Tuscan Women Cook. Since 2000.

Have you ever wanted to learn to cook in Italy, to participate in Tuscan cooking classes? And return home with recipes handed down over generations and collected by us since 2000? Then join one of our cooking vacations in Tuscany in the medieval town of Montefollonico. Tuscan Women Cook is the original total-immersion cooking school in Montefollonico since 2000.

Indulge yourself in the Tuscan lifestyle and discover the region’s passion for food and wine. The best cooks in all of Tuscany, the local women, teach our classes. They’ll share regional techniques, ingredients, and family recipes that have been passed down over the centuries. Put on your apron, gather around the old farmhouse table, get wrist-deep in pasta dough and learn Tuscan cooking from the source. You’ll learn first-hand how to make gnocchi, tagliatelli, and pici—thick strings of handmade eggless pasta made originally in the area of Montefollonico.

For wine lovers, we’re situated in the heart of Brunello de Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano country, and border on the Chianti wine region. This is the center of the new Italian wine renaissance and a dream locale for your next getaway with family and friends. Wine connoisseurs plan the ultimate Bucket List trip here to sample new wines and visit the spectacular vineyards. Tuscan Women Cook host Coleen will provide you with exclusive introductions to renowned Tuscan vintners and opportunities to purchase their award-winning wines for your personal cellar.

Multi-generations of family members gather here with Tuscan Women Cook to raise a glass in celebration of family milestones such as anniversaries, birthdays, and retirement. We even had one family stage an impromptu wedding!

Tuscan Women Cook also hosts many girlfriend getaways, where friends gather together from across the world to enjoy fine wine, food, and friendship. Where better to bond than on a Tuscan cooking vacation?

See the sample weekly schedule of the Tuscan Women Cook cooking school.

Book Now for 2020 & 2021

Tuscan Women Cook in the News

Rhonda and Coleen were interviewed on The Brian and Lee Show on WWDB-AM Talk 860 (Philadelphia) on November 23. Download the podcast here.

Valerie Bertinelli, the Emmy Award-winning host of the Food Network’s hit series “Valerie’s Home Cooking”, cooked several of our guests’ favorite Tuscan Women Cook recipes for Coleen. In this episode from June 23, Valerie happily reminisces about her recent Tuscan Women Cook trip with her husband Tom and friends. Click here for Valerie’s Tuscan Women Cook-inspired recipes.

DREAM OF ITALY DEBUTS Tuscan Women Cook is a proud sponsor of the national PBS series “Dream of Italy: Tuscan Sun Special”. Here’s a sneak preview.
Click here to see where “Dream of Italy” is playing in your area.

DREAM OF ITALY VISITS TUSCAN WOMEN COOK In this podcast, Kathy McCabe visits Montefollonico and cooks with nonna Lorella Terrosi and Tuscan Women Cook co-owner Coleen Kirnan.

Rhonda and Coleen demonstrated how to make the popular Tuscan treat Cantucci on the WFLA-Tampa Daytime TV program on December 11, 2018. Watch it here and try the recipe. Cantucci, a special form of biscotti, make great holiday treats for friends and family.

KTLA 5 Weekend Morning News welcomed Coleen and Rhonda to the show on August 25, 2018 to prepare a special Tuscan treat——Stuffed Zucchini Flowers. In case you missed the telecast, here’s the video.

Wheel of Fortune, “America’s Game”, hosted a Girlfriend Getaways Week on October 26, 2017 and America’s Game Week on April 13, 2018 and Tuscan Women Cook joined in the fun! Teams competed to win an unforgettable all-expense paid week with Tuscan Women Cook in Montefollonico, Italy. We are thrilled to be offering a week in paradise to the winners.

“‘Thaaat looks good,’ the winemaker said to me, his accent thankfully enunciating his positive point. ‘Now roll.’ He looked at my girlfriend Claudia’s batch, touching the strand with the tip of his fingers. ‘Ees sticky,’ his words rolled, his mischievous smile creeping up his face. ‘More flour.’
It’s not just flour Italians are not ashamed of: On the day we made lasagna at an inn down a cobblestoned path, windblown olive trees just outside the kitchen door, the chef and her helper glugged their way through a liter of fresh olive oil as if it were nothing, sizzling a sauce of pork, beef, celery, onions and carrots for four hours. Glug, simmer. Glug, simmer. Glug, simmer. Wine break. Glug. Simmer. Another wine break. Glug. Simmer. Extended wine break.” — Tasting Table

“‘She will be fast,’ warned Coleen. ‘Four course lunch for 13 people, less than an hour. The woman cooks fast.’ For this, you envision a stout woman wielding a knife sharp enough to split atoms. A woman who runs a kitchen with military precision. A woman who is…pretty much like a man. Gordon Ramsey in pink chiffon perhaps. Then you meet Isa.” — Wandering Italy

“The teachers at Tuscan Women Cook in Montefollonico are, according to tradition, the people who know the most about local recipes, ingredients and cuisine: local women. Students participate in a true cultural immersion, learning family recipes in Italian with the help of an English interpreter and getting hands-on in a local kitchen atmosphere.” – Smithsonianmag.com