11 Must Do Cooking Classes In Italy

Wondering what are the best cooking classes in Italy? We have reached out to our favourite foodies who told us their all time favourite cooking school experiences in Italy. We cover quite a few of the most popular destinations in Italy so you can find the perfect cooking class experience in Italy to join no matter where you are on your tasty Italian vacation.

11 Best Cooking Classes In Italy, cooking schools in Italy

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11 Must Do Cooking Classes In Italy – Best Cooking Schools in Italy

Taormina Cooking Class, Sicily

Cooking Classes In Italy – Best Cooking Schools in Italy

One Italian cooking class to try is at Osteria Santa Domenica (formally Red & White Hostaria) in Taormina, Sicily. This Hostaria was originally a wine bar, then the owner, Gianluca, launched his now top-rated, organic restaurant in the heart of town.

The restaurant offers small classes, which is perfect since the kitchen is small.

Your day starts with a typical Sicilian breakfast (bought, not made) so you can chat with Gianluca a bit. Then you head off to the local market to choose the fresh ingredients. We returned with our eggplant, fish, tomatoes, spices, and some pasta flour for our creations.

In the kitchen with head chef, Davide, we made typical Eggplant Parmigiana and Macaroni with an eggplant sugo as starter and ‘Primo.’ I learned how to wrap the Macaroni around a wire to make the shape, which isn’t easy, and then I cleaned and prepared the baked fish. Gianluca picks the fresh fish each day at the recommendation of the fishmonger.

All these courses are paired with amazing, regional Sicilian wines. I think I sampled five of them! I arrived at 9:30a and left at 3p, completely stuffed and with a new personalized apron. Great experience and the staff were top-notch. If you’re looking for a traditional Sicilian cooking class, this is one to try.

Maureen – LifeOnTheMediterranean.com

Florence Cooking Class – Tuscany

11 Best Cooking Classes In Italy, Florence Cooking Class, Cooking Classes in Tuscany

One of the best cooking classes I have taken during my trips was in Florence, run by Eating Europe. During the half a day experience I have learned so much about the Italian cuisine but also about the lifestyle of Florence. We have started the tour with a visit to the market, from where we bought fresh vegetables for our pasta dishes. Then, we explored some of the local bread, cheese, and meat shops, to have a taste of the most local products.

This cooking class in Florence was held at a food studio that had a professional kitchen, in a house located in a non-touristy area of the city. It was a full hand on class, where each of the participants got to cook all of the dishes. We started with learning how to make pasta: spaghetti and ravioli. The pasta rolling machine was a lot of fun! In total, we cooked 4 different dishes: tomato bruschetta, tagliatelle al pomodoro with “Mamma’s” secret sauce recipe, spinach, and ricotta ravioli and caramel chocolate panna cota. During a well-deserved break, we enjoyed a platter of local hams and salami, washed down with a glass of homemade prosecco.

Joanna – The World In My Pocket

Pisa Cooking Class – Tuscany

Cooking Classes In Italy, Pisa Cooking Class, Cooking Classes in Tuscany

Pizza is the greatest gift Italy has given to the world. If you happen to travel through Italy, you should definitely use the chance to learn how real Italian pizza is made. The pizza making class by Massimo on ToursByLocals will teach you all about it. And it does so in an incredible atmosphere in the countryside near the beautiful Tuscan city of Pisa.

After pickup from your hotel in Pisa, you will start with the first step of the pizza making process: the dough. You will need just the right amount of flour, water, oil, salt and yeast – and plenty of time. Later, it is time to fire up the wood oven and get the pizza ready. Fresh tomato sauce, juicy mozzarella and tasty vegetables right from the farm. A real pizza will only take a few minutes in the oven before it is ready to be enjoyed. After feasting on your own creation, you will be brought back to your hotel in Pisa. An incredible experience.

Mike – 197 TravelStamps.com

Even more fun activities in Italy …..

