3 of a kind by by EMMA CULLINAN
L’ANDANA, TENUTA LA BADIOLA, ITALY
Località Badiola, Castiglione della Pescaia, Tuscany, Italy, 0039 0564 944 577, andana.it
Chef Alain Ducasse set up this hotel in 2004, in a 16th-century pallazo among vineyards and olive groves, once a Medici villa that Grand Duke Leopold II called home during summers. The food on offer at the Michelin-starred trattoria here is sumptuous but Ducasse and his team also run classes in Tuscan cuisine.
Many courses involve making a starter, pasta dish and dessert and you can then wash your culinary creations down with local wine.
If your dishes find their way to a lover’s heart, you can get married in the chapel on site.
Cookery courses cost €170.
Rooms:33 rooms and suites inspired by the countryside views, with earthy colours of grey, ochre, purple, white and cream, and materials of stone and wood. Many have working fireplaces.
Doubles from €380 (special offers turn up on the website).
LA MIRANDE, FRANCE
4 Place de L'Amirande, Avignon, France, 0033-490142020, la-mirande.fr
This former medieval mansion was the 14th-century abode of a cardinal, conveniently positioned opposite the pope’s palace or, in these parts, the Palais des Papes. The current owners worked with its history in creating an antiqued interior, eschewing the penchant for minimalist modernism in hotels.
Cookery courses are run by in-house chefs or invited illustrious cooks and are held in the 19th-century kitchen. Classes are for six to 12 people and follow various menus.
They run from 9am to 1pm and on Friday evenings. Or you can take a pastry class in the afternoons. The results are eaten along with wines chosen by the sommelier, and you can invite friends and family. Cookery classes from €110 and pastry class from €80.
The hotel’s restaurant serves traditional Provençal cuisine and afternoon tea comes with house-made pastries. Chef-made jams and more are sold in the shop.
Rooms:26 rooms, 21 of which overlook the pope's palace. Decor includes velvet-covered chairs, silk-lined walls and high ceilings. They range from deluxe, large deluxe, suites and apartments. Doubles from €350.
RIAD KAISS, MOROCCO
65 derb Jdid, Riad Zitoun Kedim, Marrakech (Medina), Morocco, 00212-524440141, riadkaiss.com
The cookery classes in this hotel are conducted by women, known as dadas, who are skilled in traditional Moroccan cookery, and overseen by head chef Eben Lenderking, who helped Yotam Ottolenghi with his new TV show. Each woman works with one student and the classes are bespoke: one person recently wanted to do everything she could with aubergines, and ended up with 20 dishes. The emphasis is on traditional Moroccan cooking skills, courses are hands-on, and cater for all levels. They cost €20 an hour and €50-€70 for a half-day course.
Rooms:four superior, three deluxe, overlooking the courtyard, and two suites with roof terraces. Doubles from €183.