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A Gourmet Taste of the CINQUE TERRE & RIVIERA  Hot Featured PDF Print E-mail
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Tour details
Tour operator: GOURMET TRAVELER
Tour category: Cooking Vacations • Tasting Tours
Tour destination: Italy
Number of nights: 6
Availability: May
Tour expiration date: June 6, 2008
Starting cost: 3,150.00
Link to website: http://www.gourmetravel.com/content/riviera08.htm
A Gourmet Taste of the CINQUE TERRE & RIVIERA

2009 Date: May 31 - June 6

Experience the CINQUE TERRE/RIVIERA as an insider with our small group (4-12) culinary tour and explore this small region known for the 5 villages clinging to the rocky seaside cliffs - breathtaking. While Liguria may not be a household word, many have heard of the famous Cinque Terre. Of course, we visit these famous five villages, but we do even more: You'll experience cooking classes presented by an absolutely marvelous Ligurian chef/author/restaurant owner, artisan food producers, cultural tours (Genoa), outdoor markets, fish markets and fishermen, fabulous wine/food pairing meals, exciting excursions to Portofino (very famous), picturesque Camogli, Santa Margherita Ligure, and Sestri Levante.

You'll meet the many wonderful artisan friends I've made here: a truly remarkable chef that you will never forget, the gracious olive oil producer, the kind cheesemaker,excitable Guido who teaches us all about the BEST of Italian products, Loredana - our beautiful local guide, Claudio - our expansive hotel owner, Marino - our VERY entertaining night clerk, Antonio - who shares more culinary secrets. Truly a week of fun, friends, food, wine and laughter - the perfect recipe for success.

Included in tour:

  • 6 nights accommodation in our classic seaview hotel
  • All breakfasts
  • Five (5) lunches
  • Six (6) dinners, w/house wine
  • 4 Cooking classes as listed in itinerary
  • Culinary & cultural excursions listed in itinerary
  • Professional guides as listed in itinerary
  • Gourmetravel Personal guide for ALL listed activities
  • Ground transportation for listed excursions

NOT included in tour:

  • Airfare
  • Gratuities
  • Personal expenses

Sample Itinerary

 

Travel Day (Sat)

Travel day to Italy

Day 1 (Sun)

  • Arrive in Italy, train to seaside town of Rapallo
  • Arrive Rapallo, taxi to hotel
  • Hotel Check in
  • Welcome Dinner & orientation


Day 2 (Mon)

  • Breakfast
  • Cooking Class featuring the cuisine of Liguria taught by chef/author/restaurateur
  • Italian Products Seminar & Tasting
  • Lunch Seminar and tasting of the BEST of Italian products w/Guido
  • Afternoon free to explore
  • Wine/Food Pairing dinner at our chef's restaurant where we dine on our creations


Day 3 (Tues)

  • Breakfast
  • Tour to Cinque Terre - by train, boat or private van to these remote 5 towns
  • Lunch at a local Cinque Terre trattoria
  • Visit the other villages of the Cinque Terre
  • Light dinner on Rapallo waterfront


Day 4 (Wed)

  • Breakfast
  • Culinary tours
  • Mozzarella producer, tour & tasting
  • Olive Oil mill, tour & tasting
  • Tour Portofino
  • Lunch on Portofino waterfront
  • Free time in Portofino
  • Pizza Making Class and dinner (the famous focaccia of Liguria)


Day 5 (Thurs)

  • Breakfast
  • Open Air Market
  • Pasta Making demonstration
  • Lunch on our own
  • Fish Cooking Class
  • Meet the fishermen with their day's catch in Santa Margherita
  • Dinner at our Fish restaurant - dining on our creations w/local wines


Day 5 (Fri)

  • Breakfast
  • Cooking Class with Chef
  • Lunch in Camogli (preserved fishing village)
  • Free time in Camogli
  • Farewell Dinner at Chef's restaurant, dining on creations we made in class


Day 7 (Sat)

  • End of Tour



Over 15 years ago I fell in love with Italy and its food and decided to share my passion with others through Gourmet Travel - the name almost says it all, while we focus on food and wine, we also include cultural activities of each specific region: in the CINQUE TERRE/RIVIERA we visit the five picturesque villages of the Cinque Terre, Portofino, mozzarella maker, olive oil producer, and see fishermen bring in the day's catch.