Florence Cooking Class – Tuscany

Cooking Classes In Italy, Florence Cooking Class

Florence Italy is one of my favorite cities. During my last visit, I took the Wanna Be Italiano Cooking Class with a Central Market Tour. During the market tour, we learned what to look for when picking fresh ingredients. Back in the classroom with our groceries, we prepared Bruschetta. I was amazed by what a difference rubbing a clove of garlic on toasted bread can make. We then made hand-rolled tagliatelle pasta and ravioli with ricotta cheese and parmesan from scratch. I could not believe how simple the process was, all it takes is a little flour and an egg!

Moving on we prepared a fresh cherry tomato sauce and a meat sauce using Chianti wine. We prepared tiramisu for dessert. This actually required a little bit of work, by work I mean whisking egg whites. The class was composed of couples, solos, and groups of friends. We drank wine, chatted, laughed and had an amazing meal together. I highly recommend this experience.

Sherianne – OutOfOffice.Blog

Rome Cooking Class, Lazio

Cooking Classes in Italy, Rome Cooking Class

If you’re looking for the best pasta in Rome, look no further than Ristomama’s pasta-making class—a multi-hour, hands-on class that covers handmade pasta and several preparations.

When two young, entrepreneurial Italian fellows decided to start a series of cooking classes, they turned to their own favorite cooks—their mothers—and recruited them to teach small group lessons on traditional Italian cuisine in their beautiful Italian homes.

The result is spectacular. Traditional meals from all over Italy. Fresh ingredients harvested from Rafaella’s rooftop garden. Hand-rolled pastas. Kitchens full of laughter. And a perfectly poised lunch at the end of it all.

Gigi – Viciousfoodie.com

11 Best Cooking Classes In Italy, Rome Cooking Class

I took a pasta making class in Rome with Walks of Italy and loved it. The class is held in a chic roof-top apartment minutes from Piazza Navona with a terrace directly below a gorgeous church dome. We were welcomed with a glass of wine and some antipasti as we got to know our classmates. The two hosts/ teachers were a charming Italian couple with flawless English.

Everything was set up for us at a long outdoor table. Making the dough from scratch was surprisingly easy. We used a chitarra (named after a guitar, because it has rows of tight strings that cut the pasta into thin strips) to make spaghetti and a drinking glass to cut ravioli. The sauces were cooked by a volunteer as the rest of us watched the demonstration. They were simple, with quality fresh ingredients, and delicious.

The night we took the class, a nasty storm blew in and drove us inside. A huge dining room provided an indoor alternative to the terrace, and we were barely aware of the last-minute switch. The evening finished with a delightful dinner party with more wine and the spaghetti and ravioli we had all cooked.

At the end of the evening, we got the recipes, which I have used to make fresh pasta at home since.

James – Travel Collecting

Pizza-Making at Origano in Rome

11 Best Cooking Classes In Italy, Rome Cooking Class

Origano is a fabulous little restaurant right in the center of Rome that offers group pizza-making classes. You learn from a professional pizzaiolo who guides you through the whole process, from shaping the dough to adding the sauce, cheese and toppings and placing your pizza inside the traditional wood-fired oven. It’s a very hands-on experience where you learn by doing, rather than just watching someone else do it.

And then you get to eat the pizza that you just made yourself! Real Italian pizza-making is a quick and dirty affair, and that’s the way Origano teaches it. This is not a long, drawn-out class lasting several hours. The whole preparation and cooking process doesn’t take more than half an hour, and then you get to sit down, relax and enjoy the meal that you just prepared.

In addition to buffalo mozzarella cheese, Origano also offers the option of making your pizza with vegan cheese. This makes it a great choice for vegans visiting Rome as well as those who are lactose intolerant or allergic to dairy products.

Wendy – The Nomadic Vegan

Forlimpopoli Cooking Class, Emilia Romagna

Cooking Classes In Italy – Best Cooking Schools in Italy

Casa Artusi is a museum, library, and cooking school, named after the Italian gastronome, Pellegrino Artusi. Artusi is often credited as being the father of Italian food. He created the first national cookbook. Artusi wasn’t even a chef, or a cook, just a passionate foodie; before being one became a thing. During a Casa Artusi cooking class, just an hour east of Bologna, it’s possible to learn each of the famous Emilia Romagna pasta dishes.

