What they're saying about us...
Below you will find articles and reviews of our cooking school in Umbria as well as comments from clients who have taken our cooking classes and those who have dined with us at Tita's house near Perugia or had a dinner catered at a villa rental.
The following are recent comments from clients of our Italian cooking classes in Umbria in 2007.
Nonie,
Sorry it has taken me so long to send you these pictures! We had such a great trip to Italy but one of the highlights was definitely our afternoon/evening we spent with you and Tita. It was a great way to learn the Italian way of cooking with fresh foods and wonderful presentations! All the recipes were great and seem very easy to replicate back home...we are looking forward to making the Italian food for our family and friends.
Thanks for everything! I will highly recommend your cooking class to others traveling to Umbria. Hi to Tita! Thanks again for everything.
Tracey
Nonie and Tita,
Lori and I wanted to thank you both for an incredible afternoon. Learning to cook traditional Umbrian food in Tita’s house, was just a wonderful way for us to explore both the foods of the region along with the techniques.
It was the highlight of our trip. We both fell in love with the chickpea with pasta soup and the delicious veal dish. The flavors were extraordinary. And now I have pictures of Lori actually cooking – it was great!
The two of you make a wonderful team, and obviously close friends. We have already recommended you to our friends.
Next time we visit Umbria, we’d love to take another class!!
Thanks again,
Jacqui and Lori
The following are comments from a group of 8 nurses from the U.S. and one of our larger cooking lesson! The cooking class was held on one of our great friends' farm in the Umbrian hills and their house accommodated 20 for the dinner that followed!
Nonie:
I think I can speak for all of us that we had a fabulous time, we learned many things, drank wine and thoroughly enjoyed your company as well as Tita's house! Many of us have come home and cooked if not the whole meal, parts of the wonderful meal that we prepared. The class was very low key and very conducive to learning. Again, the wine was fabulous. You were great keeping us on time and having fun all the time doing it. Did I mention the wine??
Anyway, we loved the experience. We loved the hospitality of Tita and her husband, and we especially loved eating our meal ! I am so glad that we were given the opportunity to come and "play", we learned a lot, we laughed a lot and we loved sharing our meal with all our friends. It was awesome to become immersed in the Italian countryside and cucina!
Thanks again,
Cathy, RNC
California
Hi Nonie,
This is my first day looking at me personal emails since returning home from Italy. We had a great time and one of the best parts was your cooking class!
Can't wait to get my recipes and apron, it shall have a place of honor in my kitchen! Thanks so much
Sue
California
Nonie:
How are you and your family? We are STILL talking about the cooking class and dinner. My nurses have told everyone they know and people are calling me asking about the next 'cooking class' tour! incredible! I am leaving for Korea next week. I volunteer as a nurse in one of their orphanages. I send you and your family my best regards.
Toni
Dear Nonie:
We can't thank you and your family enough for a delightful day! The cooking class is the talk of the town. We are all back home and they are still talking about it. The dinner was wonderful...and the company, the best! Thank you so much for a very memorial event. We enjoyed ever minute of it.
Sincerely,
Toni Sumblin, RN
Hi Nonie!
I hope you and Tita are doing well! Wanted to thank you again for a great day of cooking during our trip to Italy. My friends Tracey, MaryBeth, Melissa and I took your cooking class back in October and it was definitely a highlight of our trip!
I wanted to see if you could provide us with the recipe for the Angry Chicken that we made with you. That was the one recipe you didn't have at the time of our class. We're going to try and recreate some things before too much time goes by!
Tracey has some great pictures she is going to send along soon as well.
Thanks again!
Lisa
USA
Dear Nonie,
I just wanted to let you know that I made it back to Philly safe and sound. I also wanted to give you and Tita a Big Thank You for making the cooking lessons a huge success. It was really fun, casual, informative and authentic and my guests and me loved them...I will be back with more of my guests as soon as I can. Have a great visit when you come to see your family and friends in New York. Please tell Tita she was awesome and that I will see her soon with more customers... Take care of yourself!
