Olive Oil: Tree to Table in Tuscany
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2025: November 13–17
2026: November 19–23 Availability 2025: 2 places | 2026: 6 places Sign up for our newsletter to receive updates Course led by Elisabetta Sebastio, professional olive oil judge You’ve tasted olive oil and cooked with olive oil, but what do you really know about the juice of the olive? In the heart of Tuscany, professional olive oil judge Elisabetta Sebastio leads you from olive grove to mill to extra-virgin oil in the bottle. You learn to use your nose and your palate to assess the oil, what defects to look out for and what causes them and the role of olive oil in the Mediterranean diet. In cooking lessons you learn regional recipes and pair local oils with the dishes you prepare. During the course you will taste 25 different oils from various regions of Italy. You'll make gelato and chocolate with olive oil and eat white truffles with it. In four days, you’ll master the basic knowledge to become an expert. All it takes is to continue practising. Course suitable for olive growers, oil producers, vendors, chefs, nutritionists and food lovers. Maximum course size: 6 people. Click on topics below for more information To request a booking form email [email protected] |
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Course at a glance Thursday Arrival Pisa Airport or train station Transfer to Agriturismo Rozzalupi, Cerreto Guidi Session 1: Introduction to the course History of the olive and its influence on human history What is sensorial analysis? Unguided sensorial analysis 1: exercising your nose and palate Visit to local olive mill Welcome dinner with seasonal produce paired with various oils Friday Transfer to Larciano Castello Session 2: Visit olive grove Sensorial analysis 2: Guided tasting: each tasting will introduce you to oils from different regions of Italy and to some of the defects you need to look out for (spoiler: there are many more defects than good qualities) Cooking lesson 1 and lunch: pairing Ligurian cuisine and oil Session 3: Chocolate lesson with olive oil Sensorial analysis 3: Guided tasting Dinner at Ristorante Adriano Saturday Session 4: Getting the olive to give up its oil Sensorial analysis 4: Guided tasting Cooking lesson 2 and lunch: pairing Pugliese cuisine and oil Session 5: Visits to an antique and a modern olive mill Sensorial analysis 5: Guided tasting Dinner: Pizza and olive oil Sunday Session 6: Buying and storing olive oil and why olive oil is good for you Sensorial analysis 6: Guided tasting: detecting fraud and adulteration Cooking lesson 3 and lunch: pairing Tuscan cuisine and oil; vegetable oils & animal fats compared Session 7: Q&A, course evaluation, presentation of certificates Session 8: Gelato lesson with olive oil Session 9: How to assess white truffles and how to prepare them Farewell dinner: White truffles and olive oil Monday Departure For more details, please click Course tab above To request a booking form email [email protected] |
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Thursday Arrive Pisa airport or train station One pick-up only no later than 14.00 Transfer to accommodation at Fattoria Rozzalupi, Cerreto Guidi (45 mins) Session 1: Introduction to the course
Unguided sensorial analysis Getting in practice. You quickly realise that you can already detect the difference between good and bad oils. Quick visit to Frantoio Ancillotti (olive mill), Cerreto Guidi Dinner with seasonal produce paired with various oils Accommodation: Fattoria Rozzalupi, Cerreto Guidi | Meals: Dinner Friday Breakfast and transfer to home of Elisabetta Sebastio, Larciano Castello Session 2: The olive tree Elisabetta guides us to the terraces below her village where her olive trees grow to explain their characteristics, the annual cycle of flowering, the harvest and pruning. Sensorial analysis 2
Cooking lesson 1 and lunch: an exercise in food and oil pairing In the course of three cooking lessons, you learn dishes from various regions and pair them with oil from the same and different regions. Today it's Ligurian fish cuisine and the gentle oil of coastal north Italy. Does terroir matter? Transfer to Massa e Cozzile (Montecatini Terme) Session 3: Chocolate and olive oil workshop with master chocolatier Fabio Moschini of Cioccolato & Company Transfer to Larciano Castello Sensorial analysis 3
Dinner at Ristorante Adriano, Cerreto Guidi With a reputation as the best restaurant in the area, Adriano’s clientele range from business people and locals to tourists. Their speciality is the typically Tuscan tagliata, a thick rib steak grilled and served rare, but they also feature excellent seasonal specials. Accommodation: Fattoria Rozzalupi, Cerreto Guidi | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Saturday Breakfast and transfer to home of Elisabetta Sebastio, Larciano Castello Session 4: Getting the olive to give up its oil
Sensorial analysis 4
Cooking lesson 2 and lunch: the cuisine of Puglia paired with its oil Session 5: Visits to olive mills
Sensorial analysis 5
Dinner: Pizza and olive oil Accommodation: Fattoria Rozzalupi, Cerreto Guidi | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Sunday Breakfast and transfer to home of Elisabetta Sebastio, Larciano Castello Session 6: Buying and storing oil and why olive oil is good for you Sensorial analysis 6
Cooking lesson 3 and lunch
Session 7: Wrap
Transfer to Lucca Session 8: Olive oil gelato class with master gelatiere Mirko Tognetti at Cremeria Opera (one of the top gelaterias in all of Italy) Transfer to truffle hunter's home, San Miniato Session 9: How to assess truffles and how to cook them (or not) Farewell dinner: White truffles and olive oil Accommodation: Fattoria Rozzalupi, Cerreto Guidi | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Monday Breakfast and departure from Rozzalupi Transfer to Pisa airport or train station There will be one transfer no earlier than 8.30 am. Please don’t book trains that leave Pisa before 10.00 or flights that leave before 11.30. If you need to leave earlier, I can arrange a special transfer at your own expense. To request a booking form email [email protected] |
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Course Leader
