TESTIMONIALS 2011: What clients say about our cooking holidays/classes ....

“After 3 months of travel this made our top 5 most memorable experience list”

After traveling through Europe for 3 months, our day with "Let's Cook in Umbria" made our 5 top most memorable experience list. We had such a wonderful time at Raffella's home learning to cook, then eating our beautiful meal with new friends from the class. There are so many touristy things that you can do while traveling, but very few that allow you to experience the culture and people like this cooking class did. It was a great day and I would highly recommend it to anyone!

from Trip Advisor

“The perfect holiday for us”

The farm is placed on a hillside and with the changing light you open the shutters to a different view every morning. Its a narrow, twisting drive up to the farm but the roads are in good condition and hardly used by other traffic. There are two small towns within easy reach, 5minutes drive, where you can shop for food and there are also restaurants if you wish to eat out. The cooking lessons are given in English and cover all the typical Umbrian dishes. These finish around 12.30, when you eat the four courses you have just made, washed down with some of Rafaella's amazing home made wine (we gave up buying any!).

The afternoons are free to relax by the pool or go sight seeing. We visited Perugia, Assissi, Gubbio and Sienna, all within driving distance. On the way back to the airport (Pisa) we stopped in Florence and Pisa. Rafaella is a very obliging host, nothing being too much trouble and she was happy to arrange any trips for us. She also arranged some Italian language lessons for us and these were presented in a really fun way and were one of the highlights of our holiday. The apartments were clean and tidy with magnificent views. There is not much to do in the immediate vicinity so a car is recommended.
If you love Italy, Italian food and want to have the option of doing or resting this holiday is strongly recommended

from Trip Advisor

“Dream vacation”

Cooking in Umbria - what a dream and Raffaella at Let's Cook in Umbria helped make it all come true. La Volpe e L’Uva is a wonderful farm with perfect accommodations and gorgeous views of the Umbrian countryside. Cooking classes were wonderful and I've already tried out a couple of the delicious dishes Stefania taught us in class. Everyone at home loved my authentic Italian dishes!

If you are looking for the perfect getaway and have a passion for food and all things Italian, then this is the ideal trip for you. Reasonably priced, a great way to make new friends and have a fantastic time. I went alone and met some wonderful people from other countries. Not knowing Italian was not a problem at all.

Every part of the 2 weeks I spent in Italy was incredible and I will always remember my experiences there, especially sitting at the long wooden table in front of the gorgeous landscape and dining on all the delightful dishes we prepared in class, accompanied by great wine from the farm and the most amazing olive oil!

from Trip Advisor

“Who knew pasta was so easy and so much fun”

We completed a four hour cooking course with Stephania (cooking teacher) at Raffa's and it was splendid. Stephenia is an angel -easy going and communicates the umbrian cooking methods so well with the raise of a shoulder, slant of an eye and timbre of voice. She has a lovely sense of humour and conveys much through a smile. I can Not believe we cooked so much in so little time. We cooked inraffas house and kitchen and were welcomed by the family, visitors and Raffa. Our course had four people but they do take six. This would not be a disadvantage.
At the end we sat outside at a beautiful table prepared by Raffa and consumed the lovely meal with 2 bottles of wine and a bottle of sweet wine in the warm Umbrian night. My next trip will include a stay at Raffa's and a longer course. What a wonderful experience!

from Trip Advisor

“A memorable Umbrian experience”

As part of our Italy food tour, I stayed at "La Volpe e L'uva" with a group of 8 of my dearest family and friends from July 25th to 29th. Raffaela was very helpful from the get go. Even when I was arranging this trip with her months before, she gave me plenty of advice on what to do and where to go during our stay. She was very patient with us because we changed the headcount multiple times. The group grew from 6 to 9 during planning. She has a fantastic website that's full of useful information. Not to mention all the recipes that gave us a preview of what's to come. Sure enough, our experience there was nothing short of extraordinary. It was a cute rustic farm house sitting on the hills outside of Perugia. Raffaela's family house is right next to the guest house, which has a number of apartments to accommodate multiple groups of visitors. The view from my apartment was fantastic. It looks out to the swimming pool down below, and the neat looking vineyards on the hills ahead. There was a fig tree right outside of our windows as well. All this was so refreshing considering we all came from big cities. During our stay, Raffaela brought in cooking instructor Stefania to teach us how to cook Umbrian dishes. We had 3 days of such cooking lessons. Each day we cooked a 4-course meal which typically consisted of some type of handmade pasta, a vegetable dish, a meat dish, and a dessert. All of it was so much fun to make. And on the first day, we ate on a picnic bench outside because the weather was so pleasant. We had some rain after the first day, so we ate inside the house. But the food was equally delicious. Raffaela gave us her table Cianti that her family made from their own vineyard. We ate, drank, and laughed so much during our stay. Everyone in my group is still talking about it with their friends and family today. Raffa, you're the best hostess and I'd recommend your place to anyone who wants to truly experience Italy, particularly Umbria. Grazie per tutto!!!!

