I spent a week in Tuscany recently, staying in the Lunigiana area in the north of the region, taking part in a cooking and wine experience hosted by a local couple, Mirella and Francesco. It turned out to be one of the most memorable trips I’ve had in years.
I was invited by Not In The Guidebooks, a company that specialises in immersive holidays – trips built around staying with local hosts and taking part in what they actually do, rather than watching from the outside.
It’s a different way of travelling: instead of ticking off sights, you spend your time cooking, working, or exploring alongside people who live there, and you come away having learned something rather than just having seen something.
It’s a style of travel I’m genuinely passionate about recommending. The best travel memories I have aren’t from famous viewpoints, but from moments like this one – a proper conversation with a winemaker, an evening that wasn’t on any itinerary, a village opening up in a way it wouldn’t for a passing coach tour.
Staying in Lunigiana, Northern Tuscany
I flew into Pisa and travelled onward by train into Lunigiana, to a village called Tavernelle – the kind of place that feels a world away from the coach-tour parts of Tuscany, still running very much on its own time.
The village itself is tiny: a single street of 15th-century buildings, a 500-year-old fortified tower house, and sandstone arcades on almost every corner.
Home for the four nights was a 400-year-old palazzo that once belonged to an Italian noble family. It has been beautifully restored into five individually styled apartments, each with its own kitchen and ensuite bathroom, and the property also has a pool, garden lawns, and views out across the surrounding mountains.
Mirella and Francesco are the hosts, and they made the week what it was. Mirella grew up around her family’s organic fruit, vegetables, olive oil and wine production in the Chianti hills, and cooks using herbs from her own garden and recipes passed down through her family – a genuine believer in the slow food philosophy of fresh, local, seasonal ingredients, and it shows in everything she makes.
Francesco’s father was a wine producer in Chianti for over 50 years; Francesco grew up around that cellar and is now a qualified sommelier who also makes his own wine, and talks about it with real enthusiasm.
Tuscan Cooking Classes with a Local Host
The week included two cooking classes with Mirella, each around four hours long, and each one properly hands-on rather than a demonstration. In the first, we made ravioli with a ricotta filling – the ricotta itself brought down from the mountains that morning by a local shepherd’s wife, especially for the class — a tiramisu, and a panzanella (a Tuscan bread and tomato salad). In the second, we made a cream of tomato soup, a pasta sauce with tomatoes, aubergine and Italian sausage, and frittole, a sweet made from chestnut flour.
Ingredients were sourced locally wherever possible, and it genuinely made a difference to the flavour.
Everything made in the class became that evening’s dinner, with wines selected by Francesco to pair with each dish – there’s something special about eating a meal you made yourself, taught by someone who clearly loves doing it.
Experiencing Local Life in a Tuscan Village
Between the cooking classes, Francesco gave a tour of the village, including access to the local church, which he arranged to have opened just for the group.
We also met a number of local residents, including someone who had spent the morning foraging mushrooms, which were served, deep-fried, with dinner that evening – still fragrant from the woods a few hours earlier. On the final evening, the village’s festival lighting was switched on for the group, something usually reserved for the summer festival, and it made for a genuinely moving end to the stay.
Wine Tasting and Local Wine in Lunigiana
We were also given a tasting of Francesco’s own wines, including a 2017 Chianti Classico he’d been saving, and shown around the cellar where his wine is made and bottled by hand.
A Day Trip from Lunigiana to Cinque Terre
One day of the trip was set aside for a visit to Cinque Terre, including a tour and tasting at the Cantina5Terre winery and time in Manarola, a UNESCO-listed village on the coast, with the sea in view for most of the day. Transport was included both ways, and a substantial lunch of local produce was provided – a lovely, easy contrast to the slower, kitchen-based rhythm of the rest of the week.
Travel Tip: Getting from Pisa Airport to Pisa Centrale
For anyone flying via Pisa, the PisaMover is a straightforward way to travel between Pisa Centrale station and Pisa International Airport in either direction.
It’s an automated shuttle, takes around five minutes each way, runs frequently, and is cheaper than a taxi – a small thing, but one that makes the journey noticeably smoother when you know about it in advance.
Is a Cooking and Wine Holiday in Tuscany Worth It?
For me, this trip showed exactly why slowing down and experiencing a destination through the people who live there can be so rewarding. From cooking family recipes with Mirella to tasting wine with Francesco and spending time in a tiny Tuscan village, it felt much more personal than a traditional sightseeing holiday. If you love food, wine and discovering a quieter side of Italy, Lunigiana is well worth considering.
How to Book a Tuscan Cooking and Wine Experience
There are three ways to book this cooking and wine experience with Mirella and Francesco:
Groups Exclusive — Private Tuscan Palazzo Cooking & Wine Escape
The whole palazzo reserved for one group, for four nights, including cooking classes with Mirella and wine tastings and a cellar tour with Francesco. Currently, when 7 people book, the 8th place is free on the cost of the experience (this does not apply to flights or transport). Flights and ground transport are arranged separately.
Tuscan 4 Night Cooking Experience with Wine Tour
This is the itinerary described above: four nights in an apartment with its own kitchen and pool access, two cooking classes with Mirella, and a wine tour with Francesco. Available year-round. Flights and ground transport are arranged separately.
Tuscan 3 Night Cooking Experience
A shorter version of the above, for those with less time or combining the trip with a wider Italy itinerary. Available year-round. Flights and ground transport are arranged separately.
All three can be extended with additional nights in Pisa, Florence or Parma. If you would like more information, including on flights and transport, get in touch and I can talk you through it.