Immersing yourself into the food & wine culture of Italy for an entire week is an excellent way to understand and learn this incredible way of life. Whether you are just a beginner or a seasoned pro, our Culinary Workshop Week in Tuscany will provide you with a unique opportunity to experience the Italian lifestyle in a very relaxed environment.

Our workshop week features 7 nights in a wonderfully restored Tuscan farmhouse, 5 days of culinary classes, wine tastings and special excursions. Participation is limited to five for each week so we can preserve our special personal touch.

Have a look at our short video from our 2010 workshop for an inspired look at our week…

Join us in scenic and inspiring southern Tuscany in 2011 as we share our passion and professional experience with you! Here are the dates to our workshop weeks:

April 17-23 (this is the week before Easter…a great chance to extend your trip)
June 26 – July 2 (extra Saturday night stay included)
September 11 – 16
September 18 – 23

Ask us a question…or reserve a place

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Silvia Gautschi McNulty won the Swiss final of the 6th Concours des Ambassadeurs du Champagne competition held on the 17th of September in Geneva. She will travel to Epernay in the heart of the Champagne region to compete in the European final on October 28th against seven other finalists.

Silvia battled her nerves in Geneva and managed to deliver an outstanding and original presentation on the diversity of champagne, while expertly tasting and presenting four champagnes to a jury of four experts and a captivated audience. “Silvia represents the exact profile we are seeking for a champagne ambassador” stated Violaine de Caffarelli, Jury President and Enologist for the Comité Champagne, as she awarded Silvia the prize.

Silvia holds a level V honors diploma from the London-based Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET) and several advanced certificates from schools in Austria, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. She is also a member of the Swiss German Sommelier Association, a qualified instructor of Sherry Wine from the Regulatory Authority in Jerez, Spain and a regular instructor at the Zürich-based Académie Du Vin. Of course, Silvia is also partner and wine educator at Laughing Lemon Food & Wine.

During her first couple of days in the Champagne region, Silvia will have the opportunity to visit some of the top producers…and of course taste their products. The final competition will be held on Thursday, October 28 and will again include a presentation to the jury and champagne tastings. The winner will be announced on Friday, October 29 and we will announce the results on the Laughing Lemon Food & Wine Facebook page.

We wish Silvia the best of luck in her competition!

We are very excited to provide more information about our first culinary workshop week in Tuscany from the 27th of June through the 3rd of July. We are offering a unique opportunity to experience Italian food and wine lifestyle in a wonderfully restored Tuscan bed and breakfast, while offering 5 days of culinary classes, excursions, wine tasting and more!

We will be located in the Val d'Orcia, between the major wine regions of Montalcino and Montepulciano.  The amazing B&B is as Tuscan as it gets, and offers private apartments with kitchens, a swimming pool, and many other features guaranteed to make this a charming and relaxing culinary getaway...and you get to cook with us!

Participation is limited to six so we can keep the experience very personal…and very unique!

• One week workshop held in a beautiful estate in the heart of Val d’Orcia, situated between the world-renown wine regions of Montalcino and Montepulciano – more about il Poggiolo
• Comfortable and spacious apartments with a private bedroom and shared kitchen, living room and bathroom
• Daily cooking workshops in a professional kitchen
• Small group of participants to allow for personal and professional attention and instruction
• Local excursions to wine, cheese and olive oil producers
• Guided wine degustation/instruction exploring the finer side of Italian wine
• Plenty of free time to explore the surroundings or simply lounge by the pool

1,800 Euro for 6-nights’ accommodations and 5-days culinary workshops

Ask us a question…or reserve a place HERE

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We are very excited to be back up and running...and we do apologize for the recent downtime!

As you may have noticed by now, we have changed our look and feel a bit to go along with some greatly improved security measures.  We hope you like our look...but, we're not done yet!  We will continue to make some adjustments to the design during the next couple of months and fix any necessary bugs we happen to catch (be sure to send us a message if you see anything weird or if something doesn't appear to work correctly).

In the meantime, here are a few new items we've added to the right sidebar:

1. Improved searching: want to find something fast...type in a term in the field.

2. An historical monthly list of our posts...pretty easy to figure out.

3. Recent comments from our posts...got something to write about a post...it will also appear here!

4. A link to some other blogs we like to follow...send us a message with your blog information if you would like us to consider adding it to the list.

5. Want to get notified when we make a new post?...well, just put your e-mail address into the field and click on the 'notify me' button...we will send you an e-mail message with a link to the new post - it works nicely, but you have to make sure to adjust your spam filter to allow mail from freshattitude (oh...we won't be sharing your address with anyone, or using it for any other reason).

Ok...that covers the main stuff.  Now, back to posting information about food & wine...

The Alternative Table is our unconventional option to restaurant dining.

We offer an exclusive opportunity periodically throughout the year to experience an inspired seasonal dinner with like-minded diners who appreciate fine food and wine…and always in a different and unique environment somewhere within the greater Zürich region. We can’t tell you too far in advance where you’ll end up…but, you will get good food and wine!

Our prix-fixe five-course meals are an exceptional opportunity to taste the finest food prepared exclusively from the best of what Zürich markets offer. The vibrant food and elegantly-simple presentations are matched with appropriate wines and served in an informal – yet professional manner. Each course is accompanied with two matching wines and preceded with brief and helpful explanations about the food…the wine…and the combination.

Our group sizes are always small – usually between 12 and 16 persons. The communal setting can be several small tables nestled together, or a single table for all diners.

The costs vary slightly, depending on the location we use, but in general terms, we ask for CHF 125-140 per person. Reservations are required. To reserve a place at our next Alternative Table, please e-mail us at:  freshdining@laughinglemon.ch

Special menu options are always available for those who have dietary restrictions…but we have to know ahead of time. Please indicate to us any restriction you or any member in your group may have when making your reservation.

The Alternative Table in April…

Date: Saturday, April 4

Time: Apéro at 7:30 pm with the first course served at approximately 8:00

Location: In Zürich City (we will send the exact location to you after receiving a reservation request)

Cost: 125 CHF

More information?...Please use the e-mail mentioned above if you would like us to send some more additional information to you, or if you have any questions or special concerns.

Laughing Lemon Food & Wine introduces fresh artisan chocolates

Why on earth would an American cook want to enter the very competitive Swiss chocolate market?

Good question…and one I guess we could anticipate in the future. But for now, we are quite content in our relative anonymity.

Our interest and experience in learning how to produce quality chocolates have been measured during the past 12-18 months. We’ve carefully sought out select advice and professional training from some of Switzerland’s finest producers, and of course…tried out some of our successes and failures on many willing participants. So…we’re now ready for our…eh…dare I say it – beta release!

Our initial chocolate line will be available for sampling and purchasing on November 8th at The Pie Shop in Zürich, and on November 15th at The Fine Food Emporium in Thalwil from our friends at the Cheese Club.

Our assortment will include Earl Grey Pralines, Lemon Verbena and Ginger Milk Chocolates, Whisky Butter Truffles, Peanut Butter Cups, Piedmontese Gianduja, Lemon Cheesecake Pralines, Creamy Caramel-Filled Milk Chocolate Pralines, and finally Turkish Coffee and Cardamom Pralines.

All of our chocolates are handmade using all natural products. We do not use any artificial flavorings or preservatives…which means they need to be consumed within 10-14 days.

We are producing on a very limited basis at the moment, but we will have a selection at both locations at least once per month.