from Trip Advisor

“Wonderful, authentic, memorable”

My sister and I so very much enjoyed our experieince with Rafaella and Stephania in their Umbrian farmhouse. We learned how to make fresh pasta, pork roast with grapes and tiramisu. It was fun, entertaining and educational. it was a wonderful way to spend a day in Italy with my sister. Rafaella has a beautiful home and Stephania is a wonderful cook. Both showed us thier italian hospitality. We highly recommend this experieince to anyone wishing to cook for a day and spend thier time in the Umbrian contryside.

from Trip Advisor

“Amazing food, wine, views and lots of laughs. What else can you ask for”

I went with my partner at the end of May/beginning June. I booked this trip half a year ago so we were looking forward to it for quite some time. We dedicided to go the full experience with a 6 day course- this included 4 cooking workshops, 2 site seeing tours and 2 hikes.

Any doubts about the quantity of cooking classes we signed up for was gone after the first day. Stefania is a wonderful teacher, we enjoyed all of her recipes and tips. The classes were relatively small, ranging from 3 to 5 participants in total. The daytrips were well organised with a pick up and drop off at the farm (Assisi and Orvieto) the hikes were also worth while as it is such a beautiful area!

Raffaella's farm is well maintained and cosy, surrounded by an amazing Italian lanscape. It was sad to leave after our week of learning and relaxing. Would definitelly go back

from Trip Advisor

“A great course, not to be missed if you want a fun, informative Italian cookery experience”

We just spent 3 fabulous months in Italy, and one of the stand-out highlights was our 4-night stay at La Volpe e l'uva for the "Let's Cook Umbria" cooking course.

We were made very welcome by Raffa, our hostess and Stefania, our cooking teacher. We learnt authentic Italian cookery in a great atmosphere of fun. More than just a cookery course, we learnt about combinations and the building of great menus, using the freshest of ingredients.

We also attended other courses while in Italy and while they were good, this experience had that little extra! This was definitely down to Raffa and Stefania themselves, who went out of their way to look after us.

The 4-course meal every was a great event, in a lovely setting, complete with great views of the surrounding countryside. The meal was presented with the good wine of the property. This, of course, necessitated a siesta later in the afternoon after our hard day's work in the kitchen!

We look forward to a return visit ... maybe at grape harvest time!

from Trip Advisor

“A fantastic afternoon of leaning to cook the Umbrian Way”

This cooking event was held at the Villa where we were staying, not at Raffa's property. It was a really good afternoon and evening event. Raffa and Stefania were great guides to us and we were all able to get involved in the preparation of a 3 course meal.
The food was delicious.
A great thing to do for an afternoon in Umbria

from Trip Advisor

“Great food and great people”

I have just left Perugia, where I've been for the past few months. After spending most of my time in Perugia city, it was lovely to relax in the beautiful country surrounds of la volpe e l'uva, and indulge in some cooking classes at Let's Cook in Umbria. Stefania is a terrific teacher - we all learnt heaps but had fun as well, particularly sitting down to eat all of the beautiful food we had just cooked!

Raffa is a fantastic host, making sure everyone has whatever they need to enjoy their stay, and I really felt welcome in the 5 days I was there.

from Trip Advisor

“let's cook in Umbria”

Had such a good time at La Volpe e L'Uva.
Raffa was always ready to help with anything and Stefania is an amazing teacher. All the food was truly delicious and I've already tried a few of the recipes again and they've turned out great.
thanks so much for a great week guys


from Trip Advisor

“A really fun morning of authentic Umbrian cooking”

We attended a half-day cooking class (though it is possible to stay at the venue and do several days' worth of classes). We actively participated in the session to create a four-course Umbrian meal (including pasta-making), under the expert guidance of Stefania. Lots of practical tips were given along the way. At the end of the morning, we sat down with the other couple in the class and ate our meal and drank some local wine, with a lovely view over the countryside. It was a very enjoyable part of our trip to Umbria and good to be doing something hands-on and down-to-earth after a lot of intense sightseeing in the region. Bring your camera so you can take photos of the experience!


from Trip Advisor

"A wonderful authentic experience”

I took my husband on a 3-day cooking course as a surprise for his 30th birthday and we both had a wonderful time. Stefania was a great teacher, giving us the perfect balance of information, demonstrations and hands-on participation. She was also a really fun teacher who made the classes very relaxed and enjoyable. We cooked a good variety of Italian food, including pizzas, tagliatelle, gnocchi, tiramisù, bruschetta and a great chocolate and pear cake. The class sizes were good - there were just the two of us on the first day, four on the next and six on the last. We really appreciated all the little tips Stefania gave us, as well as interesting snippets about Umbrian food and what she cooks at home.

