7-Day Cooking In The Abruzzo Mountains Tour

DAY 1 - Arrival to Rome – Welcome to Italy!

This tour includes a private transfer from the Rome airport to your host hotel. Drive across the Abruzzo mountains towards your country inn accommodations in the town of Carunchio, where you will be staying. After you are settled in, we’ll meet for a cocktail and a briefing of the tour. A welcome dinner will follow, with a multicourse meal. Welcome to Italy!

Your hotel is an elegant countryside inn and former palace. Your hotel will have all the comforts of home.

DAY 2 - The heart of Abruzzo – Carnunchio, Cooking and Production

After a short morning walk around the old-town, we get started on our first class. We’ll explore the basic ingredients of traditional Abruzzo cuisine and make some flavorful sauces for pasta dishes.

The theme for this lunch will be “quick and healthy homemade meals”. You’ll see how delicious, easy, and healthy Abruzzese cooking can be. We’ll lunch on our tasty creations in traditional Italian style, slowly and in good company!

After lunch, you’ll rest up for the afternoon activities. We will visit a local salami production plant and learn how this incredible product is made, and what distinguishes Abruzzo’s salami from the rest. Next, we will visit an organic olive oil press, where the owner of the farm will show us the traditional ways of making the “real extra virgin olive oil”. Free for the remainder of day and evening.

DAY 3 - Cooking, Mozzarella & the Region of Molise

Learn how much fun and delicious making pasta can be, in a variety of colors and shapes. We’ll teach you all the tricks so it turns out great every time. You will be amazed by the variety: pasta alla chitarra, gnocchi, cavatelli, stuffed pasta and so on.

After lunch, we’ll take you down to Agnone, in the region of Molise, where you can watch real family production of mozzarella, burrata and caciocavallo. Agnone is famous in the area for its quality cheese. Then we will visit a historic artisan bell foundry which still makes church bells manually for the Vatican. We will learn about the manufacturing phases. Free for the evening

DAY 4 - Regional Production, Seafood & Shoppin

The day starts with a visit to the curious trabocchi fishing houses, a unique piece of art that is available only on this small strip of the Adriatic. Next we will explore an organic soap manufactory that has improved an old recipe to make soap with olive oil, goat’s milk and donkey milk. Lunch at the best restaurant in town, serving a seafood sampling feast. After lunch we’ll have the opportunity to do some window shopping in Vasto. Dinner back at your accommodation.

DAY 5 - Preservation

Learn how to preserve fruits and vegetables in the Italian way. Make fruit preserves and a variety of pickled vegetables, plus learn how to preserve using oil and vinegar. Taste and find out how these ingredients are a big part of the Abruzzese cuisine. Later, We’ll learn how to make Limoncello and you’ll taste a variety of liqueurs created from local ingredients, such as amaro Abruzzese and Centerba.

In the afternoon you’ll be free to walk around town and enjoy the peaceful environment in the small village of Carunchio. Free for the evening.

DAY 6 - Learn to be a Sommelier & Dessert Workshop

Learn how to make mouth watering desserts and pair them with the liqueurs made the previous day. Almond biscotti, bocconotto, and much more. After lunch, we’ll enjoy a sommelier class. In just three hours, we’ll show the basic skills on how to sample and pair wines.

This tour includes our free TRIP PAK which free maps, sightseeing, dining and regional guides. Your TripPak will show you plenty of things to do during your free time when you arrive to Rome!

DAY 7 - All Roads Lead to Rome

On this day we take you back to the airport or hotel if you are continuing your trip and make sure you’re going home with everything you came for. Last minute shopping, postcards or other requests can be fit in according to schedules.

Ask your Travel Expert about some of the great optional tours you can experience while in Italy such as renting a Vespa scooter or wine tasting at the International Academy of Wine. Italy4Real has dozens of great things to do!