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Elisabetta Sebastio Elisabetta has a refined palate capable of discerning scents and flavours most people can't detect. Although she utilises it professionally to judge extra-virgin olive oil, she has broad experience and a lively interest in all types of food. She sits on panels which decide annually whether an oil is worthy of the coveted DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) granted by the European Union. She also serves as a judge for publishers of olive oil guides, and teaches the appreciation and sensorial analysis of olive oil. She produces oil for private consumption from her own olive trees, giving her practical knowledge of all phases of oliviculture including building dry-stone walls. |
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Mirko Tognetti By the 1950s the tradition of artisan handmade gelato had almost been lost in Italy. Mirko couldn’t learn his art from his parents and grandparents. He started in a huge warehouse scheduling the efficient dispatch of goods. When the firm ran into trouble and made its employees redundant, Mirko was free to take up something closer to his heart. He visited a gelato trade fair only to be profoundly disillusioned. The stands were invaded by brightly coloured gelato and producers of semi-worked mixes which allowed anyone to make gelato with little effort and zero knowledge. Mirko began to think there was a better gelato waiting to be rediscovered. He swore that if he ever took up this craft, he would do everything from scratch and never, ever open a single packet. After two and a half years pursuing a formative path toward his goal, he was convinced he had arrived and could call himself a gelatiere. In 2013 Mirko opened the Cremeria Opera Naturali per Gusto in Lucca. It's now in the top fifty gelaterias in Italy. |
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Fabio Moschini Fabio began his career when he was only 22. The son of an hotelier, he attended a culinary institute and gathered some experience as a waiter. He started playing around with chocolate for fun, but soon he was hooked and began to study with famous maîtres chocolatiers. By 1990 he was ready to dive into the great adventure of his life, opening his own chocolate shop Cioccolato & Company at Massa e Cozzile (Montecatini Terme). His dedication and hard work soon brought him success, and he took on Adria Grazzini as an employee. She too was bitten by the chocolate bug, and between them they produce a range of handmade chocolates and gelato using natural ingredients. If I listed them here, you'd be drooling. |
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Course Organiser
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Erica Jarman Following Heather’s careers as archaeologist, orchestra and artist manager and chef, she Italianised her name to Erica and came to Lucca to pursue her passion for traditional artisan food. Her tours, inspired by her infectious curiosity, open captivating new worlds to her guests. |
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Fattoria Rozzalupi, Cerreto Guidi Originally the Renaissance hunting lodge of an aristocratic Florentine family, the Fattoria evolved into a typical agricultural hamlet which has been sensitively converted to guest accommodation by the brother-in-law of our truffle hunter (we like to keep it in the family). They have olive groves and produce olive oil. On-site restaurant, swimming pool, wifi. http://www.fattoriarozzalupi.it/en/index.htm |
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Price Per person: 1950 Euros Deposit: €300 when you book Balance: due 8 weeks before course starts The farm where you stay, the people you visit and who present the course are dedicated to preserving the patrimony of traditional olive oil. By coming on the course you will be supporting it too. Includes 4 nights welcoming, relaxing accommodation, en suite bathrooms Local ground transportation for 5 days Daily continental breakfast, 3 lunches, 4 dinners Course lectures and all activities shown on Course tab, course notes Does not include Airfares Travel and cancellation insurance Wine and drinks other than those served with meals, additional meals Personal expenses such as telephone, mini-bar, etc. Meeting points Where: Pisa airport, Pisa Centrale station When: no later than 12.00 If everyone arrives earlier, we'll pick you up as soon as everyone is there. Recommended international travel: Nearest airports: Pisa Airlines from UK: British Airways, EasyJet, Ryanair Airlines from outside Europe: You may have to fly to another European city and take a connecting flight or train to Pisa Centrale. There are good low-cost flights from many European cities. There are better train connections from Rome than from Milan. Nearest train station: Pisa Centrale Departure points Where: Transfer to Pisa airport or train station When: There will be one transfer no earlier than 8.30 am. Please don’t book trains that leave Pisa before 10.00 or flights that leave before 11.30. If you need to leave earlier, I can arrange a special transfer at your own expense. Dress Informal. Jeans are acceptable everywhere. Weather November 6–15˚C/43–59˚F, precipitation 122 mm/4.8 in Itinerary is subject to change if necessary due to weather or agricultural conditions or other events outside our control. To request a booking form email [email protected] |
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Our time learning to taste olive oil with Elisabetta was not only a highlight of our trek through Italy, but it also changed how we cook. Elisabetta's clear expert advice, detailed tasting instructions, and wonderful cooking gave us the confidence to be able to discriminate between potentially great oils and expensive, but poor quality oils. After returning home, we've been able to source great oil reasonably and can finally use it for all stages of cooking instead of sparingly at the end while letting it die on the shelf. Cooking is simpler and our food has never tasted this good -- the flavors of the ingredients shine and have wonderful depth. Plus, there's more time to sit around the kitchen table and enjoy each other, and maybe another amaro, just like at Elisabetta's.
Erin & Dave, USA, December 2022
