- Duration
- 5 nights
- Intensity
- Gentle
- Base
- Monferrato, Piedmont
A hands-on residential cooking programme with a Michelin-trained resident chef. Morning market runs in Alba, afternoons in the villa kitchen, evenings around a long table eating what you cooked.
This is a real cooking course, not a demonstration. You wear the apron, you weigh the flour, you butcher the rabbit, you plate the tasting menu. By Friday you will have cooked and served a full nine-course Piemontese dinner for the whole villa.
Groups are capped at ten and split into pairs on the pass. All produce comes from within 60km - the villa's own kitchen garden, the Alba market, the butcher in Costigliole and the cheese-maker in Bra.
Five days, five disciplines.
Fresh pasta
Tajarin, agnolotti del plin and ravioli - egg dough theory, rolling, filling, saucing.
Risotto & rice
Piedmont is Italy's rice heartland: Carnaroli technique, Barolo risotto, sartù al forno.
Regional secondi
Brasato al Barolo, coniglio in civet, vitello tonnato - slow protein cookery.
Desserts & pasticceria
Bonet, panna cotta, torta di nocciole, hazelnut gelato from Piemonte IGP hazelnuts.
The tasting menu
Day five: plan, prep and serve a full nine-course Piemontese tasting menu together.
"Five days, five disciplines of the Piemontese kitchen"
A week,
day by day.
A generic schedule - exact activities rotate with conditions and group ability. Rest windows and swaps are built in.
- Day 1Fresh pastaMorning
Alba market run with the chef. Egg-dough theory back at the villa.
AfternoonRolling and cutting tajarin, filling agnolotti del plin.
EveningLong dinner: your own pasta with butter-and-sage, then meat ragù.
- Day 2Risotto & riceMorning
Rice-varietal tasting; Carnaroli technique from the base up.
AfternoonBarolo risotto with beef-cheek reduction; sartù al forno for the group.
EveningFamily-style rice supper with a Nebbiolo flight.
- Day 3Regional secondiMorning
Butchery demo. Braising theory. Brasato al Barolo goes on for the night's dinner.
AfternoonConiglio in civet and vitello tonnato prep.
EveningBraised-meat dinner served at the long table.
- Day 4Desserts & pasticceriaMorning
Bonet and panna cotta, custard technique, sugar-work basics.
AfternoonTorta di nocciole and hazelnut gelato churned to order.
EveningDessert-tasting supper in the garden.
- Day 5The tasting menuMorning
Menu-planning session with the chef. Split the pass into stations.
AfternoonMise-en-place for a nine-course Piemontese tasting menu.
EveningYou cook and serve the full menu for the whole villa. Farewell wines chosen by the sommelier.
Fully hosted,
the retreat only.
A standalone retreat programme. Our team runs the entire culinary experience - instructors, guides, equipment, in-country transport, plus lunches on activity days and one welcome dinner at the villa. Accommodation is a separate, optional booking, so locals and day guests are welcome.
Accommodation, breakfasts, remaining dinners and airport transfers are booked separately - see Stay With Us, or ask us to bundle a suite with your retreat.
- Five full cooking days with a Michelin-trained resident chef
- Alba market morning run with the chef on day one
- All ingredients, aprons, knives and equipment
- Wine pairings and printed recipe binder to take home
- In-country transport to every session
- Trail or riverside lunches on activity days
- Welcome aperitivo and opening dinner at the villa
- Use of the villa pool, sauna and gardens on programme days
Enquire about
the culinary masterclass week.
Tell us your dates and group size. We'll come back within two working days with available weeks and a bespoke quote. Accommodation is optional and quoted alongside.