Chef Giuseppe Mazzocchi
Giuseppe has taught Tuscan cuisine extensively throughout the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Mexico.
Experienced chef and teacher, Certified Sommelier, Member of Slow Food Italy,
Experienced E.V.O.O. Taster.
Growing up in a Tuscan valley,
in the same olive press where he now holds cooking classes, Chef Giuseppe began his love of cooking at a very young age.
He began his passion for the culinary arts and Tuscan heritage products by experiencing the earthy recipes in the mill’s kitchen working alongside his mother and aunts.
An abundance of fresh produce, handmade cheeses, courtyard animals, and the wild boar of the valley along with all the fresh pressed olive oil at harvest time stirred his love affair with food.
Giuseppe has taught Tuscan cuisine extensively throughout the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Mexico.
Read more about Chef Giuseppe’s early experiences in the olive press kitchen...
When Chef Guiseppe returned to Italy, he began to share his knowledge of local dishes and his family traditions with visitors to Tuscany, establishing Extra Virgin Cooking Classes in Lucca in 2016. Unlike other classes, we place a strong emphasis on wine pairing and introducing our guests to little known wines from the region and farther afield.
Giuseppe’s membership in the Italian Sommelier Association brings another dimension to the class, especially for those wanting to learn more about Italian wines.
Like Giuseppe, Paola brings both a knowledge of local recipes and techniques along with a passion for good food and cooking.
Born and raised in an area near Montecatini Terme, she combines her enthusiasm for cooking with her love of gardening, caring for her small orchard and preserving the produce for the winter reserves.
The Olive Press Kitchen at Il Molino
While teaching classes at Extra Virgin Cooking in Lucca was rewarding, Giuseppe’s dream was to restore his family’s historic property for use as the site of his classes. Today, that dream has been fulfilled.
Dating back to the time before the Medici family, the mill (il molino in Italian) rests on the banks of the Nievole, the stream which, in the past, provided hydraulic power for the milling of dried chestnuts, grains, and corn.
In 1777 the mill became an olive press, producing some of the area’s best olive oil until it ceased production in 1978.
Chef Giuseppe was born at Il Molino, where his grandfather ran the mill. The hum of daily activity at the mill was the background music of his childhood.
Restoration of the historic mill began in 1989 and was completed in 2024 when it became the location for cooking classes of THE OLIVE PRESS KITCHEN.
The professional kitchen at the mill is where a community kitchen once existed. Local farmers, waiting for their crop of olives to be pressed, used the community kitchen to prepare meals. It was in this environment, at 3 years of age, where Giuseppe had his first taste of Bruschetta.
The toasted bread drenched generously with the freshly pressed olive oil awakened the future chef’s tastebuds.
The cooking classes, formerly called Extra Virgin Lucca, have been popular and successful since their inception. With the completion of the mill, and the classes now moved to the countryside near Montecatini Terme, it is time for a new name – The Olive Press Kitchen. Same great classes in a new location.
