La Monteduccia, Le Marche, Italy

Introducing for the 2014–2015 season our new beautiful location in Rossini country in Italy – La Monteduccia in Le Marche.

The lovely serene hilltop house called La Monteduccia belongs to a branch of an ancient family of Le Marche, the Marquis Honorati, who settled in the Le Marche region at the end of the 15th century. A few years ago, Claudio Honorati and his family made it their aim to restore La Monteduccia to its original beauty of the light and to make it their own country house as well as to open it up to people who love rustic but refined living. It is managed by the latest generation of the family, Claudio’s sons Christian, Rodolfo and Nicola.

Most of our breaks are for a week, but we also offer a unique long weekend in December 2015.

DATES AND PRICES

WEEK-LONG ITALIAN COOKERY COURSES	ITALIAN CHRISTMAS COOKERY WEEKEND 2015
£1800 Non-participants £1200 DATES 11-17 APR 2015 18-24 APR 2015 2–8 May 2015 Please enquire for availability 9–15 May 2015 Please enquire for availability 26 SEP-2 OCT 2015 3-9 OCT 2015 10-16 OCT 2015 17-23 OCT 2015 24–30 OCT 2015	£990 Non-partipants £690 Our Christmas Special for 2015 will be on 10-13 December. Why not book ahead now to ensure your place? RESERVE YOUR PLACE

ADVISORY

Our courses are all subject to a minimum number of bookings in order to run. We advise guests not to book their flights until final confirmation has been received 8 weeks prior to the start date. As stated in our terms and conditions, we cannot refund payments in respect of travel in the event of cancellation. Therefore, early booking of your flights is entirely at your own risk.

Welcome back Summer?!

This June is a busy month, with new classes happening here in the UK. As well as my usual regular classes at La Cucina Caldesi in Marylebone, Divertimenti in Knightsbridge and The Bertinet Kitchen in Bath, this month I am also teaching a new class here in Sussex in the gorgeous kitchen of Miranda Gore Browne on June 25th, and my first class at The School of Artisan Food on June 20th.

I must say, am not overly impressed with this weather, it seems unseasonably cold to me, and reminds me rather of my impression of England when I used to visit every summer as a child from Italy – I was always surprised at how many layers I had to wear!
So I am really looking forward to being back in Italy later this year for the cookery holidays in both Le Marche and Lake Como. And in between I shall be sneaking off to Italy for a little recce to explore a possible new cookery school venture for 2016, and of course there is my wonderful annual holiday in unspoilt, very hot Calabria to look forward to.

Meanwhile, there are still some spaces available for September and October in both locations, La Monteduccia and Il Palazzo del Vicere, so please do book your place soon to avoid disappointment! Participants at any of my UK classes are eligible for a substantial discount of £200 on courses in Le Marche, just let us know when you book that you have attended a course at any of the UK classes and voilà!

In other news, this month’s Les Dames D’Escoffier gathering is taking place at Jenius Social http://www.jeniussocial.co.uk/ Les Dames have all sorts of plans, including the planning of a repeat of our very successful Edible London event next May, where we invite Dames from the USA to come and experience the gastronomic delights of London and environs through our tastebuds!

It is of course full-on strawberry season, so this month’s recipe - Tiramisu Alla Frutta - is all about celebrating English strawberries and one of Italy’s most iconic desserts, the wickedly delicious Tiramisu! This is not really to be considered a classic dessert, as it officially only became a dessert with a proper recipe in the 1980’s, having previously been the kind of cure-all prepared for ailing sons of all ages by Italian Mammas from all over Italy; a sort of rich and creamy version of Chicken Soup as a way of improving both mood and health!

I hope very much that I shall welcome you to our lovely foodie house party at La Monteduccia or to the luxury of Lake Como in September or October; I have such wonderful treats in store for you! And of course, should you need my services to help with your dinner party or special event, please do just ask.

Meanwhile, here’s hoping it gets warmer soon in dear old Blighty, and I wish you all happy cooking and of course, Buon Appetito!

Valentina

PS To book a place on any of my UK classes, and to take advantage of the £200 discount on any of the courses at La Monteduccia this year, please check out:
http://caldesi.com/
http://www.mirandagorebrowne.typepad.com/
http://www.schoolofartisanfood.org/
http://www.thebertinetkitchen.com/

Valentina Harris is a noted chef, speaker, author and authority on Italian food and food culture. Find out more