Sep 28, 2024
Immerse Yourself in the Food and Culture of Montresta - My husband and I completely enjoyed this long-awaited day-long immersion in Sardinian cuisine, culture, community and sustainable consumption. Leonarda was the perfect hostess, opening her home to our group of five eager learners under the skilled and easy guidance of our enthusiastic English-speaking leader, Davide. To be clear, this is not a clinic in cooking with a passing glance to participation. It is fully inclusive, roll-up the sleeves, dive into the process of cooking. Together with Leonarda's neighbor assistants, we were welcomed with coffee and home-made cakes. Then to icing prepared sheet-pan cakes. Then to hand mixing warm milk to produce both cheese and ricotta. Then outside to pasta-making al fresco in traditional shapes--beginning with mixing the pasta dough and using traditional methods of shaping. Then back into the house's garden to sample our newly made warm ricotta on bread drizzled with honey and glasses of local wine. Then into the dining room for a shared meal with us five learners, our teachers and guide. We ate our cooked pasta with a veal ragout, bread, more wine, and dessert. Over the meal, conversation turned to why our hostess hosts these experiences. Leonarda passionately shared her commitment to carrying on the deeply-rooted traditions of Montresta's history and her joy in sharing them with learners such as we were.
This is a full-day experience skillfully and enjoyably led by Davide. Come prepared with an appetite--not just for good cuisine, but also for learning the unforgettable story of Montresta, its food, and its people. You won't regret it, and you'll never forget it.
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Sep 19, 2024
Doesn’t get more homemade than this! - Thoroughly enjoyable foodie workshop in the hilltop village of Montresta in the hills above Bosa with food producers and farmer’s wives Leonarda and Ina with our English speaking guide Davide. Very much off grid, it’s not so much a cookery class but a learning day in their home and workshop making local pasta shapes using just semolina flour, cakes and cheese followed by lunch using their own ingredients and those from the immediate locality like flour, porcini, wild boar, wine, white grappa, milk and almonds. We made ricotta (delicious still warm with honey) and pressed the curds into cheese, finished and topped traybake cakes with sugar and alkhermes. We then made pasta on the terrace with just semolina flour in a variety of shapes ranging from the simplest using a fork, traditional Malloreddus using a wicker mat or butter pat, to extruded pasta with a sit-down press known as a torchio. Nothing is wasted - the whey was saved for their pigs and I daresay the ash from
the hearth where the sausages were hot smoked went to fertilise the vines. Needless to say what we made would have changed according to time of year and what their families had harvested so I daresay the ‘experience’ will be different every time. Leonarda had been butchering in the workshop the day before. Whilst Montresta is clearly not a museum with people like our hosts, over lunch we talked of food and community in a changing world - changing because of rural depopulation, loss of skills and nuclear families, climate change and commercialisation. This was followed by an informative walk about the village with our guide Davide also from Montresta. All in all a holistic day for foodies and a testament to those practising artisan skills. And a chance to meet and eat with fresh insight!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jul 13, 2024
Amazing food and culture trip - We had a wonderful trip with Davide. The trip was more than just 'cooking experience'; it was a combination of cooking, food tasting, culture exploration and sight seeing. Davide has extensive knowledge of biology, geology and history of Sardinia, so you can also expect to learn a lot about this region.
In the peaceful and beautiful village of Montresta, located about 50-min drive from Alghero, we got to experience the primitive and sustainable Sardina way of life. We made different types of pasta from scratch and tasted different types of dishes, cheeses, breads, wines, and desserts from the family, including the fresh pasta we made. The two ladies who hosted the cooking were very friendly and full of love, making us feel like part of the family.
Highly recommend this trip to anyone interested in food and culture exploration while traveling!
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Jul 5, 2024
Amazing authentic sardina - Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to get off the sunbeds and away from the bar. It’s time to call Davide and have the most amazing time in authentic Sardinia. Myself, my wife and 2 girls (12&13) did and we had a ball. Davide took us to leinora’s house for a day of cooking and tasting local wine in the mountains of Sardinia . Everyone had an amazing time. It’s simply a MUST DO. You won’t regreat it. Davide is super cool fella. There is no rush, he just hangs out with you for the day translating the words of leinora and her friend Kia. Who teach you to do some amazing things in the kitchen. When I come back!! Davide is my 1st port of call.
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Jun 18, 2024
Warm and Welcoming in Montresta - Wonderful Montresta experience with Leonarda and her family making pasta and enjoying lunch. Davide explained what we were going to do clearly with insight and fun. His passion and enthusiasm for Sardinia is catching., His command of English quite excellent and we were able to joke all the time. He related very well with our group. Leonarda and her family welcomed us with open arms. We felt we never wanted to leave. Not only were we involved actively in the whole pasta making experience we were engaged in a range of interesting discussions with different members of her family over a most delicious lunch. Lorenzo made us feel very welcome too. We were sad to leave.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
May 1, 2024
Explore Sardinia with the best guide! - Davide is a brilliant guide that I highly highly recommend! He puts so much care and thought into his tours and his passion for his beautiful country shines through. Whether it’s beach focussed or food and mountains, I’d jump on the opportunity to join any of his adventures.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Apr 15, 2024
5 Stars! Fantastic guide and unique experiences - We did 2 tours with Davide - one was the pasta making with a visit to Nuragic sites, and the other cheese making by shepards with scenic views.
Both were brilliant. The pasta making and lunch were great fun (and delicious) and hosted in a beautiful family home in a small village. The lady who conducted it was also featured on 'Searching for Italy with Stanley Tucci'.
The experience of watching the shepards produce sheep's cheese by hand following traditional methods was particularly interesting.
Davide was very informative, and seemed to be as excited about the experiences as we were. He was early picking us up both times and made sure we had a good time. He has an amazing passion for Sardinia and its culture and it shows.
Definitely see look him up for his tours. You can customise things as well. We were supposed to visit a village as part of the 2nd day but cos it was so hot, and uncomfortable for us, we went with his suggestion to visit some viewpoints instead, which involved quite a bit of driving. And we still ended the day on time.
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