Itinerary - Cooking in Paradise on the Amalfi Coast

Dinner: Welcome Dinner at Taverna Buonvicino (Included)

For arrivals today, we offer two free shuttles to our accommodations in order to make it most convenient for our guests. The first shuttle is at 1:00 PM from the Naples International Airport (NAP) in Capodichino. The second shuttle is at 1:30 PM from the Napoli Centrale Train Station. If you are flying into Naples, be sure to choose a flight that arrives no later than 12:15 PM, or a train that arrives no later than 1:00 PM. If you cannot make these times, we will be happy to arrange a private driver from Naples or Salerno, however you will pay the driver for their services.

As we arrive at the villa, we'll help all guests to their home for the week, and give you a couple hours to get settled and rest up. You will find fresh fruit, a bottle of wine, and some extra goodies to make you feel at home as you get ready for the week ahead of us. In the meantime, in the villa's porticos, we will have a light buffet available for anyone wanting something a little more substantial. While there, you can meet some of our Amalfi family that will be with us for the week. One of our chef instructors will be preparing the dough for our Baba' dessert that will be made in tomorrow's class. You are free to jump in and help if you want to get started with the cooking experience right away!

In the early evening, we will all meet on the veranda for a cocktail reception and get together. We'll spend about an hour getting to know one another as we discuss the week we have planned, answer any questions and get ready to get started.

We'll then head down from the villa to the town of Amalfi. This sea-faring village dates back to pre-Roman times and was better known as one of the four Maritime Republics of Italy during the Middle Ages. Venice, Genoa and Pisa, being the others. We'll take in the flavor of this famous village before our dinner at the local restaurant, Taverna Buonvicino. This unique, family-run ristorante hidden amongst the winding sidewalks of Amalfi, serves delicious local fare in a comfortable and cozy environment.

After dinner, you have the option of taking in more of the town of Amalfi or heading back up to the villa to relax there, enjoying the gorgeous coastal views.

Make paper in Amalfi (included)
Cooking Class (included) resulting in lunch
App: Caponata
1st: Dunderi’ pasta (from scratch) with Ragu
2nd: Beef & Pork Braciola
Side: Potatoes Gateau
Dessert: Baba’ al Rum
We will also be making E’ Ricci’ & Cocce pasta from scratch to be used another day.

Breakfast: Pastries, espresso, cappuccino, etc. on the villa terrace (included)
Lunch: The meal we prepare in cooking class (included)
Dinner: Torre Saracena (included)

Breakfast this morning will be served on the main terrace of the villa under the porticos, overlooking the coast. We will have Italian pastries, espresso, cappuccino, etc. for breakfast each morning.

Our Italian cooking class today will be right here at the villa with all of its breathtaking views. As we get started, we'll give everyone a quick familiarization of how the classes will go and what we will be making. After you have been given your aprons and recipe books (yours to take home at the end of the week), we will get down to business. We have a huge meal to make for lunch, so we'll not waste much time, especially since our cooking classes are extremely 'hands-on'.

We'll start out by making Caponata together, which will be our appetizer today. Then we will get wrist-deep in dough, as we make three kinds of local pasta: Dunderi', E'Ricci & Cocce (A type of ricotta gnocchi, spaghetti and orichette).

As we continue with our class, we will be making a local recipe for Ragu sauce which we will have with our pasta, as well as Beef & Pork Braciola, Ribs & Sausage in the ragu for our second course.

Our side dish today will be Potatoes Gateau, and finally we will prepare the rum syrup soak for our Baba’ al Rum (for which we made the pastry yesterday), which will be our dessert.

After we've had some time to rest up after lunch, we will walk down to the town of Amalfi and visit an ancient paper mill in town. We'll have a tour, learning how they have made paper for centuries, and try our hand at making paper ourselves. Next, we will have a little free time for visiting Amalfi and shopping in town. before we head over to the seaside town of Atrani where we will have dinner.

