But to many of us it isn't enough to just go on holiday and experience lovely food and sights, we want to be able to take the food home with us and share it with our families and friends. So why not take an Italian cookery school holiday? Cookery holidays are available all over the world but it's no surprise to find out that Italy is the number one destination for travelling gourmets. What with the stunning scenery, fabulous history, wonderful people and amazing food it has rightly earned its place at the top of the tree.



Italian cookery school holidays are generally situated in rural, unspoilt areas of Italy. One of the beauties of Italy is that although you might be deep into the countryside you're also never too far away from a bustling, vibrant city such as Milan, Turin, Rome, Bergamo, Florence or Bologna. Italian cookery holidays cover most ability level so suit those who want a holiday but would love to cook as well as those who want to cook but would also like a holiday and are run by families or chef's who want to pass on the authentic way of cooking real Italian food.

Whatever your level you'll be guaranteed an experience like no other. These chefs have a first hand knowledge of the local ingredients and the regional culinary traditions, as well as a noticeable passion for Italian cookery. The beauty of Italian food, just like the countryside, it varies so much from region to region as well as from season to season. Pasta is cooked differently in Sicily than it is in Sardinia, bread is baked differently in Piedmont than it is in Sienna. A pizza is totally different in Milan to one eaten in Naples

If you wanted to, and why wouldn't you, you could have a totally different cooking holiday experience every year just by visiting Italy time and time again. Don't be too daunted by a cookery holiday if you're not the greatest chef, generally classes are made up of around eight to ten people therefore each participant enjoys personal attention and gets the most out of every cooking session and excursion.

The growing demand for cooking holidays and cookery courses has been fueled by the popularity of the celebrity chef. Italian cookery school holidays offer plenty of opportunity for both wonderful cooking education as well as fantastic excursions and activities to the local area which could include wine tasting, dancing, painting, sculpting, writing, guided walking, herbal tours and olive picking which all give you more opportunity to soak up the tastes and smells of the local area.

So if you love cooking or would like to experience the many wonderful micro worlds of Italy maybe you could roll both passions into one holiday.