Meet the Makers
October 6th to the 10th in Florence
a 5 day slow travel foodie excursion
I’m celebrating 10 years of living in Florence and want to celebrate with you by sharing what made me fall in love with the beautiful food culture and the slow life so you can experience it too
I left my high stress corporate life in NYC in 2016 to follow my culinary passions in Florence where I now teach pasta classes, lead market tours of the Sant’Ambrogio market and work as a private chef. One of the things that I love the most about life here is obviously the food! The quality of the ingredients is better because it matters and it’s ingrained in the fabric of the food culture here. There is a shorter food chain from the source of where things come from to having it at home. Everyone from the growers, makers, and locals that cook with these ingredients appreciate every step of the process and are all connected.
It’s beautiful to see the source, where things come from or the process of how things are made by artisans be them biodynamic wine makers, truffle hunters, cheese makers, bee keepers, corzetti stamp makers and regenerative farmers. I’ve carefully curated each of the artisan we’ll visit to give you a little taste of what we call “materia prima”, which are the simple raw materials of quality that create these beautiful things
This is perfect for you if you’re into slow travel, in small groups for more special experiences
Meet the Makers
Masters, Creators and Artisans
I want to share with you everything that made me fall in love with my slow life after my high stress life in NYC. Knowing where my food comes from, knowing the person that makes my wine, learning how truffles are harvested, about regenerative farming, olive oil harvesting and what’s a “good olive oil” and more…..if you’re a foodie who loves really amazing local ingredients and seeing where they come from join me!
Female Truffle Hunter
We’ll visit a multi-generation family of truffle hunters, now led by a an expert female truffle hunter. After hunting for truffles with her right-hand truffle dog we will enjoy a truffle lunch
Pecorino Cheesemaker
Visit with a family of modern artisan cheese makers to see the production, their cantina, followed by tasting of their specialty pecorino cheese
Biodynamic Winemaker
An expert biodynamic wine maker will show us around his vineyard, where he also grows olives using the same biodynamic methods. We’ll taste his wines and artisanal extra virgin olive oil
Regenerative Farm with Olive Oil
Tuscan farm with regenerative farm practices. We’ll learn about the process of extra virgin olive harvest and taste some freshly pressed extra virgin olive oil
Corzetti Artisan
We’ll get an inside look at this third generation artisan corzetti maker’s workshop, learn about the process and see first hand how he finishes carving the stamp
Bee Keeper
We’ll learn about bee culture & society, see first hand how the bees produce honey, and taste raw unprocessed honey
Featured Retreat
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Transportation from designated meeting point to visit the makers outside the city
Lunches where indicated
Farewell Dinner
Lodging not Included
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the order of what day the activities take place may change, but all the activities listed will happen
Day 1
Sant’Ambrogio Market Tour & Pasta Making ClassWe are making our lunch today with seasonal ingredients and hand made pasta made by us
Day 2
Truffle Hunting with a Multi-Generational Family of Truffle Hunters, Now Led by a Female Truffle Hunter (How cool is that?!)Winery Visit with a Master Bio-Dynamic Winemaker, followed by Wine & Olive Oil tasting
Truffle Lunch
Day 3
Visit with a third generation master artisan Corzetti Stamp Maker to learn about the process, experience how he finishes carving a corzetti stampVisit to a new generation of Pecorino Cheesemakers to learn about Tuscan cheese, made by modern cheese makers using classic methods followed by cheese tasting
Lunch or Dinner Included
Day 4
Visit with a regenerative farm to learn about their methods, the process of making olive oil, and olive oil tastingLunch or Dinner Included
Day 5
Visit with a Bee Keeper to learn about bee culture & society, followed by a tasting of honey with artisanal cheese & breadFarewell Tuscan Dinner
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Book Your Spot
To sign up and confirm with a non-refundable deposit. The remaining balance to be paid in full 45 days before the start in one payment or split across 2 payments.Cancellation Policy
Deposit and payments are not refundable due to reservations with partners , but if you get someone to take your spot we can figure something out.
