"OH no, it's all gone crooked." I'm trying to roll my last batch of fresh egg pasta through a heavy, clunking machine, preparing ravioli for a late lunch. But it all seems to be going horribly wrong.

With the help of head chef Maxine Clark though, I'm soon back on track and my ravioli parcels, filled with beef cheeks marinated in Amarone di Valpolicella wine, start to resemble the squares of soft, loveliness I'm used to seeing on restaurant plates.

Once the hard work is done, we sit down to our meal in the villa's former silks storage room, with views to the vast rose garden.

I'm staying at the beautiful 15th century Villa Casagrande, in the glorious Veneto, surrounded by the Dolomites mountain range, and for the next four days I'll be sharpening my skills in the kitchen at the Stirred cookery school, below.

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I could spend hours eating and drinking in the gracious company of co-founders Sarah Roberts and Patrick Obert, but there's lots of work to be done!

We drive for an hour through lush green fields to reach the floating city of Venice. Sarah hurries us through the crowds and across the Rialto Bridge to the lively, bustling market. We wander past mountains of black-ink cuttlefish and piles of red shiny tomatoes, selecting the ingredients for our next culinary masterpiece. A string quartet plays in the background, transporting me to another era.

Later that day, we take a water taxi to the island of Mazzorbo, for lunch at the Venissa hotel and restaurant. I explore a 12th century monastery and discover a vineyard, planted with the rediscovered Dorona grape.

Back at Villa Casagrande, chef Maxine suggests that olive oil can be tasted in the same way as wine; swirl a small amount in the mouth, inhale then oxygenate. "The further south you go, the less peppery the flavour," she tells me.

I savour these nuggets of information, just as much as the food I've been served and have created during my four-day course. After all, if my ravioli fails to impress future dinner guests, my conversation certainly will.

TRAVEL INFO 

Stirred Travel (stirredtravel.com) offers six-night courses in September from £2,495pp, including accommodation, tuition, food, wine, tours and transfers.

Monarch Airlines (monarch.co.uk) flies from London Gatwick to Venice Marco Polo from £50 one way.

Veneto

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