Toscana Mia cooking school was everything I had hoped it would be and more. We had the lovely Paola as our teacher and she was wonderful. Not only do you learn to cook some of the specialties of the region, you also get an amazing insight into the Italian lifestyle. Sitting down with the family to eat lunch and dinner every day was a privilege. Thank you Paola and Simonetta for an amazing experience. Will be seeing you again. Sal x

We were in Italy for 3 weeks, and had a wonderful time. My husband was not looking forward to the cooking class, but withing 10 minutes Paola had us both laughing and fully engaged. I often don't learn much at a cooking class, but it was incredible to be in a 14th c. farmhouse and use this working kitchen. The scale alone was, Paola thought, 200 years old! ( We actually went in Oct. 2009, btw) It's a bit of a drive to locate the home, but worth every bit of trouble. I want to go back and live with Paola and her family - we enjoyed a 2 hour lunch with her, her husband, father and young daughters. Amazing experience and I'd go again in a heartbeat. We LOVE you, Paola!!!!

We stayed at Toscana Mia for a full 5 days back in September 2010 as a birthday present from my wife. The house is exactly what you would imagine for a farmhouse in the heart of the Tuscan countryside and the views are breathtaking.
Staying in someone else's house can be a bit uncomfortable but the whole family made us feel so welcome and made sure that we had a holiday to remember. For our week Paola took the cookery classes and Simonetta took us out in the afternoon to see more of the local area. Paola was a great teacher and despite fresh faces appearing every day, as you can come for just one day or for multiple days, she got everybody involved and made the classes very enjoyable. The produce used, both home grown and locally sourced was of amazing quality and, if you can, you must try the figs from the garden. At the end of the class we all sat down, together with the family, and ate the four courses that we'd just made along with some of the local wine of which Simonetta is something of an expert and obviously enjoyed sharing her knowledge with us taking us to the local towns to do a bit of wine-tasting.
Since we got home we've continued to make our own pasta and cook the recipes that we did on the course.
It was a fantastic experience and I would highly recommend it to others, especially the full 5 days.

We loved our day at Toscana Mia!

Paola was our teacher for the day. Her english is great. She's well travelled, interested in life, politics, other cultures, has a fabulous sense of humour, and is broad minded. ah yes - and she's a great cook!! In other words FABULOUS company for a day!

We were one of only two couples the day we went. Everyone got to take part in everything. There was loads of banter and the day was very relaxed and relaxing.

We made biscotti or cantucci, fresh tagliettli with mushrooms and herbs, white beans, and turkey scallopine. Wine and coffee flowed freely. It was great having the recipes to make notes on.

The food was fantastic. We shared the meal with the two sisters, their dad and Paola's husband.

Have breakfast before you go; the meal doesn't get served till around 1.30 but when it does, there's plenty!

We asked to take some cantucci home with us and shared it proudly with our new friends where we were staying.

Fabulous day! Highly recommend it!