Off The Beaten Path Culinary Experience in Molise Italy
Cooking classes will be held by professional chefs. The cooking is fresh and traditional. A combination of hands-on cooking and demonstrations, talks and tastings. So much more than just a cooking class. The class will undertake food preparation for full lunch and dinner to include starter, main course, second course and dessert with wine, discovering the secrets behind authentic Italian dishes and wine pairings.
We have a great passion for “love of the land” foods, art, landscapes, people, places where every detail tells a story. We have put together a special itinerary for you along with professional cooking classes to discover unique recipes that can be made once back home for your family or your clients. Molise, Italy’s last great unknown, promises to be a real, authentic, creative and warm Food & Wine Experience by the Adriatic coast, off the tourist map. A region full of secrets and authentic good food, recipes handed down from family to family.
Day 1 – Transfer From Rome Airport (FCO) To Termoli
Airport pick up at Fiumicino International Airport in Rome at 1:00PM and then transfer to Termoli. The drive is approximately 3.5 to 4 hours. We will have an interesting journey through the mountains and villages of Molise, set in the lush and green nature, which amaze for the beauty of the places, history and culture. Check-in at Residenza Sveva in Termoli. Welcome Drink.In the evening, we will enjoy a multicourse Welcome Dinner with traditional local Food and Wine, meet the Chef, and learn about the exciting week ahead.
Day 2 – Borgo Tour + Cooking Class
MORNING
After Breakfast, we will enjoy a tour in the Old Village of Termoli to discover places unlike anyone else. After the tour, our first three course hands-on Cooking Class will start soon. The cooking class will focus on “Molisan Dishes”. Lunch on your creations, at Ristorante Svevia.
AFTERNOON
After some rest in the afternoon, we will go to visit a well-known Winery to discover Tintilia, a wine whose uncertain origin are lost in the mists of time, produced only in Molise. Tintilia is loved for its neatness and cleanliness of aroma and because it is extremely smooth; never excessive, never impetuous and bulky, but always elegant and tough at the same time, right for Good Food. Dinner at the winery with typical products from the land.
Day 3 – Evo Tasting/Demo + Lunch + San Martino in Pensilis Village + Dinner
MORNING
After Breakfast, we will move to an important Estate, one of the most beautiful places of Molise countryside, where an award-winning Extra Virgin Olive Oil is produced, sold all over the World in the most important specialty shops. We will be guided through the Estate, owned by an ancient Italian noble family, by visiting the 70 hectares olive grove, with different cultivars, and the olive mill to learn how Extra-Virgin Olive Oil is made: from the olive harvest to the bottling. We will learn how to recognize a good Extra Virgin Olive Oil from a mediocre one as well as learn how to cook a delicious dish using citrus or infused Extra Virgin Oiive Oils. Lunch in the garden at the Estate.
AFTERNOON
In the afternoon, we will visit the Medieval village of San Martino in Pensilis, nestled on the green hills of Molise, with its beautiful landscape, Churches, Baronial Palace. San Martino in Pensilis is also the place where Pampanella, Molise Street Food, is produced and we will try to discover the secrets of this recipe, linked to a centuries-old tradition. Dinner in Termoli.
Day 4 – Termoli Sotterranea + Gelato Lab + Trabocco Lunch + Cooking Class + Dinner
After Breakfast, we will experience “Termoli Sotterranea”, a real journey into the past, five meters deep in the belly of the Old Village of Termoli. The tour of the underground ends in the suggestive cemetery area with ancient tombs, where one can breathe an air of mystery. After the visit at the ancient tombs, time for a “fresco Gelato” demonstration, learning the secrets of an excellent real Italian gelato, together with the young owners of an award-winning Gelato shop in town. Depending on the weather and the season, we may be able to enjoy Lunch on the “Trabocco”, an old fishing house sitting in the middle of the Adriatic sea – a very special treat. It allows to fish without having to go to sea: taking advantage of the rocky morphology of some fish-rich areas of the coast, casting the nets out to sea through a system of monumental wooden arms. A Lunch on the Trabocco is a very special treat!
AFTERNOON
Back to Termoli. After some rest, we will meet for a Cooking Class! Based on light and bright recipes. Dinner on your creation at Ristorante Svevia.