I had been keen to find a very hands-on course that lets you get involved and this more than lived up to my expectations. We've already tried out one of the dishes we learnt, which was easy to prepare and brought the taste of Italy back to Yorkshire!


from Trip Advisor

"Relaxing, beautiful, well-coordinated trip.”

My daughter and I went on this trip wanting to get to know Italian culture and to do something spiritual to honor the Easter holiday. We could not have asked for anything more! Raffaella is a more and gracious hostess. The cooking classes, guided tours and the relaxing time spent overlooking the Umbrian landscape were the perfect balance. Wonderful food, wine and great people also staying at the house. We wouldn't have changed a thing!! Raffa even organized our drive back to the FCO airport.


from Trip Advisor

“Fantastic and very authentic experience!.”

I took my Mum here for a treat for a long weekend and Raffa was very welcoming from the start. My mum loves dogs and cats and Raffa welcomed her in to her house to make friends with the animals. The cooking course was fantastic and we learnt to make fresh pasta and crostata (Italian dessert).. I would never have dreamed of making either from scratch but have since cooked both and impressed even my Italian friends. Raffa also arranged massages for both me and my mum on site which was bliss. The only regret I have is that we didn't do more cooking classes and stay for longer. I definitely recommend this trip and will be going back again. P.S. We didn't hire a car and the location is quite remote (which adds to it's charm), but if you are planning to go without hiring a car and you want to visit local villages/wine tours you can arange this in advance through Raffa.


from Trip Advisor

“Cooking and eating in a beautiful place with great hosts.”

We arrived to a clean and fairly spacious apartment. The cooking course we did lasted three days. Each morning would involve the preparation of simple, yet delicious local food, cooked with fresh produce. The four courses we had prepared were then devoured by us, along with good, homemade red wine. Our hosts, Stefania and Rafa were very friendly and full of conversation, making us feel not only welcome, but also part of the wider experience of Italian cooking, which transcends merely preparing a meal in the kitchen to become something more elemental.


from Trip Advisor

“A Beautiful Weekend!”

The apartments are clean and spacious, and are located in the countryside, just a few minutes outside of Perugia. Raffa and her lovely family were gracious hosts. This truly is an opportunity to live like an Italian. We spent both Friday night and Saturday morning enjoying our private cooking classes, which featured 4 dishes apiece, and was complemented by the wine made at the vineyard! The location was beautiful the food was fabulous. A great weekend!


from Trip Advisor

“A Most Memorable 50th!”

I wanted to take my 10 year old daughter on a really memorable holiday to Italy, and it was important to me that we were doing something we would both enjoy.

Our cooking holiday at lets Cook in Umbria was a brilliant inspiration. A farmhouse in the hills in the middle of nowhere, (which we managed to find at the dead of night with some help from Raffaella - get good google directions before you go and check they are not sending you all round Perugia, as ours were!), there is a wonderful, warm, welcoming atmosphere at this family run affair.

Stephania, our chef, was great, and Anna was welcomed into the fold, (and got rather a lot of attention and was allowed to practice all sorts of things I think we adults may have hesitated to ask about!) She absoutely loved the course, and I couldn't recommend it highly enough if you have a daughter who likes cooking.

Our fellow participants were very friendly and welcoming, despite being invaded by a minor, and by the second afternoon I was able to sit and paint by the poolside while they played loudly hilarious card games with my daughter.

The family went well beyond the call of duty, and put on an impromptu birthday party for me on the Friday night, with sparkling wine, sparkling wit, and good food (of course!) and even a present made by the two 10 year old Anna's - Raffaella's and mine.

As an Alexander Teacher and life coach with a life long interest in self development and spirituality, I was also delighted to be able to work with Roberto (Raffaella's husband) and Eduardo, who work with voice and self development, and we were able to exchange work - watch this space for some future collaboration - who knows?

This was truly a memorable holiday - thank you all at 'Let's Cook in Umbria'!


from Trip Advisor