I really want to thank you both and your family once again for taking so good care of us! ......

Dear Raffaella and Marcello,
We wanted to thank you for the wonderful two days that we spent with you......

I wanted to express my sincere thanks for the wonderful experience you provided on our trip to Bologna.....

Dear Marcello and Raffaella-
Thank you for wonderful trip!  I really enjoyed meeting you and appreciated all of your efforts to make my trip to Italy special.......

Dear Raffaella and Marcello -
Thank you so much for the wonderful day of shopping, cooking, eating, and being together.....

The trip in Piemonte exceed my expectations.
The countryside was more beautiful than I could have imagined. This was my fifth trip to Italy and still I was overwhelmed with the beauty of the landscape. We’ve seen vineyards before, but nothing like this. The villages were picture-postcard charming, with their colorful stucco buildings and tiled roofs. It was so nice to leave everything in Bluone’s hands. We had no responsibilities except to sit back, eat, drink, and enjoy.
The highlights of the tour were several: the dinner at Gianni and Graziella’s home was delightful. It felt like a wonderful family dinner. I also loved the visit to the honey place. What lovely people they are. And I’m now addicted to acacia honey! With my need for authentic parmesan cheese and, now, acacia honey, I’ll have to make an annual trip to Italy to stock up!  And, of course, the personalities of Raffaella and Marcello are always the highlights. It’s so wonderful to leave everything  in the capable hands of two such lovely, intelligent, kind, charming, wonderful people. We love you both!

Dear Marcello & Raffaella-

Thank YOU! Your hospitality and knowledge was exceptional and your tour and lunch exceeded all of our expectations. Spending the day with you and your family was truly our favorite experience in Bologna. Thank you for making our visit so very special. Please also thank lovely Franscesa -- we continue to marvel about the beautiful Zuppa Inglese she made!

We will stay in touch and, of course, contact you on our next visit to Italy. Please come see us in Texas, too. You are always welcome.

Warm regards.

Dear Marcello, Raffaella, Francesca, Tommaso and Emanuele,

I wish I could find just the right words to express how much I adored my day (and night) with you all. To say that it was beyond my expectations wouldn't be saying enough. When I first emailed and explained that I was a solo traveler coming in from Tuscany and could only spend one day in your beautiful city, you went out of your way to accommodate me -- offering the independent apartment next to your own for the night, picking me up from the train station and then having wonderful Marcello drive me back to the station the next day, help me buy my ticket and get me to the platform just in time.

And the day itself was spectacular. I've traveled to my share of wonderful places worldwide and taken many tours related to food and wine. What made this truly special was that it wasn't just another tour or a class, it was like being adopted into an Italian family for a day and beyond. I understand now why so many of your previous clients have walked away calling you "friends." You all have such a passion for food and for life, and it is a true gift to be able to experience that joy and to learn from you.

I also appreciated how extensive the day was. Because I love to cook, I didn't want to spend my money on some quickie tour and food "demonstration," but rather a true, hands-on experience -- and that is exactly what I got, and more. I learned so much during the tour of the food market -- from how to select the most authentic balsamic to which tomatoes produce the best sauce -- and even more from Raffaella and Francesca in the kitchen when we got down to work making our multi-course feast. Before your class, I'd never attempted to make fresh pasta at home. It always seemed too time-consuming and overwhelming, despite my love of cooking. Now I know I can do it. The one thing I most relished was your commitment to "homemade": The homemade limoncello and hazelnut liquors you brought out at the end of the meal; the homemade cherry jam Raffaella had made just the day before and insisted we try with some fresh ricotta (still warm from the market. I can still taste it!!); the homemade strawberry preserves Francesca had made and which I was able to share with you over breakfast the next morning.

All of it: That's not just some "tour" -- they are memories I'll cherish always. This was, as you know, my second trip to Italy, and I was really looking this time to get away from all of the crowds and tourists and do something special. You all gave me "my true Italian experience," the one I'd always dreamed of. I just can't thank you enough.

Warmest regards always.

Hi Raffaella, Marcello & Francesca,
 
I wanted to write to thank all of you for the wonderful time we had with you last week.  My mother and I had a great time the entire week with Marchello and all the interesting people he introduced us to in Bologna and the surrounding areas.  The parmesean cheese plant and the herb garden were particularly amazing - we learned so much.  All of the meals were superb - especially the one in your home. 
 
Most importantly, the personal attention that you and your family provide is what made the trip one of the best we've ever been on. It is obvious that you are very well connected in Italy's cooking circles! I hope we're able to stay in touch and be assured I will highly recommend your cooking school to all of my friends who travel and who enjoy cooking.
 
Thank you again for such a wonderful trip, and thanks Francesca for the soap...you are so sweet!!!
 
Have a wonderful summer.