Because I am a trained chef, my contacts throughout Italy are with fellow food professionals who are eager to share their insider knowledge about the area and its artisan food products, insider views that are simply not available to the average visitor. To maximize your experience we have professional guides as needed for our various tours.

After so many years of visiting Italy, my contacts have become friends, not simply business associates. You will share in this warm friendship so that you will truly experience an insider's view of Italy. Our small group size enable us to move about freely and go to places larger groups can't experience. All of these factors combine to creat the perfect recipe for a memorable experience.

Click here to view slide show of recent tour:

http://picasaweb.google.com/gourmetravel/CinqueTerreRiviera906

User reviews

Average user rating from: 3 user(s)

Overall rating
5.0
 

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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

One of the best!, Tuesday, 15 April 2008

Written by PBFerrara   -  View all my reviews  - Top 10 Reviewer

Overall rating
5.0
Since I am from an Italian family and have toured Italy on my own a number of times, I was very reluctant to participate in a food based "tour". But my wife and I along with two other couples wanted to give it a try and selected Gourmet Traveler based on what appeared to be a very interesting and unique itinerary in and around Rapallo, Portofino and Cinque Terre.

We a spent a week with Bev Gruber and her small but well connected group of folks, enjoying the sights, tastes and true culture of the Liguria region. It was a wonderful balance of cooking classes and demonstrations, food and wine experiences, art, culture and even a little shopping. Best of all, it was authentic and not your normal organized tour. You felt like you were experiencing Italy as friends, with friends.

The highlight of the trip for me were the days we spent in Fausto's kitchen helping to prepare the bread, entrées and desserts that would be served that night in his restaurant. As the morning sunlight danced through the open kitchen window with the scent of fresh basil from his garden and focaccia cooking in the oven, we learned, we laughed and we embraced being a part of his daily cooking ritual. To come back in the evening to enjoy the dinner we helped prepare (as well as seeing local Italians enjoying the same) was both rewarding and delicious! Fausto is wonderful, fun and most of all, an outstanding chef. We are still using many of his recipes and techniques we learned while there to this day. Yumm!

If you are considering a food and wine oriented trip to Italy and want to enjoy the country, the people and the culture as a "local", you should serious consider giving Bev Gruber's Gourmet Traveler a call. You will not be disappointed!

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

A piece of paradise, Friday, 11 April 2008

Written by cgrindle   -  View all my reviews  - Top 10 Reviewer

Overall rating
5.0
Picture yourself sipping Limoncello on the veranda of the hotel with warm breezes and new friends.

This is one of the most delightful trips offered by Gourmet Traveler. The good things start with the town of Rapallo. It is nestled on the shores of the sea with your fabulous hotel right across from the boardwalk. Just up the street is Santa Margarita with delightful shops and then there's Portofino. Shopping, shopping, shopping!

Then there is the cooking. Fausto is a delight and the thrill for me was that we were actually cooking for a restaurant! The food in Liguria is superb but to me it was comfort food because it was everything my grandmother taught me to make: pesto, foccacia, green beans and potatoes. Even the slang words for these foods are what I learned as a child.

If you've been thinking of taking a cooking trip to Italy this is the one you want to start with.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Incomparable Scenery and Food, Tuesday, 01 April 2008

Written by Judith   -  View all my reviews  - Top 10 Reviewer

Overall rating
5.0
Because this is one of the most beautiful regions of Italy ( and the world )and because the cuisine here is exquisite,one might say that one can have his cake ( (or in this case, pasta), and eat it too. One of the most enjoyable trips I have taken.


 
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