If cooking is your passion and you have plenty of money, then you may relish a week of perfecting your cookery skills in a Tuscan castle or manor house. However, you will find most of these 7-day courses can cost somewhere between £1500 and £2000. The price does include a residential stay in luxury surroundings and views over Italian countryside, which are worthy of an E. M. Forster novel, plus tuition from skilled and talented local chefs in professional kitchens. There will also be trips and excursions organised to local vineyards or specialist cheese producers and fresh food markets.
However, if this is outside of your budget, then you could consider a day’s course which may only set you back £100, or even less in some cases. The surroundings are still picturesque but the morning is usually spent wandering around a local produce market with cooking tuition in the afternoon. One day courses may be more specific – pasta making or Italian confectionery, for instance. However, if you are on holiday in Rome or staying in a villa in Tuscany for a few days anyway, a day spent on an Italian cookery course might be a welcome alternative to spending time at a beach or exploring museums and art galleries.