Cooking classes at Casa Artusi are run by the Associazione delle Mariette. The association’s goal is to teach traditional forms of cooking Italian food. The Mariette are all volunteers who are dedicated to the goals of maintaining the traditions of Italian cooking. They teach how to roll the pasta as well as how to cut it or form it into small shapes, like tiny tortellini, or rolling it into garganelli.

One thing to note, the entire pasta-making course at Casa Artusi is in Italian. But that doesn’t seem to be a problem. Each Mariette will demonstrate the different pastas and help students along. They can arrange English-language classes for groups, on request. But, there is something just a little bit fun about taking a cooking class entirely in Italian.

Amber – Food & Drink Destinations

⇒ Looking for more to do in the Emilia Romagna Region? Check out our Day Trips From Bologna Post

Naples Cooking Class, Campania

Naples Italy cooking class, cooking classes in Italy

Napoli is the birthplace of pizza and the perfect destination to hone your pizza making skills. On a trip to find themust eat foods in Italy, learning to make pizza with Toffini Academy was an absolute highlight. We started by learning the history of pizza and then went onto make 3 different pizza dishes; pizza, pizza fritta and montanara. For those not familiar with the latter two (I wasn’t), they are both variations of pizza that are fried but using the same delicious ingredients. After learning to make each dish, we, of course, stopped to taste our creations. I would definitely recommend attending this class with an empty stomach, as there is plenty to eat throughout. The course is a great hands-on experience and the perfect way to immerse yourself in Neapolitan culture, and of course eat lots of delicious pizza!

Hayley – A Lovely Planet

Milan Cooking Class, Lombardy

Cooking Classes In Italy, Milan Cooking Class

While I was in Italy I was desperate to take a cooking class. When I found Pietro’s pasta making cooking class in Milan on Airbnb Experiences it was the perfect chance to learn more about pasta with a local cook in his own home. We would learn how to make (and eat!) our own homemade pasta as well as my favourite dessert – tiramisu. Pietro was a fabulous host, friendly and fun, and his mum even came to help with the class which made it a lovely family affair.

The food we made was incredible, ravioli with a leek and ricotta filling, and orecchiette with a simple tomato sauce. And one of the best tiramisus I’ve ever tasted! Pietro showed us every step in the pasta making process, from mixing the ingredients and kneading the dough, to making the orecchiette shapes with our bare hands, and rolling out the ravioli dough with his pasta maker. I had no idea that making pasta was so simple, I can’t wait to try it again at home. The best part was eating the ravioli, drizzled with melted butter and grated cheese, it was heavenly! I loved this class and the food, and definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Milan.

Claire – This Travel Lover

San Gemini Cooking Class – Umbria

Cooking Classes In Italy, Umbria Cooking Class

Each of Italy’s regions boast a distinctive and delicious cuisine – Umbria’s may be less well-known than some of the others, but it is well worth taking a class to explore its bold flavours while you are in the country. I took a cooking class with local chef and personality Loretta Autuori, who runs the cookery school Percosi con Gusto to delve a little deeper into Umbrian cuisine, and would highly recommend you do the same.

Umbrian cuisine is centred around local specialities such as cured sausages, truffles (the region is well-known for the quality and quantity of truffles it produces) and prosciutto. During the class, we learnt how to make gnocchi with truffles and a few antipasti to start the meal off. It was fabulous to see how such a simple dish could be elevated to absolute perfection by just paying attention to the small details.

Julianna – The Discoveries Of

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Tommo & Megsy’s Recommendation

With so many amazing cooking classes in Italy you might be wondering what we at Food Fun Travel think is the best cooking school in Italy…..

Bologna Cooking Class, Emilia Romagna

Le Sfogline Cooking Class

Cooking Classes In Italy, cooking schools in Italy

The sisters at Le Sfogline are well known in the region – famous even. They have been making hand made pasta for the locals for the past 20+ years and have also taught some celebrities how to do it as well. People like Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson and more have stood in their quaint little pasta shop and learned the art of rolling pasta dough….and you can do it too!

Not only is Le Sfogline one of the best places to learn this craft, but the sisters are such incredible personalities you can’t help but have a fun time doing it too.

They don’t accept reservations by email so you will need to call them to see if they have time to host a cooking class. But they both speak English so no need to worry there.