With Many Thanks,
Kathy
New Jersey, USA
Ciao Nonie,
Bill and I have just returned from our 6 weeks trip and just wanted to let you know that our pizza class with you, Tita and her parents was the highlight of our whole trip! It was the way you welcomed us into a typical Italian home that really made it so special. Heh – the food was also fabulous! Haven’t tried any recipes yet, but once we catch our breath, we’ll have the grandchildren over and give it a whirl. I’m sure when Bob gets his pizza oven built that we’ll be having lots of parties at their place.
Once again, many many thanks for a wonderful time.
Sincerely,
Fern & Bill Jones
Kelowna
BC, Canada
Buon Giorno Nonie and Tita!
Roger and I just got in yesterday morning to the USA...and guess what? Last night we made your pasta with roasted tomatoes.....NO KIDDING. On our face tired, but we had been craving it again since we left your house...and since it was so simple.....Presto! (It came out just like yours ....except my forked "nests" need some work! )They were not quite as beautiful as Tita's. I also have to say ROGER got involved too! Thanks for helping to get him back into the kitchen after 17 years!
We had a ball with you and our day was definitely a highlight in our trip. When settled more and caught up we will be sending pics, etc, and video if you would like. It may take time but we will not forget- we have great follow through. I think it goes along with that organizational skills and medical gene :)
We were not kidding about having you contact us and coming to share dinner (con VINI !!!) at our home when in AZ. I wished you lived closer -I think we could have a lot of good times together.
So...on that note- -again Grazie Mille......oh yeah.....if Tita ever wants to part with one of her amazing bottles of olive oil...I would love to buy some....I only have oils from Firenze- we cannot seem to get Umbrian ones here....i suppose I should check on line- but just thought I would ask. Please tell her for us what an amazing cook she is and how much we adored her as well. Have a wonderful day.
With warm regards,
Diane (and Roger)
Tucson, Arizona
Dear Nonie and Tita,
Thank you both so much for making the last night of our Umbrian vacation so memorable. Your warmth and wonderful food were a grand finale to a fantastic week. We laughed, ate too much, and didn't have to wash the dishes. What could be better?! Thanks to you, the Umbrian culinary tradition will remain alive and well in North Carolina!
Fondly,
Nancy, Rich, Lisa, Eric, Allison, Russell, Becky, Cindy, Tom, Paige……and Nelson
Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh, NC
Hi, Patricia.
I've been back in Canada only a week and this is the earliest opportunity I have had to thank you and Tita once again for the truly memorable birthday dinner you catered on September 3. It really was a highlight of our wonderful month in Umbria - a meal we savoured at the time and continued to talk about during our stay in Montecastelli. Thanks to all the photographs, it is in an occasion we can share with our friends, as well as have them ooh and aah over the incredible menu you prepared. Again, thank you both again very much.
Pat
Canada
Hi, Nonie,
We had a great time. Thank you again for such a wonderful meal you and Tita prepared for us for Lisa's birthday. We're still talking about it, and we can't wait to try the Chickpea Soup on our families.
You mentioned that you would give us the recipe. I'm hoping the measurements will be in U.S. although I do have European measuring cups. Grazie mille.
Gail
Washington, USA
Dear Nonie,
We had so much fun at our family cooking course with Umbria Cooks 4U! Even though we are all novices, my sons (nearly 5 & 7), my husband (previously only an expert in scrambled eggs) and I (better on the eating side) all learned so much. Thanks so much for putting so much thought into the menu, finding one that was ideal for both kids and adults. But I have to say, I enjoyed pounding the pizza dough and dribbling the olive oil as much as the shorter chefs! It was so fragrant and cozy in Tita's kitchen and a great entree into Umbrian life. And our lively chatter with you, Nonie, throughout was a big bonus too - we really got a chance to answer a lot of questions about things we had seen and were interested in exploring during our stay.
Thanks for giving us a great day!
Take care and keep doing all your life-affirming work!
