Italian Cooking & Wine Retreat with Daniela Maiorano
Four Days. Three Masterclasses. An Immersive Taste of Italy.
November 20-23, 2026
At a Glance
WHEN: Friday 20 – Monday 23 November 2026 · 3 nights
WHERE: EcoView Retreat, Tallebudgera Valley, Gold Coast Hinterland
GETTING THERE: 25 minutes from Gold Coast Airport · 1 hr 15 from Brisbane
YOUR HOST: Daniela Maiorano – chef, storyteller, Italian food educator
GROUP SIZE: Limited to 20 guests
FROM: $4,250 per person (shared villa)
$5,995 per person (private villa)
Earlybird rate, ends 31 August 2026
MASTERCLASSES: Immersive pasta, gelato, wine and limoncello experiences, guided by Daniela and her trusted experts.
The Experience
We’ve hosted many cooking retreats. This is something entirely different.
Daniela doesn’t recreate Italy for her guests; she invites you into her world. Her brother cooks alongside her. Her friends pour the wine. Recipes are shared through stories, traditions are passed around the table, and you learn the way Daniela did: slowly, instinctively, and from people who never set out to teach.
It’s less about following a recipe and more about experiencing the rituals, flavours and generosity that make Italian life so special.
And it all unfolds in the beauty of the Gold Coast Hinterland, a little taste of Daniela’s Italy, without the flight.
Your Four Days
Four days of cooking, tasting, gathering and slowing down. Experience Italian life through Daniela’s eyes.
Day 1 — Arrive, Aperitivo & Welcome to the Table
Settle into EcoView and your home for the next four days
Meet the group over aperitivo and antipasti
Gather around the long table for a family style welcome feast, cooked by Daniela and her brother Attilio
Day 2 — Pasta, Gelato & Italian Wine
Hands on fresh pasta and sauce making masterclass with Daniela
A long, leisurely lunch under the trees
Discover the art of crafting authentic Italian gelato
Taste your way through Italy with a guided wine tasting
Gather for a relaxed storytelling dinner as the sun goes down
Day 3 — Seasonal Cooking, Limoncello & Celebration
Explore Daniela’s approach to shopping and cooking seasonally
Choose ingredients and co-create a menu together
Learn the ritual of making traditional limoncello
Free time for yoga, spa, a swim, or simply doing nothing at all
Come together around the long table for a final celebration feast
Day 4 — One Last Breakfast
Slow breakfast overlooking the valley
One last morning around the table together
Head home with new recipes, stories, friendships and a little more la dolce vita to bring into everyday life
And throughout it all, there is space to slow down. Nothing is compulsory; dip into yoga, explore the grounds of the Hinterlands, enjoy a sauna, ice bath and moments of rest whenever you need them.
Meet Daniela
Daniela Maiorano is a fourth-generation chef from Sulmona, in Italy's Abruzzo region, raised inside her family's restaurant, Ristorante Clemente, open since her great-grandfather started it after the war.
She learned gnocchi from her grandmother and bread from the bakers who'd worked that kitchen for decades, before training at Retrobottega in Rome and under Gabriele Bonci, and eventually settling in Byron Bay. She still cooks by feel. This week, so will you.
Location: EcoView Retreat
Tallebudgera Valley, 25 minutes from Gold Coast Airport, where rainforest on one side, architecturally designed villas on the other, sweeping valley views from every room. Pool, sauna, ice baths, gym, forest trails and fire pit for the hours between sessions.
This is for you if…
You’re craving a few days where life feels a little slower, meals last a little longer, and there’s nowhere else you need to be.
Love beautiful food and want to learn by cooking alongside Daniela, not simply watching
Are drawn to the warmth, generosity and rituals of Italian life
Love long lunches, good wine and conversations that outlast dinner
Want to slow down, reconnect, and let the day take as long as it needs.
Want a retreat that balances hands on experiences with genuine time to rest
Are coming solo, with a friend or with a partner, you’ll be welcomed into the table either way
You don’t need to be an experienced cook. You just need to arrive hungry, curious and ready to embrace a little more la dolce vita.
What's Included & Pricing
Included:
Everything is taken care of, so you can settle in, switch off and enjoy the experience.
3 nights’ accommodation at EcoView Retreat in the Gold Coast Hinterland
All meals and drinks, curated by Daniela
Hands on Italian cooking experiences, including fresh pasta and bread-making
Italian gelato masterclass
Guided Italian wine tasting and masterclass
Limoncello making
Long table lunches, feasts and storytelling dinners
Optional yoga and forest walks
Full use of EcoView’s facilities, including the pool, sauna, gym and fire pit
Recipes and special mementos to bring a little la dolce vita home with you
Not included:
Flights, transfers outside scheduled times, travel insurance.
Earlybird pricing until 31 August 2026
Shared villa rate: $4,250 pp
Private villa rate: $5,995 pp
Triple and quad share: contact us for an exact quote
Come for the Food.
Leave With So Much More.
You’ll arrive in the Gold Coast Hinterland ready to cook, eat and slow down. You’ll leave having shared long tables, learned recipes you’ll make for years to come, discovered new rituals and experienced the warmth and generosity of Italian life through someone who lives it.
This is Italy as Daniela knows it, through food, family, friendship and the simple pleasure of gathering around a table.
Four days. One long table. A little more la dolce vita to take home with you.
Still have questions?
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