Chef's Tour with Driftwood Oven's Neil Blazin: Rome & the Amalfi Coast
June 14-21, 2024
Join James Beard-nominated Chef Neil Blazin of Pittsburgh's Driftwood Oven for a culinary adventure to Rome and the Amalfi Coast!!
On your tour, you’ll travel alongside Neil to experience the amazing culinary specialities of these regions, visiting various food artisans, wineries, producers, and of course - enjoying some delicious meals! These areas are home to mozzarella di bufala, limoncello, burrata, incredible wines, and the birthplace of pizza!
Keep scrolling for more tour details, pricing, and specific Trip Notes for this particular tour.
Tour Highlights
A walking tour and introduction to Roman cuisine as you explore the markets and sample some of Rome's most famous pasta dishes.
Experience a pizza tasting in the heart of Naples - the birthplace of pizza!
A tasting of authentic mozzarella di bufala right from the source as we visit and tour a water buffalo farm!
Enjoy a private boat excursion along the Sorrentine Peninsula to see the famous coastline!
About Chef Neil Blazin
Neil Blazin is the owner and co-founder of Driftwood Oven in Pittsburgh, PA - the only sourdough pizzeria and bakery in the city! Neil fell in love with baking during his time working at Legume Bistro in Oakland. He began spending many hours teaching himself everything he could about sourdough baking.
He believes baking to be a lifelong pursuit and strives to learn something new every day. This passion is what led Neil to be named a semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef in the 2020 James Beard Awards, the food industry's highest honor.
Double occupancy: $5,125/person
Single supplement: $550
Deposit of $2,000/person is due upon booking to reserve your spot, along with a signed & completed registration form. Booking is not considered confirmed until deposit has been received.
Payments can be made by check (made out to Curata Travel) and mailed to: Curata Travel, 245 N. Main Street, Spring Grove, PA 17362.
Credit cards are accepted with a 3.6% fee.
Final payment is due 60 days prior to departure.
Pricing includes:
- Seven nights of accommodations (4 nights in Rome, 3 nights in Nerano)
- All planned excursions & classes
- Experienced tour directors and local guides
- Meals included: daily breakfasts at our accommodations, all lunches & dinners (with the exception of 2 lunches on your own)
- Private motorcoach transportation throughout the tour
- Airport transfers on specified arrival/departure days/times. We include one group transfer for your arrival and departure at specified times. Any additional transfer will be at your own cost.
Not included:
- Airfare
- Gratuity for driver and guides, at your discretion
- Any spending during free time, personal purchases, extraneous hotel charges (minibar, laundry service, etc.) and any alcoholic beverages not included with meals.
Once you complete the Booking Request Form (click the button at the top of the page), a member of our team will contact you.
You'll receive our Terms & Conditions/Registration form to complete, along with instructions for making your deposit.
Each member of the tour will be responsible for booking their own flight in & out of Rome (airport code: FCO). Flights are not included in the tour cost.
You will be picked up at the Rome (FCO) airport on June 14 at 12:00p.m. One group transfer for arrival will be provided. Multiple transfers for departure day will be available.
A few items of note for some of the destinations and the trip as a whole to help set expectations and better prepare you for the trip. Some of the expectations are outlined in the Terms & Conditions form that you will use to register (see specifically the Traveler Code and Traveler Expectations sections), but to reiterate some as they specifically relate to this Rome/Amalfi Coast itinerary.
Cuisine - As hopefully most of you know, our tours focus heavily on the culinary specialities of each region and town we visit. So when we arrange a lunch/dinner or culinary experience, we are working with those restaurants to plan menus in advance that highlight the seasonal produce, and dishes that reflect the region we’re in. As this tour spends 3 nights on the coast, you can expect seafood to be highlighted, for example. And our time in Rome & passing through Naples will incoporate plenty of pasta & pizza! We will be collecting some of this information at a later date from you, but if there are food allergies we need to be aware of, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them. If there are entire categories of food that you just don’t eat (and are not willing to try), this might not be the tour for you!
Terrain: As you'll find throughout Italy, walkways are often made up of cobblestones and limestone paving. Amalfi Coast towns are exceptionally hilly, cliffside towns, so there will be a lot of steps and some hilly walks.
Good walking shoes, being sure on your feet, and staying alert are all key to getting around! You should be able/comfortable walking at least 15 minutes at a time.
Excursions: With all of our excursions, you are not forced to participate if something like this is not your ’thing.’ You always have the option to stay behind and enjoy some free time on your own (please note, as mentioned in the Terms & Conditions, there is no compensation or refund for any portion of the tour or excursion you do not participate in).