Susan & Family
USA
Hi Nonie,
Well, we are back from our wonderful trip to Italy, and I must say, that our cooking class with you and Tita was the highlight of our trip. We LOVED meeting both of you and thoroughly enjoyed learning how to do some authentic Italian cooking - it was dream come true for me.
It was so great to hear your story, how you and Tita met and how successful your business is. Our husbands LOVED the left-overs -- they gobbled them right up for dinner that same night. We did go to the Lake and try to take the ferry over to the island, but the workers were on strike - so we could not go. We did, however, go to Williams restaurant in Assissi ... it was one of the best lunches we had. We had mentioned both you and Tita -- and he smiled, blew a kiss ... and gave us impeccable service and fabulous food.
Thanks again for such a wonderful fun time in Italy --- it was great.
Sincerely,
Gayle
Dear Tita and Nonie,
I can't tell you how much I enjoyed my day with the two of you! Great food, great wine, beautiful scenery, and 2 new friends -- what could be better?
I am sending along some photos of our day with you. I know Amy also enjoyed her day -- she has already made the lava cake several times, along with the parmesan cups with pears, and the veal dish.
Thank you both so much for a lovely day! It is one that I won't ever forget.
Donna and Amy
Florida, USA
Hi Nonie,
I hope you and Tita had a wonderful time on your respective vacations.
Nathan and I certainly enjoyed the rest of our time in Italy. Here we are on top of the Spanish Steps in Rome.
I have already made Tita's pie and the torta for Nathan and my family many times. Thank you so much for introducing me to Umbrian food.
Elizabeth and Nathan
Dear Nonie,
I meant to send you our warmest "thank you" and photos as soon as we returned to California, but work became so hectic immediately and I didn't have a free moment to do it. In any case- I would like to thank you and Tita very much for your warm hospitality and very enjoyable afternoon cooking together and learning about Umbria's cuisine. All four of us enjoyed our class, and we all agreed that it was one of the highlights of a very beautiful trip to Italy. You and Tita did a marvelous job in presenting Umbrian way of cooking and made the whole afternoon great fun!
And dinner at the end, with Umbrian vines and all those wonderful dishes we made, was such a delight! We will certainly try to implement some of the recipes we learned from you- making Parmesan baskets for example!
I hope that some of our friends who heard about your class from us and saw these pictures- may follow us to Perugia and that your "enterprise" will continue to grow and be successful! We wish you all the best!
Dragana, Arlee, David and Dan
Berkeley, California
Dear Nonie & Tita,
What a wonderful experience we had cooking with you last week. In fact, we made the pasta with roasted tomatoes for our hostess the very next night. We all enjoyed it so much! The relaxed atmosphere and the opportunity to have hands-on with all aspects of the food preparation made it all the more special. The variety of recipes will give us a wonderful repertoire from which to impress and thrill our friends.
The only constructive feedback we have is to serve smaller portions once we're seated at the table. We didn't want to leave even a morsel, but it was too much for one sitting. And, we had to try to leave room for dessert!!
Thanks again for a delightful day!
Sue and Carol
Hi friends!
We had such a wonderful time with you two. It was so special being in your own kitchen and home. The food was absolutely delicious, and we learned a lot of new, useful things! We've made several of the dishes with great success.
We miss Umbria; it's so beautiful.
Thank you again for such a unique, fun, and interesting time.
Love,
Nancy, Jack, Brett, and Anna
Texas, USA
Dear Nonie,
I wanted to tell you how much we enjoyed our day of cooking with you and Tita. I'm afraid we didn't do that fantastic meal justice with our small appetites. It was all so good, we plan on making that dinner for my family to celebrate Talia's 9th birthday next weekend.
We appreciated all the time you two took with us and before we even got there. My expectations were far exceeded! The children also thought of this as one of the highlights of our trip (right up there with feeding the pigeons in Venice!).
We had fun getting to know you two as well. I'm still sorting through our photos but I'll put them on the web and send you a link.
