ABOUT US

My name is Daniela and Happy Cooking was born after my passion of cooking and teaching and my desire of sharing it. I am true Umbrian and I am very fond of my culinary regional traditions, proud to offer you the best dishes of Etrurian origin.

Through Happy Cooking I want to promote healthy eating, food awareness, seasonal approach to local food. I am deeply convinced that our roots pass through the kitchen and around the table, food is the perfect link between tradition and history.

I speak fluent English and my longlasting experience in cooking, tourism, and teaching will lead you to a multifunctional approach to food, environment, history, art and local culture, in a friendly and lively way.

I organize hands-on cooking classes and workshops in private homes for one or more days. You can learn true Umbrian homecooking and taste typical Umbrian products, such as olive oil, lentils, cheese, wine. A culinary tour into the deep Italian and Mediterranean diet. Special attention is given to vegetarians or people with food allergies.

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Dear Happy cooking.... few words from our friends!

Thank you for a wonderful afternoon and a most delicious meal. We arrived home on Saturday evening and Sunday I made farro salad the way you demonstrated. I used rucola from my garden and it turned out well. I had it for breakfast again this morning (one of my new favourites!).
Through the rest of our travel in Italy we were able to experience some wonderful food, both in Umbria and in Friuli. I brought home a few local products from the Val De Natisone where my husband's family lives...a food-lover's dream vacation.
best wishes from Canada, Janet


Dear Daniela,
We loved our holiday in Italy and will be back for another visit. You are a lovely person and we are blessed to have met you and shared our meals with you. Thank you for everything! We will keep in touch and look forward to meeting again.
Sincerely, Sue from the Usa


Dear Daniela,
Thank you very much for three inspirational and educational days, it was a perfect mix between learning about italian culture nad italian cooking. We very much appreciated being invited into your lovely family to see the real italian countryside. We're looking forward to sharing the experience with our friends and family back in Norway
Best wishes. Torbiorn and Caroline
Norway


Today was perfect! Thank you so much. I will make these dishes at home and think of you and your family. I appreciate the hospitality you and your family offered me. Today I made a new friend! I hope we meet again
Sandra
USA


Daniela,
Thank you and Michele for a memorable evening! We had a wonderful time.
Hope to see you again on our next trip.
Brian
USA


Daniela,
Thank you again for all the assistance you gave to our group that helped make our visit memorable. I have given your name and contact information to some folks that are planning a trip. I hope that they call you. Also: do you have any good recipes for fava beans? I have some that I want to make.
Thanks again. Lee
USA


Hi Daniela,
So great to hear from you! We had a wonderful time during our cooking class. I did get some really great photos that I will send you soon. I'm at work today and the photos are on my home computer.
I hope all is well with you and your family. Thank you again for sharing your home with us!
All the best, Kelsey
USA


Daniela,
Hello from Auckland New Zealand ..Down Under as they call us ....Graham and I returned home at the end of May, we have had the holiday of a life time ...I have tried to write to you in Italian to show my very sincere appreciation for the day we spent with you and your family .....We have told so many of our friends and colleagues about this day in your company appreciating good food and wine ....It was really an unforgettable experience ....Your skill in the kitchen and the way you demonstrated the art of making pasta and the sauces will be a part of my memory forever ..... I did so enjoy the opportunity of speaking Italian ,and although the proverb "sbalgiando s'impara " comes to my mind , I will go on trying and learning ...What an added pleasure it was to be in the company of Gino Matilde and then to finally meet the rest of your family .....Graham sends his best regards too he has recounted Gino's joke about the wall to his friends .. My final thought is to say Thanks again --- I hope we can share a glass of the very tasty walnut liquor together one day.
Un abbraccio Carmen
New Zeland


Hi Daniela,
We just want to drop you a note saying what a wonderful time we had with you in Italy. The Umbria Region is very beautiful and our short time there was made all the more rewarding with your help.
Barbara
from the USA


Daniela,
On behalf of all 5 of us I just want to say that we had the most INCREDIBLE time learning to cook with you!!! The dishes we made were phenomenal and we're planning on all getting together sometime soon to cook together (since Katie and I don't have an oven we'll have to go over to the other girls' apartment). You're family was absolutely adorable, very well-behaved and welcoming. Thank you so much for having us in your home and teaching us the art of Umbrian cooking!!!!
Sincerely, Gina
from the USA


