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No wonder that the slow food movement has originated in Italy! This is the land of first class ingredients and a people passionate about their culinary traditions. Umbria in particular has much to offer. Experience the culinary landscape of the area from wild asparagus to porcini mushrooms. Visit beautiful little places famous for pecorino, truffle, charcuterie, saffron, chocolate and game. Sample individual and interesting local wines in medieval cellars. Visit restaurants with excellent cuisine and great ambiance. Learn to prepare authentic local dishes at a historic mansion, demonstrated by traditional cooks of the area. Stay at a house situated in the middle of an olive grove for an excellent opportunity to learn about olive picking and oil production. Enjoy gourmet dinners with wine at Casa Fontana where amenities include comfortable apartments, extensive grounds and a large pool.

Day One

After greeting you at Rome Airport and a touch of first aid in the shape of an excellent Italian coffee, we set off on our Umbrian culinary tour. En route to Casa Fontana we stop at the spectacular cathedral town of Orvieto, famous for its white wine. There has been wine production here since time immemorial: the dark maze of cavities with its constant temperature in the subsoil of Orvieto is perfect for wine conservation. We visit an Etruscan wine cellar deep underground and taste more recent vintages of the famous Orvieto Classico above. We reach Casa Fontana in time for a refreshing swim and a Welcome Gala Dinner. The evening is rounded off by an introductory talk about the food and drink of Umbria by a guest lecturer.

Day Two

We explore the culinary life of a typical Umbrian hilltop town: visit a local bakery, vegetable shop and fishmongers in ancient Citta della Pieve. Is asking for a cappuccino after lunch really a major faux pas in Italy? We shall find out the answer at the stylish Café Degli Artisti where we learn which coffee to drink, where and when. Citta’s major contribution to the culinary landscape of the area is saffron, known as the “King of Spice”. We visit a saffron farm to find out all about its growing, harvesting and preservation. In the afternoon we learn about those two pillars of Umbria’s economy, wine and olives, at the Torgiano Museum. The wealthy wine producing Lungarotti family have established the eclectic but highly interesting Wine Museum, a fascinating combination of a history lesson along with the story of the making and drinking of wine since antiquity through objects and works of art. You may have thought olive oil was simply a substance to cook with or splash over salads but after a visit to the Olive Museum in Torgiano you will know better. Over millennia it has been used as a source of light and heat, in religious rituals, in medicine, in nutrition, in sports and in cosmetics. Edith and George will be happy to comment on the exhibits from their own experiences of nurturing, picking and pressing the Casa Fontana olives. Dinner is at Siro’s, a delightfully simple place where young lovers and large family groups blend into a happy, noisy crowd. They have every reason to be happy: the food is divine! The Siro antipasto is a huge platter of some ten fifteen tiny little tasty bits, such as a sliver of pecorino with chestnut honey, home cured ham wrapped around an artichoke, or a piece of puff pastry with a creamy filling. All the pasta is “fatta in casa”, home made. It is worth persevering to the meat course, as the oven baked lamb is really melt-in-the-mouth and even the humble sausage acquires new dimensions of flavour in Siro’s excellent kitchen. As for the wines, the house red is as good as anything coming out of the famous Lungarotti cellars nearby.

Day Three

The day begins by visiting Assisi. It clings to a rolling hillside below imposing Mount Subasio, whose top is covered in snow most of the year. The birthplace of St Francis Assisi is a charming town, dominated by the Basilica, perched like a fortress above distant plains.