Dinner tonight is another unique dining experience. Our setting for tonight's dinner is the Torre Saracena. The original tower was built in the Middle Ages to help protect the coastline from foreign invaders. Perched on the hillside of the Amalfi Coast and very close to our villa, we will enjoy incredible views as we dine in casual comfort on local and seasonal fare. For those guests that wish to stay in lively little Atrani or Amalfi after dinner are welcome to as the villa is within walking distance of town.

* Note that non-seafood alternatives are available if we are notified in advance.

Boating to and around Capri in our private boats (included)

Breakfast: Pastries, espresso, cappuccino, etc. on the villa terrace (included)
Lunch: Pannini & Fruit on the boat (included)
Dinner: Dinner at the villa (included)

After breakfast at the villa, we will head to port, where we will have a "Gozzo Sorrentino" (The traditional boat of the Amalfi Coast) come pick us up and take us to the island of Capri. We'll make our way up the Amalfi Coast, viewing the spectacular coastline from the water, until we reach Capri, where we will begin a couple hours navigating around the island and its many beautiful grottos. We'll make some stops in some of the grottoes (including an opportunity to go inside the Blue Grotto), and finally anchor somewhere for a chance to swim as we have a light lunch on our boat.

Lunch will be traditional "Panini" of the area, including Caprese, Pancetta & Eggplant, Smoked Mozzarella & Olives + Wine, Beer, Water & fresh fruit.

After lunch, we will head to the marina in Capri, and take the funicular up to the village, where you will have a few hours to spend shopping, strolling, or head over to Anacapri.

In the early evening, we will board our boat once again and make our way home to the villa, where dinner will await us. Tonight we will be having Neapolitan lasagna, salad, and fresh fruit.

Cooking Class (included) resulting in dinner
1st: Pasta’Fazul (using pasta we made on Sunday)
2nd: Eggplant involtini
Side: Mozzarella (we will be making from scratch)
Dessert: Bocconotto

Breakfast: Pastries, espresso, cappuccino, etc. on the villa terrace (included)
Lunch: Trattoria Add'u' Mimi in Pompeii (included)
Dinner: The meal we prepare in our cooking class (included)

After breakfast at the villa, we'll drive toward Naples and head to the ruins of Pompeii, and begin a guided tour of the iconic site. After our tour of Pompeii, we will walk to the nearby Trattoria Add'u' Mimi for lunch. This wonderful family restaurant offers local seafood fare as well as other local favorites.

After lunch, we'll head back to the villa for a little rest before our second cooking class, which will result in tonight's dinner.

What would a trip to this area be without making Pasta’Fazul? Of course, we'll use one of he fresh pastas we made on Sunday for this one! Our second course will be Eggplant Involtini. Dessert will be Bocconotto - a pastry tart filled with seasonal preserves, pastry creme or chocolate.

During our class, we will have a visit from a local cheese-maker, and together we will make Mozzarella cheese from scratch. Some of our mozzarella will be used in today's meal, some we will naturally be eating right there while it is warm, and some we plan to set aside for our pizza class, of course!

Dinner tonight will give us the chance to take in the breathtaking sunset over the water from our splendid location!

Breakfast: Pastries, espresso, cappuccino, etc. on the villa terrace (included)
Lunch: At the villa (included)
Dinner: Grigliata (Beach BBQ) in a cove near Positano (included)

We are in the middle of the week, so we have a little down time this morning. For those that want to relax, hang out by the pool, sleep in, or whatever you like. For those that want to stay on the go, take the short walk into Amalfi or Atrani for the morning. Either way, this is a good morning to relax, since it will be a late night.

Lunch today will be prepared for us at the villa. We'll be having Marinated anchovies, Fusilli allo Scoglio (One of the pastas made on Sunday with seafood), Totani e Patate (cuttle fish with potatoes), and Tiramisù for dessert.

At around 1:30 PM, we will head down to the boat docks in Amalfi and board our "Gozzo Sorrentino" boats. These stylish boats, traditional to this area, will take us to Positano for the afternoon.

Everyone will have a few hours to explore Positano on their own, do some shopping, and snap those photos!

About thirty minutes before sunset, we will hop back on our boat and set out to the outer bay, where we will pop open bottles of Prosecco for a sunset toast, overlooking Positano and the coast.

