This is the year to visit Italy! So many friends are planning trips in 2023, and many of them have asked me for cooking class recommendations in Italy’s major cities.
This post shares my personal experiences along with those of my friend, fellow wine writer, and travel guide Chris Cutler.
If you know of additional great opportunities in Italy to participate in a cooking class, please share your ideas in the comments section below.
Le Marche | Pèsaro
Elisa Venturi is an optometrist by day — she has an amazing collection of eye glasses — but her true passion is cooking. She is a creative character, full of fun and surpises, and an excellent cooking instructor! You won’t be bored, even if it isn’t your turn to make pasta or assemble piadini in her home kitchen! As a bonus, her husband Nicola Stella serves wine and takes photos! She calls her business Elisa Cuore, Cucina, e Chiacchiere (heart, kitchen, and conversation).
Here is a link to my October 2022 blog post about Elisa’s cooking class. Contact Elisa by email (scrivimi@elisaccc.it), on Facebook, or call her using What’sApp (click here for a link to her number).
Umbria | Allerona (near Orvieto)
Simona Fabrizio has offered a cooking school in her restored farmhouse for nearly a decade. Her robust business, called Sagraincasa (“food feast in your home”), also includes private chef services and catering. Simona is certified as a chef (Gambero Rosso School) and sommelier (Federazione Italiana Sommelier). For cooking classes, she uses organic vegetables from her own garden and other local ingredients. Simona also makes olive oil and wine from her own grove and vineyard, great additions to lunch after cooking class!
Click on these links to book a cooking class with Simona, at her farmhouse or your Italian homestay. You can also email Simona at info@sagraincasa.com.
Emilia Romagna | Bologna and Modena
Emilia Storytellers offers artisanal food tours and cooking classes in Bologna and Modena. Founded by Katia Perdicaro with her wine partner, Barbara Brandoli, Emilia Storytellers offers more than a dozen opportunities to experience the region. Three cooking classes booked on a bespoke schedule are:
- “A Day in the life of being Italian” Monday through Saturday from October to the end of May;
- “Farm to Fork” every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from May through October; and
- a class devoted to making regional pasta offered every Wednesday in either Bologna or Modena.
To book a cooking class (or tour), email info@emiliastorytellers.com or call at +39 3282521887.
Another option is Bologna Cucina Cultura Italiana. While this is a professional cooking school for chefs in training, a class is offered for “amateurs” who want to learn how to cook the food of Emilia properly at home. Three-hour classes are available on Tuesday and Thursday evenings (7:00 – 10:00 pm) which includes dinner. The menu varies for each class. Classes are available for up to 15 people.
To book an amateur class, email info@bolognacucina.it or call +39335217893. The school is located in Bologna at via del Pratello 46, 40122.
Sicily | Catania & Tuscany | Lucca
Joanne Weir is a James Beard award-winning cookbook author, international cooking teacher, and renowned chef. She is a fourth-generation chef who earned her cooking chops at Chez Panisse in Berkeley CA and studied in France where she earned a Master Chef Diploma with honors. Every year Joanne spends several months in Europe hosting culinary classes in Sicily (near Catania and Mt. Etna) and Tuscany (near Lucca) as well as other interesting locations. She also teaches cooking classes in her San Francisco studio kitchen which you can see on her television program (and view from her website using this link).
To book a culinary tour in Sicily or Tuscany, contact Joanne’s company at journeys@joanneweir.com.
Tuscany | Florence
I’m very sad that my favorite cooking school in Florence has closed! There are two bits of good news, however. Sharon Oddson Gargani, who founded La Cucina del Garga with her husband Giuliano, continues to offer cooking classes through the AirBnB Cooking Collection. Here is a link to the AirBnB site where you can contact host Mauro to book a class. In addition, the restaurant founded by the Garganis is alive and well. Be sure to visit Trattoria Garga on your next visit to Florence. You can book reservations online an/or email the restaurant at trattorigarga@casatrattoria.com. The restaurant is located on Via del Moro, 48/R.
The Florentine is a monthly journal for ex-pats living in Florence. (Disclosure: I have written for this magazine in the past.) The website amplifies “things to do” in Florence with this January 2023 article featuring cooking classes offered by Destination Florence, the city’s “one stop” for tourism services.
An option that I’ve heard about, but not experienced, is the Diadema Cooking School. The school offers four classes, some of which include a shopping tour of Mercado Centrale. Use the “Book Now” button on the website to schedule your cooking class. The School is located at Via de’ Lamberti, 1. Email contact is info@florencetown.com, and by phone +39 055281103.
Tuscany | Lucca
For a week-long immersion experience, Toscana Saporita offers multiple courses from basics to baking. This is a residential cooking school located in the province of Lucca near Lake Massaciuccoli. Depending on the course, cooking classes will take a half- or full-day and may include excursions for truffle hunting or visits to nearby towns in Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna.
Prices for the week range from $3,650 to $4,750 for double occupancy, not including airfare. Group transportation is provided to and from the Pisa airport.
Toscana Saporita was founded in 1993 by Sandra Rosy Lotti and her cousin Anne. The members of a core team of four chefs are all professionally trained, many in New York.
Contact the school at info@toscanasaporita.com or call Sandra on her mobile at +393358129442. (There is also a “book now” button on the cooking school’s website.)