Thank you again,
Karen, Bruce, Tacie, and Talia
Dear Nonie and Tita,
I was so excited to see our photo on your website from the cooking class at Casa Paolo back in April. It really does seem like we were just there.
I have to tell you that I made the Parmesan Cheese Baskets with Pears for a dinner party with very good friends. They were so impressed – and I did tell them the only way they could get the recipe was to go to Tita’s home for a class!!! I am not sharing!!!!
We started using generous quantities of GOOD – very good olive oil in our cooking and while it is much better – something is missing. I think it is the Umbrian air, décor, and Italian language and hands waving around that we just do not have here in Texas.
We absolutely think Umbria is the best spot on earth. You are fortunate to have such a wonderful piece of the world and sharing your love of cooking with us just made this vacation the best.
With Fond Memories
Sallie and Rory McLaughlin
Austin, Texas
Hi Nonie,
We had a great time in Italy. The dinner was absolutely AWESOME! The elegance in which it was served was superb and the company wonderful. This was definitely the highlight of our trip. I wish you much success with your cooking business, and will gladly refer anyone I know traveling to Italy to partake of your wonderful services.
Peace & Blessings,
Wanda Marie
Los Angeles California
Dear Tita & Nonie,
We're back home in Canada now and slowly recovering from a giant case of jet lag! I don't know how people who make frequent trips back and forth across the Atlantic survive. The week at Anna's Villa and the cooking lessons with the two of you were the absolute highlight of our vacation. We thought the lessons were a great combination of fun and learning and can hardly wait to try out the recipes in our own kitchens. Phil and Allan were happy to see us enjoy ourselves so much and of course were delighted to be able to savor the three delicious meals we prepared. This coming week I'm going on a short trip to visit our son and daughter-in-law and their new baby girl. I'm thinking they might enjoy a meal of pasta carbonara!
You are a winning team - keep up the good work!
Much love,
Ann Lower
Canada
Dear Nonie & Tita:
Enclosed is the photo we promised to send you of our cooking class on April 11th at our villa near Farnetta. We thoroughly enjoyed our class and would all agree that it was one of the highlights of our one week stay in Umbria. We enjoyed your company very much and felt like we were old friends cooking together. Nonie, it was great to have an English speaker to interpret for us. Tita, we loved all your old family recipes. It was great learning about the Umbrian way of cooking and the ingredients that are used.
The recipes you selected for our evening were perfect and our husbands, who did not cook, loved eating the many courses that were served. We will certainly be trying out the recipes at home. Thank you for a terrific evening. We will recommend your classes to anyone that is taking a trip to Umbria.
Betti, Therese & Sallie
Buon Giorno Nonie and Tita,
We are back in Florida (boo) and we really wanted to tell you that our time with you and Tita are our best memories of Italy. The kids have not stopped talking about the food, and the both of you! Lola's first words to my mother in law were about the chocolate cake that she made with you and Tita.
We will be sending you many pictures for you to look at. They came out great!
You are so much fun to be with! I loved your personality and Scott and I both felt like if we lived there we would all be good friends.
Thank you again for everything.
Love,
Lauren, Scott, Lola and Jacopo Solkoff
Naples Florida
P.S. When I unpacked the aprons the kids took them in their hands like they were treasure and hung them prominently in our kitchen. A nice daily reminder!]
Dear Nonie,
How are you? Sorry for the slow response to your email. We've been very busy since we came back from our Honeymoon in Italy. Perugia was certainly a highlight of our trip, not to mention the wonderful Umbria cooking class with you and Titi. We had a wonderful time there. The cooking lesson, the personal touch of a private lesson, and the personable & friendly service, combined with at-home atmosphere and an absolute breath-taking view from the house afforded us an experience that we'll remember for a lifetime. Thank you for the wonderful class, filled with great food and new friendship. We hope to visit Italy and take your cooking lesson again someday.
By the way, can you please send me a file of all the recipes from our lesson, in grams and ml. We prefer the metric system, since we live in Japan.
