Shilpa will infuse you with her love of great ingredients and tasty, simple dishes, and will open the doors to the beautiful organic farms in the area. She learned to cook as a teenager at Casa Nostra, a family-run gourmet Italian restaurant in Oxfordshire. After obtaining a degree in French and Italian language, literature and culture from the University of Cambridge, and living in Italy, in both Florence and Rome, she moved to Barcelona, Spain, where she worked as a chef at Sesamo, an Italian-owned vegetarian organic restaurant, and then set up her own successful restaurant, Mosquito, which she later sold. She and her family now live between Spain and Italy. They are members of the Slow Food association.

Wine expert

Cristina is originally from Rome and has a background in journalism. She is a certified sommelier and olive oil expert, and will open up the world of Tuscan wines for you, from the basics to the complexities. People always comment on her warm manner and lighthearted, relaxed approach to a subject that is easy to find mystifying and snobbish.

Your guide to Florence

Elisabetta is a native Florentine with a British mother. She grew up abroad thanks to her fathers work in the UN and came back to Florence when she was 18 to study at the University of Florence, making her well versed in literature and art history. She has lived in Florence for some 20 years and is loves showing people the hidden corners of the birthplace of the Renaissance.

Your local guide

Clara is originally from Milan but embraced Tuscany as her adopted home more than 15 years ago. She lives just down the road from the villa with her partner Terry, an accomplished British ceramicist. She will guide you around the local countryside and farms, pointing out the interesting flora and fauna and some eccentric neighbours too!

Riccardo was born in Florence and studied graphic design and history of art at the Istituto d'Arte and at the University of Florence. He works in graphic design, a job which has taken him to several cities: New York, Rome and Florence. He designs and maintains the Organic Tuscany website and recipe blog and helps run some of the courses. He has always been an excellent cook and is passionate about Tuscan food and wine.

Our Chef

Manuela is a Tuscan mother of two college-aged girls, and is from Impruneta in the heart of the Chianti. She will teach you dozens of her unbeatable dishes, including melt-in-the-mouth sformati (vegetable flan-like souffles), aubergine croquettes (to die for!), and her amazing Torta della Nonna. There is not much Manuela does not know about local cuisine, and you'll have the chance to ask her plenty of questions!

Cooking instructor

Maria Novella is a native Florentine. She worked for years in fashion and in events organisation, but her interest in cooking and her love for baking eventually gave her the chance to work with a major publisher of recipe books, improving, testing and making dishes for photographers. She later authored two recipe books, Verde and Blu, 100 simple vegetarian dishes and 100 simple fish recipes. She loves meeting people of different nationalities and backgrounds and sharing her knowledge of Italian food while learning from them.

Your guide to Siena

Chiara is native Sienese and has a degree in foreign languages and literature. She loves to talk, and to infect the people listening to her with her enthusiasm for her city. She loves to make them laugh, make them curious about the things they see with her and to hear that irrepressible "ooooh" when they see Piazza del Campo for the first time.
She says "I love my city and I love people. What better job than to be a guide?!"

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