Every culinary maestro knows that Italian cooking and family values go hand in hand. Recipes and skills evolve over the years and are passed down through the generations.

Orient-Express’ hotel on the Amalfi Coast, Hotel Caruso is offering its guests the opportunity to hone their own Italian cookery skills and take away a truly authentic piece of Italy, with Mamma Agata’s cooking school in Ravello. Just a short drive from Hotel Caruso, classes, which are available throughout the year, are conducted in Italian Mamma Agata’s home, which overlooks the coast of Ravello.

Agata warmly invites students to spend the day with her and her family in her home. Throughout the day, she will casually take them through the basics of Italian cooking using ingredients such as pumpkins, olives, and tangerines, that are grown in her very own garden and free-range farm. Beginning at 10:30am, guests are given an introduction and shown round Mamma Agata’s garden and state-of-the-art kitchen. A three hour class then follows where students are invited to get hands–on whilst they learn how to cook traditional Italian dishes including pastas, breads, and meat dishes as well as cakes and marmalades. All the recipes will be demonstrated by Mamma Agata, who will be passing on her years of home-style cooking experience to her students. Mamma Agata will also advise participants on how to grow and tend to their own organic gardens. At the end of the lesson, students are then able to test out their newly acquired skills with a lunch on the terraces of Agata’s home, accompanied by wine and fresh limencello.

Maintaining the tradition of family and food, Mamma Agata’s son-in-law Gennaro, a seasoned Sommelier and olive oil taster, will also be on hand to give his tips on pairing wines and cheeses.

Mamma Agata has been cooking in Ravello for years, and as a young girl even cooked for Elizabeth Taylor, Jaqueline Kennedy, and Humphrey Bogart, who affectionately named her “Baby Agata”.

A day course with Mamma Agata costs €190 and includes a Mamma Agata apron, copies of recipes taught on the course and a meal. Guests staying with Hotel Caruso will also receive an exclusive gift of a home-made limoncello bottle. Hotel Caruso can provide transfers to Mamma Agata’s home at a cost of €35 return.

A Village View Room at Hotel Caruso starts from €300 (approximately £260) per room per night including daily full American breakfast.

Hotel Profile: Hotel Caruso Belvedere by Orient-Express