Toscana e Gusto, a Cooking School Born out of Friendship

Everything started for fun from our friendship and shared passion for cooking.

For fun and to share our passion we developed a small food-related blog, hen cooking gradually became our prevailing interest, together with the desire to interact directly with people. From these beginnings five years ago, the cooking school, the hikes with catered picnic and our tours got started.

Our Philosophy…

We believe good food does not need to be complicated. In fact, the best food is often the simplest. Our recipes and our cooking style reflect this fact. Fresh ingredients, treated simply and with respect, are the foundation of memorable meals. We do not complicate simple recipes just so that our class participants can walk away with a sense of accomplishment. Rather, we emphasize cooking techniques that most effectively draw out flavor from each ingredient in a dish. And we make cooking fun, so that people are actually motivated to do it on a regular basis, sharing the pleasure of cooking with others instead of being intimidated by lengthy processes and hard-to-find ingredients.

This also means that we do not use any processed ingredients or pre-packaged food in our cooking. All our stocks, broths, and sauces are homemade. Nothing goes to waste, and everything we incorporate in our cooking is natural, seasonal and mostly locally produced. After enjoying a meal cooked in our kitchen, you will feel satiated, never heavy.

We chop, prep, and measure all necessary ingredients together mincing onions, washing potatoes, measuring flour and sugar.

One last thing: we believe food should be delicious, and every meal should be a celebration. So when you come to our kitchen, you will not only learn how to plan a menu, execute a recipe: you will also learn how it should taste, because the food we share in good company is always flavorful and satisfying, so we never rush the pleasant moments around the table, and enjoy our work together.

Stefania

I was born and raised in Tuscany between the Island of Elba, a true gem of the Tuscan Archipelago and the ancient Cortona, where I still live.

My tireless interest in foreign languages, history, art, food and wine culture over the years has led me along an exciting path in which my work has increasingly coincided with my passions.

My years of work in the commercial and hotel sector, where I dealt with marketing, public relations and hospitality, organization and coordination of events, have been fundamental for continuing my studies and training on food and wine culture.

I obtained the diploma of tour guide, Tuscany food and wine guide and Sommelier (Italian Sommelier Association) to share the Italian culture with my food and wine tours and cooking workshops, thanks to which I had the opportunity to share my passions and my enthusiasm with so many amazing friends.

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