The countryside beneath Assisi is a centre of olive oil production and the Umbrians claim that theirs is the best in all of Italy. Be that as it may, dipping a chunk of crusty bread that has been lightly rubbed with garlic into a dish of extra virgin olive oil is a snack fit for a king, and a welcoe break amidst all the sight seeing. It is a short drive to beautiful Montefalco, a hilltop town with great Renaissance art and architecture and home to the delicious Sagrantino wines. We stop at a medieval “cantina” for a tasting. The waiter serves us small glasses of various vintages, then cuts delicious slices of prosciutto from the whole ham sitting on the counter, surrounded by fat olives and fluffy little cheese tartlets. No rest for the keen gourmet, however: we are off to our cookery lesson. It takes place at Villa Lemura, a historic mansion set in landscaped gardens with panoramic views. The villa has frescoes, antique furniture and individually decorated rooms that have been restored to modern levels of comfort. The owners of Villa Lemura, a historic mansion near Casa Fontana, have kindly let us use their kitchens and their staff to demonstrate how Umbrian food is prepared. Those of us who wish to join in the preparation are welcome to do so. Those who would rather just take it easy, might have a stroll in the extensive gardens, take drinks on the palace patio or lounge around in the elegantly furnished grand salon, decorated with frescoes. Once the food is prepared, welcome cocktails will be followed by dinner in the Garden Room of the Villa. We do not as yet know what we are going to cook, it all depends on seasonal availability. As is the custom in Umbria, it will certainly contain antipasti, a home made pasta, various vegetable dishes and meats and a fruity dessert. Bon appetito!

Day Four

Today we explore Lago Trasimeno, Italy’s fourth largest lake. Our first port of call is to historic Castiglion del Lago, built on a promontory jutting out over the lake. It is market day and an opportunity for tasting cold cuts of pork and game, liberally offered by the market shops. Thus fortified we take a pleasant boat ride to lovely Isola Maggiore, the island where St Francis famously survived for a month on half a loaf of bread. We have better fare today; the island’s many waterside restaurants are famous for fish specialities. This beautiful blue-green lake is also known as the Umbrian Riviera.

We sail to the elegant resort of Pasignano for an ice cream or a “digestivo” before driving far up into the lakeside hills for spectacular views of the lake and its three islands. We can also look down on the fields that were the scene of Hannibal’s decisive battle against the Romans in 217 BC. Back at the Casa we have a tasting of local quality wines each of which is accompanied with its own “spuntino”, a snack to complement the flavour of the vino.

Day Five

Tomorrow’s farewell dinner will be a communal affair and guests are encouraged to chip in with the planning and the shopping. Some might even wish to help with the preparation! Armed with our shopping list, we drive Citta del Castello to learn all about truffles. The oak woods of the Tuscany Umbria border are rich hunting grounds for the truffle and there are several companies who process truffles into the pastes and flavoured oils that are an important ingredient in many Umbrian dishes. We shall certainly include some in tomorrow’s dinner. Our next stop is a must for chocaholics and good fun for the rest: we visit the world famous Perugina Chocolate factory. Later we take a walk in Perugia’s medieval town centre and relax with a little snack of a local speciality, which is a snake. Not a real one, you will be pleased to hear, but an almond cake shaped like a coiled serpent. There is an opportunity for some rest and recreation at the Casa, as dinner will be late. We head for the restaurant, Il Principato – a truly a unique experience. They have only the one menu, at the discretion of the chef who designs it around what is seasonal or fresh in the market. We dine on eight or nine delicious courses steeped in the tradition of the area with the light touch of a master chef. Course after course is placed in front of us. In between delicious pasta courses, we get a tiny espresso cup sized taste of some light broth. Their risottos are always imaginatively married to the flavours of the season: light green and crunchy in the spring, rich and spice laden in the winter. One of their specialities is cross-bread wild boar, juicy and tender, cooked with herbs and juniper berries. A word of warning: after the meal an antique baby carriage is pushed to your table, with thirty odd varieties of grappa with herbs and flavourings. It is all on the house, but do exercise prudence. Avoid the peperoncini grappa like the plague! It is so lethally strong that, were you to drink it, you would consider the plague a kind alternative!

