Cooking in Florence: tasting the best of Tuscany

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Laura is the brain behind Cooking in Florence, established as an innovative cooking school offering intimate cooking classes in a truly local setting. In the quiet backstreets of the Santa Croce neighbourhood, Laura welcomes guest into her family home, an elegant three-story building with frescoed ceiling in the hallway

Cooking in Florence, tasting the best of Tuscany

Travelling to Italy wouldn’t be complete without enjoying the fruits, literally, the country has to offer, by eating your way around the country. Italy’s diversity isn’t just in its architecture, its food evolves also as you travel from north to south. Tuscany is renowned for it’s quality cuisine and one way to enjoy the tastes of Tuscany is with the help of private chef, Laura Franceschetti.

Laura is the brain behind Cooking in Florence, established as an innovative cooking school offering intimate cooking classes in a truly local setting. In the quiet backstreets of the Santa Croce neighbourhood, Laura welcomes guest into her family home, an elegant three-story building with frescoed ceiling in the hallway. It has been in the family for generations and where Laura invites guests into her sun drenched kitchen to teach the techniques of Tuscan dining.

Laura’s cooking career

A passionate cook, many of Laura’s recipes have been passed down from her grandmother and, having grown up in a restaurant in Aulla near the marble mountains of Carrara, food has always played an important part in Laura’s life. Yet it was a chance meeting with a Tuscan Prince, Duccio Corsini, and his wife, Clotilde, that launched Laura’s cooking career when she opened the osteria within the Corsini’s 16th century “Villa Le Corti” just south of Florence on their Chianti wine estate. A few years later, Laura returned to Florence to cook at various restaurants before launching her own business.

Cooking class in the Sant’Ambrogio Market

Classes begin at the local, and lesser travelled, food market in Sant’Ambrogio, where Laura guides guests around the fruit and vegetable stalls, offering her extensive knowledge on seasonal produce and their culinary history in Italy.

Moving inside the covered market building where meats, breads and fresh produce are on show, and for sale, Laura passionately shares tales of Tuscan dining, which makes this trip to the markets even more insightful. Ingredients for the class are purchased before guests return to Cooking in Florence H.Q. for food preparations to begin with pastas, meat dishes, and of course, dolce (deserts), on the menu.

The menu is always seasonal and 4-courses. Menus can be tailored to private groups including gluten free options. The kitchen is light filled and spacious, with a marble counter perfect for pasta making under a high ceiling. Cooking tools are already prepared for guests to begin work, as are pen and paper, to write down the secrets to Laura’s recipes.

The intimacy of cooking in Laura’s home adds to this authentic experience of living like a local. Laura can catering to small groups, even individuals, and also offers classes in the most beautiful farmhouses in Tuscany where, when the season, guests can go hunting for fresh truffles or finish the cooking lesson with a wine tasting. With a level three sommelier certificate, even a wine novice is in good hands with Laura Franceschetti.

A private chef

Ultimately, Laura is a private chef working with clients for special occasion dinners or destination weddings. When not teaching in Florence, she can be found in the finest villas throughout Tuscany preparing meals for holidaymakers in their rented country palaces, creating bespoke, sumptuous meals for a special occasion and tailor making menus to suit each client including wines paired perfectly with their desired dishes.

Laura also travels to client’s homes to teach cooking classes for private groups. For larger events, including weddings, Laura works with the best Tuscan planners and venues to create one-of-a-kind meals using local artisan suppliers to source the best quality products, pastries and gelato in the region. Always happy to travel, Laura Franceschetti recently went as far as Moscow for a client, with her flexibility and passion for food seeing her cater to 200 guests.

When travelling to Italy, one of the best ways to really experience the true essence of the country is through its cuisine. Enjoy the true tastes of Tuscany with a cooking class or indulge in a sumptuous meal created and cooked by one of the regions top chefs, Laura Franceschetti.

www.cookinginflorence.it – Contatto

Riproduzione Riservata © Copyright TuscanyPeople

In collaborazione con Cooking in Florence

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Informazioni sull'autore

Nardia Plumridge

Journalist & Ambassador of Tuscany