Italian Cooking Holidays in Puglia
Puglia is a sunny coastal region in south-eastern Italy, also know as the heel of Italy’s boot. We base ourselves in Salento, the heart of Southern Puglia and a region with much to discover. The Cathedral in the handsome Baroque town of Otranto has a mosaic floor to rival Ravenna, while the city of Lecce has more than 40 churches and noble “palazzi” built in the 17th and 18th centuries. South of Lecce the landscape flattens and the sky opens out. Acres of olive groves extend between dry-stone walls. Blue-green sea and red cliffs combine to form a dramatic backdrop.
The intense clear sunshine of Puglia can be tasted in the cuisine of this fascinating region: seafood risotto, stuffed vegetables, hand-made orecchiette (a distinctive Puglian type of pasta), burrata - a deliciously creamy mozzarella cheese and of course the finest extra virgin olive oil.
Flavours Puglia Holiday Venue is the beautiful Casino Pisanelli. The venue was built in the 17th century and is surrounded by acres of olive groves. Our week long courses in Puglia are £1,599 per person - no single supplement, which is an added bonus for single traveller.
If you interested in joining us on one of our Italian cooking holidays in Puglia, we visit this region during Spring and Autumn, the best times of year to be there when the weather should be warm and sunny. You'll find details of availablity in our dates and prices section.
With a long and beautiful coastline you are never far from the sea in Puglia so it’s not surprising that fish is a local staple and a focus of our Cooking Holidays here. Other ingredients close to the local chef’s heart include mouth watering ricotta cheese, chickpeas, capers, green peppers, aubergines, mozzarella and basil. There are fantastic market gardens in this region so the vegetables are locally grown, very fresh and often organic.
This is a fertile part of Italy and the recipes that you will find on cooking holidays in Puglia reflect this, using abundant local produce and gallons of extra virgin olive oil, cold pressed closeby. There are also fantastic vineyards which produce primitivo and salice salentino wines as well as delicious limoncello liqueur. In our opinion, no Italian cookery course should miss out on the chance to sample as many of these local vintages as possible!
The light is bright and clear and the area is awash with seaside colours, which permeate into the way the food of the region is presented with vibrant colours and often a rustic feel to it. The flavours are fantastic.
Direct flights from the UK to Brindisi are from London Stansted. There are connecting flights to some regional airports, we can give you options and arrange your flights for you.
If you are coming from outside the UK we will give you times to meet us in Brindisi to begin your Flavours holiday and when you'll be returned to the airport at the end.
Read more of what our guests have to say about us in our testimonial section.
