MEET YOUR NEW BEST FRIENDS IN TUSCANY--RHONDA VILARDO & COLEEN KIRNAN

Imagine having best friends in Tuscany who know all the best places to cook, dine and shop. They are on a first name basis with the best gelato makers and have exclusive access to the most spectacular vineyards where they'll set up personal wine tastings just for you. These friends are also master travel planners, who take every travel detail off your plate and create an Italian itinerary filled with friendly, knowledgeable tour guides, translators, drivers and private cooking classes only a local insider could access.

When you book a week with Tuscan Women Cook, Rhonda and Coleen become these extraordinary new friends, with contagious joy that will deeply enhance your Italian experience.

Chances are you have come to a place in your life where it is finally time to take care of YOU.  Rhonda and Coleen intimately understand this life chapter and relish the opportunity to create a week that is all about YOU. Once you arrive in Montefollonico,  Rhonda and Coleen's extensive experience, regional knowledge and sincere love of all things Italian make them ideal companions who will confidently lead you from your empty nest, your harried work schedule and your auto-pilot daily routine and create your true, life-changing experience.

All roads led to Tuscany for Rhonda Vilardo and Coleen Kirnan. They were at similar places in their lives when they first met to discuss ownership of Tuscan Women Cook. Both women shared an intense passion for cooking, entertaining, meeting new people and travel. Coleen and Rhonda were both at career crossroads, ready for change and intrigued at the possibility of a bold challenge. The idea of forging a business that encompasses all their favorite pursuits was just too perfect to pass up.

Theirs is a story of an extraordinary mid-life dream come true.

Rhonda spent nearly two decades traveling the world as a private label cosmetics director. Her love for food and travel brought her to Tuscan Women Cook in 2006 as a vacationer, anxious to immerse herself in Italian food and culture. Her experience at Tuscan Women Cook was so impactful that she signed up to return the following year and returned yet again in 2014 thinking it would be her last chance to experience the program before it was sold. She also wanted her mother and daughter to experience the program, and it was the perfect graduation trip for her daughter. It was during that trip that Rhonda had an epiphany that taking over Tuscan Women Cook from founders Bill and Patty Sutherland was the new direction her life would take. She had become close friends with them through her husband and when she learned they were selling the business, Rhonda spent 6 weeks in 2015 with Tuscan Women Cook as a host to see if it would be good fit.

 

Rhonda and Coleen are your hosts in Montefollonico , a picturesque Tuscan village filled with history, culture and home to many of the very best cooks in Tuscany. This is the home base for Tuscan Women Cook. Each week, Rhonda and Coleen will welcome guests from around the world to live, breath and cook as the locals do. "This is the very best part of our job," said Rhonda. "The chance to immerse our guests in the true Tuscan lifestyle; cooking in rustic kitchens with women who are preparing recipes that have been passed down from generations of family cooks, shopping for produce at the local farmer's market and visiting local vineyards for a complete life-changing, Italian culinary experience."

Meeting fascinating people from all over the world is another glorious perk for Rhonda and Coleen. "I especially like the wide range of guests we attract," said Coleen. "We have married couples who fall in love all over again right in front of our eyes and Rhonda and I can personally relate to our empty nester couples like our fellow intrepid travelers Suzanne and Craig Stavert of Adventures of Empty Nesters. We also book quite a few multi-generational family reunions along with gaggles of girlfriends, school alum reunions and members gourmet groups looking for a great getaway." Guests of all ages often refer to Tuscan Women Cook as the ultimate "Bucket List" adventure.

"Tuscan Women Cook is also ideal for single travelers," says Rhonda. "It's the perfect way to travel on your own without being alone. Many of our guests forge deep and lasting friendships and so do we."

Join Rhonda and Coleen on this extraordinary journey. Your time is NOW. Cook delicious, authentic Italian cuisine, drink amazing wines, tour the Tuscan countryside, make new friends and create memories that will last a lifetime with Tuscan Women Cook, the original total immersion cooking school in Montefollonico since 2000.

As you consider what week works best for you and your loved ones to attend Tuscan Women Cook, please note that we've blocked out two weeks in the coming season with special discount prices for groups of three or more. Note the color-blocked weeks, June 4-10 and September 3-9, on our Class Dates website page and contact us today for our special pricing.

SAY YES! TO A WEEK WITH TUSCAN WOMEN COOK IN 2017!

This is the year your life will change in the most delicious way. 2017 is the year for you to travel to Italy.
Ask yourself if you deserve a week to eat, drink, learn and love in the magnificent Tuscan countryside. The answer is a resounding YES! to a truly memorable week with Tuscan Women Cook. Contact us today.

THANK YOU SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE!
"Here's a delicious way to get in touch with your inner Italian." Read more.