Welcome to our Reviews and Press page
Lonely Planet Article (by Abigail King)
Lonely Planet Article (by Nellie Huang)
Gambero Rosso Article (by Michela di Carlo)
AIRFRANCE Article (by Abigail King)
Wild Edible Herbs Course Article (by Cathy Wilson)
Reviews and Press from Italy
Connecting the Dots (by Sara Borghi)
Rosmarinonews.it Article (by Antonella Petitti)
La Nazione Newspaper
Vitadafemmina.it Article (by Annachiara Scalera)
Professional Chef Certificate
2014 April 14th
Accademia Italiana Chef
I got a Professional Chef Certificate
vote: 100/100
Examination Committee Review about my dishes:
ERIKA ELIA – PROFESSIONAL CHEF Erika has amazed the entire Commission with the passion towards the kitchen consistently demonstrated during the course and in the examination and the extreme accuracy and precision in the preparation of her dishes. Passion and precision, flair and concreteness, are all factors that Erika has demonstrated very well in knowing how to use the stove. She made her debut with a starter of artichoke mousse with sea bass tartare in blackberry vinegar, followed by the first course of soup crab from Argentario with a shrimps and prawns bisque in a bread crust; all prepared with an impeccable technique. Passed with flying colors amazed the examination committee with her signature dishes, and is now ready for a bright career!
Examination Committee Review my dishes (in Italian)
Reviews and Press …They Say About Us
(our Students, our Customers)
November 1st
Chef Erika and her assistant came to our vacation rental in Lucca and cooked an amazing private dinner for our family. It was wonderful and was one of the best highlights of our entire 10-day trip. The food was spectacular and Erika was an absolute pleasure to deal with. We highly recommend her with no hesitation whatsoever (Steve Orlandi).
October 10th
Simply amazing! Truly recommended! Erica and Fiammetta are super cool, they made us feel like we were cooking with Friends rather than attending a cooking class. Super useful and clear instructions, I am sure I will be able to replicate it at home. We simply had an amazing time, and we were able to enjoy the food for lunch and dinner. Thank you, Erika and Fiammetta! We will recommend you to everyone we know! (Adriana Carneglias)
October 4th
Lovely Tuscan meal cooked in the Kitchen where we stay for our holiday! Erica was a very smiling and service-minded person. We highly recommend her. (Jorun Hermansen)
September 16th
Cuoche in Vacanza is a “must do” when visiting Tuscany. We scheduled it after a few long days of sightseeing, so we could relax in our rental home and enjoy a home-cooked meal. Erika is friendly, easy-going, and a great teacher. Oksana is so sweet, helping out in the background as Erika leads the class. They showed up promptly to our rental house in Lucca, unloaded, set up the kitchen…and got started. Erika is organized, prepared, and made it really fun! We loved every minute of this experience from cooking to enjoying our meal at the end! I HIGHLY recommend it. It was a highlight of our trip. (Erin Doughenbaugh)
September 24th
This class was the highlight of our European trip this year! Erika went out of her way to make sure this was a success. From arranging for parking in a limited traffic area to obtaining traffic permission to calling our AirBNB host, to climbing 7 flights of stairs to our flat…she was amazing! She was so sweet with my 3 yr old daughter. We learned a ton, and had so much fun! And best of all made a lifelong friend. I could not recommend anyone other than Erika for your Italian cooking needs! (Sheena Marie Weaver)
September 22nd
Erica and her assistant, they made me a wonderful surprise on one of the amazing evenings of our holiday in Tuscany. We tried to make tiramisu, bruschetta, pasta, and turkey. Thanks to them, we both had fun and ate one of the most delicious meals in our lives under the hail fail and everything was so perfect that I promise I will not forget that night. Firstly, I want to thank my husband since he created a chance to gather us that evening, and then I want to thank Erica and her assistant. Hope to see you again and I want to send my sincere wishes to you.
Once again thanks for everything 
September 18th
We had so much fun!! the 2 of us and our 3 adult sons, 2 daughters-in-law, and my son’s girlfriend. We all participated, learned a lot, ate like kings, and really had a great time. It was really a wonderful experience. Thanks so much!! (R.Oseran)
August 12th
Our family can’t say enough good things about our wonderful cooking class with Erika at our “house” in Florence! We felt like she was a longtime friend in a matter of minutes and totally at ease! The food was delicious and we had a lot of fun learning to cook new recipes! She was very flexible in the menu choices for us too! Loved every minute of our evening with her and her “sous chef” Oksana! We highly recommend this fabulous cooking class when you are in Tuscany!!!
