Learn to cook traditional Italian dishes and bake heavenly breads in a wood fired oven on a 6-day Tuscan cooking adventure

Holiday highlights:

Four cooking and baking classes

Breakfast, lunch and dinner at the stunning Villa Boccella in Lucca

Accommodation and use of all facilities at Villa Boccella for 5 nights

Private wine tasting and lunch at a Tuscan vineyard

A Tuscany with Maria apron

Afternoon visit to Lucca with evening meal and wine in a local restaurant serving regional dishes

Pick up from Ponte a Moriano station on the first day of the holiday. Transfers to the Villa from the airport can be arranged at for an extra fee

Holiday Schedule

We have spent a lot of time coming up with the schedule for this holiday. Lots of vineyards have been tested, many recipes have been baked and we now believe we have the right balance of cooking, baking, eating, drinking and relaxing

Testimonials

“Bake with Maria in Lucca Tuscany - an experience beyond your dreams!!!”

I have just come back from the most fantastic 6 days baking with Maria in Tuscany. I am addicted to her classes. Villa Boccella is just to die for - everything is authentic - including the instruction in Italian cooking and baking - even down to cooking pizzas in an outside wood burning oven - wow!
 
The whole week was so well organised by Maria and her fantastic crew, (friends family and all - thank you for the unbelievable hospitality). It was so much fun - all the other students were so easy going and like-minded foodies - but relaxed with it. 
 
Everyday we had something yummy to make and a new skill to learn - and it culminated in eating what we made - often outside basking in the sun sipping a glass of wine or Prosecco! And all in the fantastic setting of an Italian villa set in a beautiful estate. You even get to pick your own herbs and lemons from the trees outside the well-equipped cooking kitchens.
Thanks Maria - I had an absolute ball...
Alison, UK

Top-notch instruction!

The villa is beautiful, the grounds are perfect and the rooms are just right: simple, cool and quiet.  The baking and cooking instruction is top-notch and the kitchens are so well suited for teaching.

Pete, Scotland

A trip of a life time!

In May, I treated my mother, my teenage daughter and myself to a week of cooking school in Tuscany with Bake with Maria. Three generations of women, all together for a magical week of cooking, learning and laughing at Villa Boccella was more than a dream come true! Maria not only taught us to cook, she brought in friends and family who served us, the students, the meals that we did not prepare ourselves. The entire week was decadent!

In the course, we learned how to make a wide variety of food; fabulous breads, handmade pasta, all sorts of cookies, the best tiramisu I’ve ever eaten, and a risotto that was to die for. Maria has a very calm nature and is extremely encouraging, which made my mom, Annie and me so comfortable as we learned new baking skills.  We had a blast getting our hands “dirty” with all the different doughs!  As a family, we each focused our attention on different recipes to master, so the three of us can come together at home and bake. It was such a fantastic way for all three generations to bond over something so simple and so essential, food!

Beyond the cooking, the villa was spectacular, something you would see in a movie. Our bedrooms were spacious, with excellent views of the country side, and en-suite bathrooms! The grounds were gorgeous to walk during our free time, with a beautiful swimming pool, an herb garden, tons of lemon trees and even a chicken coop. The entire experience exceeded my expectations and was truly a trip of a lifetime for the three of us. Now, I just need to figure out how I can go back next year with some girlfriends!!

Thank you Maria for a once in a lifetime experience for our family!

Jen, USA

About Us

About Maria

Maria Mayerhofer is a professional baker and pastry chef with 12 years’ experience of teaching in London. In London Maria runs her company "Bake with Maria" and she has taught hundreds of aspiring chefs how to manage sticky ciabatta doughs, to overcome their fear of pastry and to produce fluffy and beautiful birthday cakes. Maria has been running the Culinary Holiday in Tuscany for 10 years with the help of an amazing team, including family members and close friends with many years’ experience in working kitchens.

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About Villa Boccella

Villa Boccella is a beautiful Villa nestled on a lush Tuscan hillside, 10 km outside the walled city of Lucca. The elegant rooms are beautifully decorated with original period features and furniture. Cooking and baking sessions take place in the Villa’s professional teaching kitchen, and breads and pizzas are baked in an authentic wood-fired oven.