Hotels near La Cucina Caldesi

The Caldesi family first set up a cooking school in Giancarlo's native Tuscany. His 'Return to Tuscany' was captured by BBC cameras and dished up on BBC2, since then Giancarlo has joined the celebrity chef circuit making regular TV appearances. With his wife Katie, he has set up this second cookery school in London so you can learn how to make authentic Italian food without having to go there. Expert and well known chefs like Franca Barbieri are brought in to take the classes - anyone who has sampled her cooking at La Buca, her restaurant in Lucca, Tuscany, will be in no doubt about the calibre of the teaching. In a country where there are over 100 different words for pasta it goes without saying that penne, ravioli and tortellini are all on the menu here. Thankfully, classes are kept to an intimate size at 6 to 25 people and private parties are welcome. Lessons are at such reasonable prices that, if you master the art, you'll easily make up for what you spend through saved restaurant bills.