Many years ago, Shilpa fell in love with Tuscany's great ingredients and tasty yet simple dishes. She and her team will open the doors to the beautiful organic farms in the area for you and to many of the area's culinary secrets. As a teenager, she learned to cook at a family-run gourmet Italian restaurant in England. After obtaining a degree in French and Italian from the University of Cambridge, and living in both Florence and Rome, she moved to Barcelona, Spain, where she worked as a chef at Sesamo, an Italian-owned vegetarian organic restaurant; she then set up her own successful restaurant, Mosquito, which she later sold. Shilpa and her family now live between Spain and Italy. They are members of the Slow Food association.

Cooking instructor

Mathilde came to Italy 23 years ago to study art... and never left! She and her husband are both artists and live with their two children in the Tuscan countryside where they grow their own vegetables and make their own olive oil.
As a girl Mathilde learnt to cook by helping her French mother prepare traditional food for a family of seven. She loves Italian cuisine because of the superb quality of the ingredients here, which can turn the simplest dish into something really very special.

Cooking instructor

Serenella is originally from Milan, and has worked in several restaurants, learning many different kinds of regional Italian and international cuisines.
She came to Tuscany in 1998 to start an organic farm. And when she had her first daughter, she decided never to move away!
Serenella is passionate about showing people how to cook delicious Italian dishes and is keen to help visitors discover her beautiful little corner of Tuscany.

Your guide to Siena

Chiara is a proud native of her beloved Siena and has a degree in foreign languages and literature. She loves to talk, and always infects 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?"

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 live and work in several cities: New York, Rome, Barcelona 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 great Tuscan food and wine.

Our Chef

Manuela is a Tuscan mother of two college-aged girls, and lives 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, a warm custard and pine-nut pie. There is not much Manuela does not know about local cuisine, and you'll have the chance to ask her plenty of questions!

Wine expert

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

Your local guide

Clara is originally from Milan but embraced Tuscany as her adopted home twenty years ago. She lives in the hills near 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!

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, coming back to Florence when she was 18. She studied at the Università di Firenze and became well versed in literature and art history. She has lived in Florence for some 20 years and loves showing people the hidden corners of the birthplace of the Renaissance.

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