... Daniela is wonderful!! We really enjoyed our time with her. She took us to some fun and interesting places and cooked a couple nice meals for us. She has a good sense of humor and was great fun.
Yours truly; Mike and Vicki
from the USA


Hi Daniela,
We had a wonderful visit . Everything was great--the food, the weather, the countryside.
We loved the day we spent with you--the winery, the cooking class. It was a real pleasure to be in your family's house and experience real Umbrian cuisine and hospitality. Everyone loved the wine I brought back and I still have two bottles that are for gifts, but I want to keep them!! Your hospitality and generosity were wonderful. I have not tried any of the recipes at the restaurant yet but found some farro (it is not easy to get here) and want to make the lentil and farro soup again at home first. In January, when things are slower I might want to try something at the restaurant. I am also going to try the biscotti recipe for Christmas.
thank you again for everything.
Ciao, Mary Ellen
from New York


Dear Daniela,
How can one find just the right words to say "Thank You!" You made our stay at the villa so pleasant. You blessed with the gift of hospitality. We loved every second we had with you. The meals were outstanding and the tours made the country come so-o-o-o alive. The tapas, wineries, olive oil farm, the lamb cheese factory and the linen factory were all very interesting. The tapas, olive oils and the wines were all so delicious. I already miss them and continue to brag about how wonderful they were.
I do want to say a special "Thank You" to Giacomo for the most beautiful watercolor of Augusta Perusia. He is so very, very talented. I can't help but feel overwhelmed at the gift of love. I just marvel at his ability. I have the fountain painting hanging in my office where all can see and I love to share the story!!!!!!! I shall always, always, treasure it.
Thank you for making our stay the stay that it was. Every part very special. What a beautiful country you have. We would love to extend to you an open door at our home in Castle Rock, Colorado. We to have some beautiful sights here with our Rocky Mountains.
Thank you again. Also, a "Thank You" to Luca!!!
Audrey
from Colorado


Thank you so much for all your terrific information and for inviting us into your lovely home with you and your family. We did take your advice and went to Trevi. It was beautiful. Kate wants to move there. We also saw the nice tennis courts there in Trevi. Sorry we didn't take more pictures with you. Your cooking was lots of fun and seemed easy enough for us to work on here. I hope we stay in touch and look forward to seeing you again in the future. You will always have a warm place here if you visit. Buona giornata.
Tom, Kate and Tess
from the USA


One of our real highlights of the journey was our afternoon/evening with you and your family. I was so happy that the kids found a way to enjoy one another. The walk to the shepherdess was wonderful as well. Thanks so much to you for all your translating in both directions. Much appreciated. Also, I wish I had taken photos of David learning to make gnocci! We actually also bought a bag of the farina de torta testa and brought it home...we're hoping to go to our Italian store with new eyes very soon.
Sarah, Davis, Naomi and Gabriel
from Seattle


Hi Daniela,
The food class was one of my family's (and mine) favorite parts during their vacation here. I will definately be able to leave a testimonial on your website. Thank you so much for everything, everyone had a great time.
grazie mille, Kathryn
from the USA


Greeting from Canada!!! Daniela we had such a great time with you and we have told many people about our experience, it was a thrill of a life time. The whole trip was magical and starting it with you was fabulous. I have made many of the reciepes again and my third son is hooked on the ricotta with fresh herbs on toasted bread. The whole experience was amazing, the tours you took us on were great and we learned so much, I must say our most favourt tour was the cheese making with Antoino I will attach the pictures of that as well and I hope you will pass on to him what a great time we had. And for someone that loves to cook to be able to see real truffles and to taste them on fresh pasta at the restuarnt in Montone was an absoute thrill. Since I came home I found out that truffles here are about $2000.00 per 1/2 kilo so that for sure was a once in a life time occurance. Daniela cooking with you was fantastic, it went beyond what I hope to experience, I cook many of the recipes
Tony and Anne Marie
from Toronto