Sincerely,
Stephen & Kaori Su
Japan
Our cooking experience in Umbria with Tita and Nonie was without a doubt one of the highlights of our "European Winter". The warm and engaging atmosphere made us feel like we were visiting old friends rather than learning to make pizza! The fabulous and entertaining Nonie, and the motherly and talented Tita showed us a side of Italian life and hospitality that we had hoped to see but couldn't find elsewhere. Oh, and the food was AMAZING!
David & Allison
Sydney, Australia
Nonie e Tita,
I know its been a long time since the nice hot summer days, but we were looking through our pictures and it reminded us of the fabulous time we all had with you guys and your cooking class and the first night with appetizers and wine tasting.
I can say without any exception that we all had the best vacation we ever had, and it all started with you guys.... You were Great, THANKS................
We have given your names out to a lot of people, for whatever that means.
Thanks again and have a great year, when we come to Italy again we will certainly call you.
Bruce and Carol Nadler
Ciao Nonie,
Sorry for taking so long to send you some photos of the day we spent with you and Tita learning to cook the Umbrian way. It was a great day and enjoyed by all of us. Of course once you get home you unfortunately slip straight back into day to day life and the months go by. Hope you are both well and business is still keeping you both as busy as you want to be. We have cooked some of the meals we prepared with you several times mostly with success although my pastry baskets don't seem to turn out quite like they did in Tita's kitchen (with her watching me)!
We've started to think about our next trip overseas and hope that that will include another trip to Umbria. Next time we're in Umbria we'll enroll for lesson 2 with you and Tita!
Best wishes,
Leigh Robinson and family
Australia
Hi Nonie
"Highlight of my trip with Umbriacooks4u" -- thought I'd get your attention with that subject line! I've written a "book" about our time in Umbria and thought I'd share it with you. Here are a couple of pictures as well. I guess I didn't do any of the cooking. In every picture that I'm in, there is a wine glass involved!
We had spent nearly two weeks in Italy, visiting Venice, Florence, Siena, and some of the smaller cities in Tuscany. We delighted in the art, architecture, history culture, cuisine and wine. Though it was a rich cultural experience, we were spectators on the outside looking in. In Umbria, we were taken inside the culture. We had a very cordial reception at the beautiful Villa Fibbino. Anna and Stefano have created luxurious, authentic lodgings for their guests and Anna’s cooking is superb.
Our cooking class with Nonie and Tita was our last and best adventure in Italy. We learned to prepare some classic Umbrian dishes, but also learned about culture, history, and the Italian lifestyle from the inside. Nonie and Tita are warm and gracious. We felt welcome in Tita’s home. She makes cooking fun, creative, and seemingly effortless. Nonie is a master at translating and facilitating conversation. In my opinion, this class is a must do for anyone interested in cooking and seeing Umbrian life up close and personal. We left with full tummies, new recipes to prepare at home and the warm glow that comes when you make new friends.
If you ladies ever come to the States, please allow us to reciprocate your hospitality.
Fondly,
Judy and Tim Terrell
Southern California
Dear Nonie and Tita,
Thank you to both of you for our wonderful day. We all had so much fun and many times reminisced about our delicious lunch with you. Kate and Alex now off at camp, and Ian leaves in a week, so the plan is that we will recreate our meal the weekend we are all back together.
You are an amazing team! You made our three kids feel so comfortable in the kitchen by encouraging them to get involved at every step of the preparation, they thought it was great. We loved sitting down and enjoying our absolutely delicious meal, the next day Kate was disappointed that she was too full to finish her scrumptious chocolate dessert. Our day with you will always be a special memory for us! Many, many thanks.
Your directions to park for the Perugia Jazz Festival were perfect. We had no problems finding the parking by the bus station. Thank goodness you had us go early!
Hope all is well with both of you and you're having some time to enjoy the summer.
Warm regards,
Tom, Lori, Ian, Kate and Alex
See more Italian cooking class comments from other years. We also have press coverage and reviews of our cooking school in Umbria!