Ciao Marcello & Raffaella,
 
I would like to tell you that when we booked this trip we didn't know what to expect but were so looking forward to it; well it exceeded our expectations. Having and opportunity to see the countryside and experience the wonderful food of the region was a real treat. My friends thought that I would be tried of Italian food when I returned home but it was the opposite I wanted more. Meeting the chefs and having their cuisine and then spending and evening with you and your family and learning how to prepare all of the dishes your family picked out for us was a great ending for our vacation. The herb garden and lunch was a real treat. This has been one of the best vacations Elizabeth and I have ever taken and we will recommend it to everyone who asks about it. Your hospitality and concern for us was appreciated and we will remember it and Bologna for a long time.
Francesca and Tommaso it was a pleasure to meet you both, good luck with your school work and I know that you will both have a bright future.Raffaella I don't know how you could allow so many cooks in your kitchen but you did very graciously and made us feel so welcome, thank you.
We loved the cheese and vinegar factory's and linen business. All in all it was a great trip.
 
Fondly.

Dear Marcello, Raffaella, and Francesca,
Thank you all again for a beautiful day yesterday. You were so gracious and lovely, and we had a wonderful day with you all. From the minute we met you we felt we had known you for a long time.
Al and I both appreciate you rearranging the day so he could rest in the afternoon. Thank you also for driving us to and from the hotel. It was very gracious of you.
We enjoyed being with you all and meeting Tommaso. Thank you for inviting us into your home and kitchen. We loved learning how to make some of your typical dishes and will be looking forward to trying them when we get home. Al was pretty good at rolling out the pasta dough, wasnt he?
We loved sharing dinner with you and learning more about your lives and culture. Everything was delicious especially when sharing it with new friends. We will definitely recommend your classes to our friends back home.
I realized that I dont have the tour book with me to give you their website so you can contact them, but I will email again with that info.
Again, thank you for a lovely day.
Ciao.

Dear Marcello, Raffaella and Francesca.  
What we had intended to receive was a 'cooking class', what we received instead was "the joy of the experience"  which you and the entire family provided.  Learning to cook without the joy and passion of your personality would have been a mechanical experience and not worth talking about.  We had a wonderful time both during the market shopping adventure and the actual cooking at home.  The ingredients were fresh, the atmosphere homey and the people, just like our own families.
 
Thanks so much for a great experience.  As you know,  we traveled to Bologna exclusively to cook with you.  Our expectations were met and beyond.  We are grateful for Marcello's great humor and generosity, Raffaella's expertise and guidance and Francesca's calmness in her teaching even when we were less than apt at the given task.
 
We are now friends and not just acquaintances. We are grateful for that.  Please keep in touch as you travel to the US and we look forward to another Italy adventure with you.
 
Sincerely.

Dear Marcello, Raffaella & Francesca,

Our cooking adventure with you is an experience beyond compare. I cannot stop raving about our day in Bologna to my family and friends. I have taken cooking classes in the US where they focused on step-by-step instruction and was expecting the same. Instead, we were warmly welcome into the Tori family and Bologna culture from the instant we arrived. We started the day as teachers/students and felt we ended as old friends. Marcello provided the humour and stories. Raffaella and Francesca spent countless hours with us in the market and streets of Bologna making sure we understand the tradition and history of the food and Bologna as well as making sure we picked just the freshest and perfect ingredients. We cooked for almost four hours, but the time flew by too fast. I learned not only of how to cook true Italian but also of true hospitality. The warmness and generousity of the entire Tori family is evident in every part of the tour. My only regret is that I did not book a second day. I am anxious to try out my new pasta making skills with my family and friends.

Dear Friends,
 
We can't thank you enough for the marvelous time we had with you in Bologna.  Although we had many wonderful experiences during our weeklong trip to Italy, our day and evening with you and your family was truly a highlight.  It is nearly impossible to discover the true essence of a city on one's own, so we greatly enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity to see Bologna's streets, markets, and enotecas through your eyes.  We enjoyed even more our evening in your lovely home, where the welcome was warm and the conversation lively.
 
As for the cooking and dining part of the experience, it could not have been better.  I am considered an excellent cook, but I still learned a great deal about authentic Italian preparation from Rafaella and Francesca, and had such a wonderful time cooking with them.  The beautiful food and the recipes were so enticing that even Ray was inspired to do a little cooking, in addition to all the tasting!  I'm so happy to have the recipe book you gave us, and can't wait to recreate some of the recipes at home.
 
Next time we visit Italy, we will certainly want to take one of your tours.

Dear All,
 
Thank you so much for your e-mail. We were meaning to write yesterday, but we both arrived home from work very late. We were still recovering from our wonderful WONDERFUL meal on Saturday! We had such a tremendous day with you, but our most favorite experience was sharing dinner with your family. It was so special and something we will never forget! We hope we will be able to share a meal together with you again...
 
We also feel that we left Bologna having made great friends. Please do stay in touch, and we will do the same.
 
Thank you again for such an amazing and memorable experience!
 
Wishing you much love and luck.