What makes Umbria such an ideal place for a weeklong cooking vacation? Looking on our map, you’ll notice that Umbria is sandwiched between Tuscany on the west and the Marche to the east. Its reputation as "the green heart of Italy" cannot be argued. The surrounding landscape is breathtakingly beautiful with its lush verdant valleys, fields of sunflowers and golden wheat. Read more...
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Gerri is a lover of all things Italian: food, culture, the Renaissance, the Early Roman Empire, and of course, family. She grew up in an Italian-American home in Flushing, Queens where her grandfather nurtured a fig tree in the backyard, her grandmother made fresh ricotta and raviolis, and Sunday dinner for twelve began at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. Read more... 
Cucina della Terra is close by the regional capital of Perugia, where you can explore the Basilica of San Domenico (begun in 1394 and finished in 1458), the Fontana Maggiore, and many other historic sites. Other local attractions to visit include the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, the Duomo and the Piazza del Campo in Siena, and the Etruscan ruins and the underground city in Orvieto. Read more...
In our intensive cooking classes we will use high-quality local products in dishes that will follow the typical Italian format: antipasti, primi, secondi, contorni and dolci. Local wines such as Sangrantino and Orvieto will accompany every meal. Read more...
If you are a food lover in pursuit of a fun-filled cooking vacation in Italy, Cucina della Terra is the school for you. Here you will participate in hands-on cooking classes in English with chef Gerri Sarnataro while enjoying the beauty of the Italian landscape. In addition, we will transport you to ancient cities and towns where time seems to have stopped. We’ve hand-picked restaurants and trattorias that exemplify updated classics along with rustic Italian cooking. Gerri has organized a series of wine tastings, market trips, olive oil tastings and a truffle hunt that will expose you to regional specialties. Classes are kept to a maximum of 15, so you will always be an active participant.
Every turn leads to another Bernini, Giotto, Pietro della Francesco or Ciambue. Shops are laden with world-class Pecorino cheeses, wines that include Barolos, Barbarescos, Chiantis, Orvietos and Brunellos, famous Umbrian olive oils of Trevi and wild boar salumeria of Norcia, and of course, the famous black truffle of Umbria. Farro, the ancient grain of the Romans, and lentils from Casteluccio abound in every shop.
You’ll learn to make the regional pasta shapes which include pici, strangozzi, strozzapretti and umbrichelli along with sauces that you can recreate at home.
Come join us for a week long fiesta of our own making!