Day Six

Green exclamation marks on a golden landscape, cypresses are very much the symbol of Tuscany. Though originally planted along roads to commemorate the war dead, they have come to typify the stunning beauty of this region. We are on our way to the exquisite hilltop town of Montepulciano, a fascinating mixture of Sienese Gothic and Florentine Renaissance architecture. As in Orvieto, original inhabitant Etruscans dug deep underneath the city and their chambers were later used as wine cellars. We drop into an Enoteca to taste the most famous of Montepulciano wines, the Vino Nobile. It is based on Prugnelo Gentile, a different variety of Sangiovese from the one used in Chianti. We pick up a few bottles to accompany the evening meal and continue our drive through picture postcard pretty Tuscany to reach Pienza, famous for its Pecorino cheese. Incidentally, it is also one of the most significant examples of Renaissance humanistic architecture! The town was the birthplace of Pope Pius II who wanted to transform it into the “ideal city”: a measurable, harmonious space where the human spirit can feel at the centre of the stage. After a walk amidst the architectural splendours of Pienza we head for the cheese shops. Not an easy job choosing the best out of more than a hundred different types of Pecorinos on offer. The mature stagionato (“seasoned” or “aged” ) is hard but still crumbly in texture and has a buttery, nutty flavour. The “semi-stagionato” and “fresco” have softer texture and milder cream and milk tastes. Then there are the regional varieties, from Sicily, Sardinia or Toscana, though abroad Pecorino Romano is the best known. We shall end our meal tonight with a good Pecorino Stagionato, served with pears and walnuts, though it can be also simply drizzled with strong chestnut honey. For our pasta dish tonight we shall pick up some “semi-staggionato”. Back at Casa Fontana we begin our preparations for the farewell feast to come.

Day Seven

We spend our last morning at our local hidden gem Panicale, a totally unspoilt hilltop town with medieval walls, hanging gardens and panoramic views over Lake Trasimeno and the surrounding slopes dotted with olives and vineyards.

Our last lunch together is at Masolino’s, where mamma does the cooking, the daughter the delicious desserts whilst the son heads the service and manages his impressive wine list. The food is authentic Umbrian at its most delicious. Amongst the many offerings we love the truffle and leek pasta, the tender pork loin with a rosemary flavoured chickpea puree and the flambéed crema catalana that is an aristocratic distant cousin to the ubiquitous crème caramel. The house speciality is guinea fowl in a delicious creamy dressing, served on a king sized bruschetta. Regretfully, we have to head for the airport after lunch. Still, it is not “Goodbye” but “Till we meet again” – Arrivederci!

Accommodation

Your accommodation is a private apartment in an Umbrian villa.. Casa Fontana (www.casafontana.net ) is a recently converted farmhouse, set in five acres of terraced hillside with a secluded pool offering panoramic views over valleys and mountains.

Each comfortable apartment is subtly individual in style. They all have lounge / kitchen, double bedroom, shower room with WC, outside patio and dining area. Your apartment is equipped with cooker, fridge and dishwasher..

Meals

Your apartment contains breakfast provisions The main meal is in the evenings (except for lunch on one occasion), taken on the spacious loggia with wonderful views - sunsets are magnificent!.

Sourced from fresh local ingredients, meals consist of several seasonal courses, such as:
EARLY SUMMER MENU

Olive Bites
(Home marinated olives baked in a Parmesan cheese crust)

Asparagus Cappuccino
(A broth of pureed fresh asparagus topped with savoury whipped cream)

Pasta con Piselli
(Home made pasta with tender young peas, pancetta and basil)

Saltimboccha alla Romana
(Succulent chicken breast braised in white wine with an aromatic sage and crisp prosciutto topping served with new potatoes tossed in olive oil and parsley)

Insalata Verde
(Leaf salad)

Strawberry – misu
(Tiramisu with a light, fruity touch)

LATE SUMMER MENU

Crostini tartufati
(Toast with a truffle and mushroom topping)

Ricotta Souffle
( Herby Ricotta and Parmesan Bake served with slow roast balsamic tomatoes)

Zuppa di Castagne
( A creamy chestnut soup with spicy mini-meatballs)

Cinghiali Ragout
(Wild boar ragout with braised Savoy cabbage and chestnuts

Fichi con Amaretto
(Sweet fresh figs stuffed with amaretto cream and dipped in bitter chocolate)

Wines:
Sparkling: Prosecco del Veneto
White: Grechetto della Cantina Goretti
Red: Nero d’Avola

Dates:
6th to 12th June 2010
5th to 11th September 2010
12th to 18th September 2010

Cost per person $ 1,490
Includes: airport transfers, all transport in Italy, accommodation in an apartment for two, half board, all entrance fees, all tasting costs.
Not included: flight to and from Italy ; meals outside Casa Fontana

For full details contact:
g.cockbill(@)btinternet.com

tel. +39 075 832 093

See you at Casa Fontana!