Day 5 – Altilia Visit + La Piana Dei Mulini
MORNING
After breakfast, in the morning we will go to one of the most important archaeological site – Altilia – that covers about 12 hectares and is surrounded by defensive walls. The layout of the town is clearly visible, and its most important structures were its temples, Forum, Basilica, Baths and its ‘Macellum’ or indoor market. The most intact building is the Theatre which is horse-shoe shaped and surrounded by 18th century houses built of stone. We will be fascinated by the atmosphere and beauty of Altilia.After the visit of Altilia, we will move to “La Piana dei Mulini” that once was a Watermill. In the early nineteenth century, it became a farmhouse and a center for the coloring of wool; then it was transformed into a hydroelectric plant. Today, La Piana dei Mulini, is a site of European Community Interest, and is supervised by the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities. At La Piana dei Mulini we will visit the place, meet the Chef and have Lunch, followed by a relaxing walk along the Biferno River.
AFTERNOON
Back to Termoli. Free afternoon for shopping. Aperitif Dinner in town.
Day 6 – Fonderia Marinelli + Cheese Workshop
Morning
After Breakfast, we will move to Agnone village in the north of the Molise region. We will visit the oldest artisan Bell Foundry of the World – Fonderia Marinelli – where unique Bells are created for the Vatican City and sold all over the world; we will be surprised by the bell production techniques and emotions that they can present us.After the Bell Foundry, we will meet an extraordinary family, that has been making cheese for 11 generations and has won many important Italian and International awards. We will learn about old-world production of fresh mozzarella and Caciocavallo cheese. We will make “primosale cheese” and enjoy Cheese Tasting at Lunch. It will be a unique tasting experience, discovering stories linked to cheese and America.
AFTERNOON
In the afternoon we will move back to Termoli. Time for packing! We will all meet for the “Ciao Ciao Dinner” in Termoli.
Day 7 – Arriverderci
After Breakfast, transfer is provided to Rome’s airport (FCO). It is time to leave and say goodbye to your new friends, in the hope of meeting each other again one day. If not, memories will last forever with your new skills and recipes. Keep in touch!
MASSIMO TALIA - Chef Massimo Talia inherited his passion for food from his grandmother, a lover of traditional cuisine. This passion leads him to pay attention to raw materials, transforming it into care and dedication for the dishes he creates, by combining tradition and creativity. Massimo Talia has been reconfirmed at the “helm” of the Chefs’ Union for Molise in Italy and re-elected as regional President. Cooking will be held by his staff under his guidance and supervision.
Important notes:
Early bookings are strongly advised as our Cooking Classes and Workshops fill up very quickly.Small group tour limited to maximum 12 people will ensure you a personal experience.The menus are market inspired based on the season’s offerings.Tours are designed with flexible itineraries to accommodate seasonality and desired dates of travel.Mostly short transfers - 30 minutes - to one hour and a half. Tours can be Tailored for groups of a minimum of 8 people.All Cooking Classes are in English and will be held by Chef Massimo Talia and/or his Staff.
Molise:
Molise is defined by ENIT, the national agency for the promotion of Italian tourism, a "small ancient world" thanks to a unique feature of this region: the “survival” of customs and traditions, ancient craft activities elsewhere disappeared. Nature, history, art, ancient traditions and gastronomy are the treasures of this still unknown piece of Italy, where it is possible to go from the sea to the mountains in just under 100 km.Molise is the last Italy’s unknown. It seems timeless, still, far from the frenzy of everyday life. That being isolated from everyone that apparently was a misfortune, is now turning into a strong point for tourism. Always looking for "real" places to discover. A true paradise for those who love to relax, nature, art, good food and good life.
Tour Includes:
6 Nights’ Accommodations in single or double occupancy.
6 Breakfasts, 5 Lunches, 6 Dinners with wine, water and coffee.
Double Occupancy. Single Supplement.
Cooking Class.
Show/Demo Cooking.
Cheese Laboratory and Cheese Tasting - Agnone.
Gelato Demonstration.
Pampanella, Molise Street Food.
Tintilia Wine Tasting.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tasting.
Trabocco Fishing House Lunch.
Altilia Archaeological Site Tour.
Old Village Termoli Tour.
Termoli Sotterranea Tour.
San Martino in Pensilis Village Visit.
La Piana dei Mulini Visit.
Marinelli Bell Foundry.
Private transfer from/to Rome Airport. Private mini-coach throughout the tour.
All admissions as mentioned on the tour.
Services of the lecturer or private local guides.
*RATES & HOTELS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE DEPENDING ON DATES, HOTELS AVAILABILITY AND RATES OFFERED*