💕 (M.Lynne Pallasch)
Reviews and Press far in time
Dear Erika,
Thank you so much for the wonderful experience yesterday. we had such a good time, and the food was amazing!
Maria T.
7/18/2016
Ciao Erika,
Many, many thanks to both you and Paola for last night’s cooking class. We all had a great evening, enjoyed your company very much and had a lot of fun preparing the food. It was delicious as well and we shall look forward to finishing the food off tonight! We hope you had a good journey home and wish you every success in the future. We shall definitely recommend you and tell the agencies of our experience. Best wishes,
7/9/2016
We recently did a cooking class at our villa in Tuscany with Erika and her terrific assistant, Paola.
We had 8 people in our group, ages 18 to 60, with varying levels of cooking skills. I have done a lot of cooking classes, and Erika’s rates are very high on my list.
We scheduled the class for the day we arrived in Italy. Erika and Paola were at the villa, setting up when we arrived. They patiently waited for us to get settled, and then jumped right in.
Erika is talented as a chef AND as a teacher. She was patient, funny, and delightful all evening. The menu was varied, and she modified it on the fly (I don’t like coffee, and when I asked if tiramisu can be made without it, she grabbed some dark chocolate she had with her and improvised – it was fabulous!)
After the pasta was made, and the bruschetta consumed, Erika and Paola served us and cleaned up as if they had never been there. We only wish we had scheduled them for more nights during our stay. Next time!
Kyle M.
Friends from Norway:
2015 Spring-Summer
Hi Erika,
thank you for excellent pictures and cooking session. Your event and enthusiastic leadership really made our trip complete!
Best regards,
Claes M.
Dear Erika ,
We all loved your passion and ability to create a wonderful atmosphere !
This was a priceless experience and memory from our trip.
We will be recommending you and look forward to next time we visit your beautiful region.
Arrividerci !
Stassi
Vi var 13 personer (8 voksne og 5 barn) som leide Villa en uke i juli.
Ferien ble toppet opp av flere besøk av den utrolige gode og sjarmerende kokken Erika Elia fra “Cuocheinvacanza Cuciniamo Con Voi” (søk opp navnet på Facebook). Helt utrolig mat og Erika skaper herlig stemning hver gang! Uansett om du bor sørover mot Maremma eller opp mot Lucca osv så kan Erika komme kjørende. Hun kjøper inn, lager mat og rydder/vasker.
We were 13 people (8 adults and 5 children) who rented a Villa for one week in July. The holiday was topped by several visits to the incredible good and charming chef Erika Elia from “Cuocheinvacanza cuciniamo con voi” (look for the name on Facebook). Absolutely amazing food and Erika creates a wonderful atmosphere every time! If you live in Tuscany, (Lucca, Pisa, Florence, etc.) Erika and her team then drove toward your home. She buys, cooks, and cleans up the kitchen.
2014 Spring-Summer
Erika:
Pardon my delayed email.
Thank you so much for all of your efforts. The visit was a highlight of the trip to Italy for the entire group. It is difficult to impress restaurateurs and chefs and I know that your dishes did.
Not enough thanks and not enough praise. I look forward to seeing you again.
Regards,
Gabriel M
Erika,
Just wanted to thank you again for coming to our apt last night to cook with us! We all had a great night and enjoyed meeting you!! We ate the ravioli again tonight and it was just as delicious !!
Thanks again!
Robyn, Marc,Tess and Meredith
Erika
We had a great time yesterday and really enjoyed the cooking class.
My family and friends are still enjoying the wonderful flavors as part of our dinner this evening. We did the sage and butter sauce again on the tagliatelle that was left over. I think we may have enough for lunch tomorrow !!!!!. We also used the lovely tomato sauce on bread again it is most delicious.
You have given us many happy memories to bring home to Ireland.
Thanks again
Mary Paul Ha Thi and Danh.
2013 Spring-Summer
15/10/2013
Fantastic cooking, nice evening! Can absolutely be recommended 🙂
Marit W.
12/10/2013
Once again thanks again for making a fabulous meal for my guests from Norway and waiting so patiently while they were stuck in traffic.
They were really impressed! Five stars all around 🙂
Paola R.
