Tagliaferri Bologna Dal 1900 In Bologna

I recently traveled to Chef Stefano's mountain retreat with my sister who is a chef, and her friend who was also interested in learning the rustic dishes of Tuscany. I am the first to admit that I am not a cook but I certainly love to eat and I have to say that the food my sister and her friend prepared under the direction of Chef Stefano was so very very delicious and filling. They cooked poultry, beef, veal, pork, fish, lamb and various pasta dishes. All were amazing. My favorite was the white lasagna. Those noodles were so thin my sister and her friend found muscles they didn't know they had! I was in charge of washing pots, pans and dishes and chief cheese grater! I am not going to speak of the cooking part of the trip but of the travels through Tuscany that Stefano took us on each day. The vistas were beautiful. His knowledge of history of the regions, art, culture and much more was incredible. From the time we left the monastery lodging in Balze each morning to our breakfast coffee in the medieval villages, sightseeing, going to museums and churches with breathtaking statues, paintings and frescos it was a feast for our eyes. Lunch was also incredible. We feasted on pizza, pasta, and I even got a great cheeseburger in Arezzo! I think the best lunch was the fried calamari off of a food truck. We just walked around the town with our bag of freshly fried calamari enjoying the sights and sounds of the village and markets. Each day was a different medieval village where the markets provided the basic ingredients for our evening supper. Stefano was so easy going. I wanted to go to mass on Sunday and he dropped me off at the village church which was in town. The local people were very friendly. After church I walked back to the monastery which gave me a chance to enjoy the beautiful countryside. I took a picture of a mountain stream that was the beginning of the Tiber River that flows through Rome. I can't think of one thing that I would have changed. From the time he picked us up in Florence to the time he dropped us off for our train back to Rome EVERYTHING was taken care of by him. It truly was all inclusive. I am most grateful that he took us to LaVerna which is a Sanctuary of St. Francis of Assisi and a place that many locals and visitors alike make a pilgrimage. I will let my sister and her friend post pictures of their cooking delights. I just wanted to address the fact that if you don't want to cook, or like me, just have high anxiety when cooking (could be the fact that my grandfather, whose family was from Lombardy, was a great cook, as well as my mother and my sister and brother), you can have a memorable experience just seeing Tuscany, Umbria and Emilia-Romagna. Would I go back? Absolutely, plus I can't wait to tell EVERYONE how great the trip was. Thank you Stefano.

My wife and I were lucky enough to spend 4 night touring Florence with Stefano followed by 6 nights cooking and touring with him at his mountain home base. We had so much fun during the entire time with him. We highly recommend him both as a guide and as a cooking instructor. We would definitely do it again!