trip through Italy’s culinary ABC.

The lessons are held in English in the kitchen of your holiday rental in southern Tuscany or at Raffaella’s beautiful historic home in the countryside near Montalcino.