We'll then head to a tiny little cove, where we will have an Italian "Grigliata", essentially an Italian BBQ on the beach. We'll have candles lit as we dine under the stars tonight!

After a lovely dinner, it is back on our boats to take us home for the night after another magical day.

Limoncello Making Class (included)
Cooking Class (included) resulting in dinner:
Pizza Napoletana!

Breakfast: Pastries, espresso, cappuccino, etc. on the villa terrace (included)
Lunch: Pasticceria Sal De Riso (included)
Dinner: Pizza Night at the Villa! (included)

After breakfast this morning, we will head into the village of Minori to attend their weekly market. We'll visit the local vegetable stands to shop for the ingredients we will be needing for pizza class tonight, and give everyone some time to browse the market on their own.

Next, we will take a short walk to the Carlo Mansi Limoncello factory. This tiny producer of limoncello is known locally to be the best of the best, and we will quickly find out why. But not only will we taste his limoncello, but we will make it with him today, learning what makes his limoncello so unique. We'll get our limoncello started here, and tomorrow we will bring home some of what we made (along with the instructions for making the finished product since Limoncello takes time).

After our visit with Carlo, we will take the short walk back to the seafront for a fabulous lunch prepared at one of the areas premier restaurants, Sal De Riso. Salvatore is one of the most well-known pastry chefs in all of Italy! He was born and raised in this little seaside town of Minori where he serves up excellent dishes besides his incredible desserts!

After a little post-lunch rest at the villa, we will start our pizza class at the villa. Peppe will be here to teach us how to make Pizza Napoletana. Arguably...THE BEST PIZZA IN THE WORLD!

Pizza Napoletana is considered to be the best of the best when it comes to pizza, and it is truly different than all other pizza you find in Italy. We'll be preparing the dough, and each of us will make our own individual pizza... plus some other traditional favorites.

This promises to be another wonderful evening as Peppe and Tonino serenade us with their guitars and mandolins, and hopefully the rest of us have learned the words to some of the Neapolitan classics!

Cooking Class (included) resulting in dinner
Family Cooking Experience

Breakfast: Pastries, espresso, cappuccino, etc. on the villa terrace (included)
Lunch: Tenuta San Francesco Winery (included)
Dinner: Farewell Dinner at the villa (included)

After breakfast today, we will be driven high up into the hills above Amalfi and visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site and historic town of Ravello. Ravello grew from humble beginnings into a very wealthy and powerful seat of the Vatican during the middle ages. The hilltop site was ideal to protect it from enemy invasion. It also was ideal for the wealthy inhabitants to build gorgeous villas boasting spectacular views of the Amalfi Coastline.

While we're in Ravello, we'll visit the historic and spectacular Villa Rufolo. With origins from the 13th Century, the villa and surrounding gardens are a testament to the powerful Rufolo family that were instrumental in constructing this beautiful villa overlooking the sea. After exploring the villa, you will have some time on your own to stroll this lovely town, visit the Duomo, shop or relax at one of the many enotecas.

After our visit of Ravello, we will take a drive into the hills of the mountain area of Tramonti, famous for its centuries old vineyards. We'll be visiting the San Francesco winery here, tour the vineyards (and see one vine that is over 700 years old!), visit their wine cellar, and have a lunch with the family that runs the winery with a full tasting of their wonderful wines.

After lunch, we will head back to the villa, where you will have some time to get a little packing done before our farewell dinner.

Dinner tonight is not quite a class, and not quite served dinner. Instead, it is a family cooking experience. We will be there with many of our new friends (guests and locals) as we prepare dinner together. Everyone chips in here and there. Tonight's dinner is based on Amalfi Coast Lemons.

We'll be making a Citrus salad, Tagliolini al limone, Scaloppini al limone, Potatoes sfruguliate, and finally Babà soaked in Limoncello syrup.

As has become our custom by now, Peppe and Tonino are sure to break out the mandolin and guitar for another, final evening music, singing and dancing... until we meet again!

Departure Breakfast at the villa

Sadly, our week comes to a close this morning. We'll be leaving the villa at 8:00 AM, stopping at the Naples Airport, and Finally the Naples Train Station.