Welcome to Tutti Benvenuti! Everyone is welcome here. Valerie Francescato Jackson is a cooking teacher and personal chef. She teaches small group cooking classes out of her beautiful home kitchen in San Rafael, Marin County, CA. Happiest when surrounded by good friends, good food, good wine, and good conversation, and so Tutti Benvenuti! (which is Italian for Everyone Welcome!) was born.
Reviews and Testimonials
Here are some of the things people are saying about Tutti Benvenuti
Valerie’s meals are delicious, and now that we spend more time at home it’s great to have a home-cooked meal delivered safely to my door for my daughter and myself, which lasts for two meals … I look forward to each week’s delivery
-Julia A
I hired Valerie to cook my family meals while I was feeling unwell due to pregnancy. She provided us menus with diverse options and considered our requests. Food was packaged well and tasted great! I also asked Valerie to cater English tea sandwiches for a friend’s bridal shower and the guests raved about them and asked where I purchased them from. I highly recommend hiring Valerie as your personal chef!
-Nicole V
I enjoyed Valerie’s amazing cooking on many occasions,
-Shirin Z
In her earlier kitchen, I attended many cooking classes because they were the right balance of learning, doing, watching & eating (and no washing up!). The recipes were interesting, the class size was small, and the people who came were relaxed and interested in learning. I still use some of the recipes we were taught, and I’m eager to get more.
-Chris J
Truly enjoyed the cooking classes with Valerie and if we were still in the Bay area we would be attending them. The freedom of being hands on or off, the little tips to make the cooking experience easy, the recipes and finally being able to sit down and enjoy the meal made the whole experience such fun.
-Bernie R
Check out our 5 star reviews on Yelp! (Yelp hides some, so make sure to scroll down and look at hidden reviews – they are all real)

Check out our 5 star reviews on Cozymeal!
About Valerie
My story is not like others. I didn’t learn to cook at my mother’s knee. In fact, she never wanted me in the kitchen because I was in the way. Good food was always important in our house, and was always a topic of discussion (my father is Italian), but it wasn’t until I moved out of the house and realized that I didn’t know how to feed myself, and missed my mother’s food, that I took an interest in cooking.
I began cooking, and learning from my television teachers, Jacques Pepin and Julia Child. I found a passion for making good food for my friends, and developed a following. The biggest compliment I got was when my Italian friend who lived down the street would call me around dinner time to ask what I was doing. Well, he knew I was cooking and that I would invite him over! He said my cooking reminded him of home.
After taking classes at Tante Marie Cooking School in San Francisco, I began teaching classes out of my home, and felt that I had finally found what I was truly passionate about. I love sharing my knowledge with others, and mostly showing people how fun and easy cooking for your family and friends can be! My classes are held in my home kitchen in San Rafael, in beautiful Marin County.
I love all sorts of cuisine, but gravitate mostly towards Italian, Argentine, and Mexican flavors. I believe in making the best, organic, natural, and simple ingredients shine.

Dinner with the Rents
Valerie’s Blog
Check out my blog, Dinner with the Rents, where I write about the adventures of cooking for my family. Click on the “Dinner with the Rents” in the menu above to go to the blog.
Contact
valerie@tuttibenvenuti.com
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