Taking a cooking class or food-related tour in Italy has become very popular. It’s a great way to combine your vacation with a learning experience and also learn more about the foods and traditions of your chosen region. There are a few things you’ll want to think about before booking a cooking class or culinary tour.
Choose a cooking class or tour in Italy
Cooking classes in Italy vary from half a day to a week or more. Think about these questions before choosing your program:
- How much time do I want to spend on the cooking show?
- Do I want to take a private class or group classes?
- Do I want to choose what I learn to cook or take a course that is already described?
- What part of Italy do I want to visit?
- Do I want to pay only for cooking classes or do I want a cooking school that includes room and board and other activities?
- Do I want to cook or do other things as part of the cooking course, like visiting local markets, tasting wine, or taking guided tours of nearby towns?
- Do I want to take classes from an Italian chef or a native English speaker who lives in Italy or has studied regional cuisine extensively?
Cooking schools in Italy
Italian cooking schools vary widely, from individualized classes taught in a B&B or agritourism to cooking schools with professional kitchens. There really is no such thing as ‘Italian food’, as cuisine varies from region to region, so each region offers slightly different kinds. Here are samples of cooking classes and schools to consider in different regions of Italy.
Tuscany is probably the most popular region for cooking vacations.
- In Becoming a Tuscan Chef for a Day (information and reservations at Select Italy), students first visit Florence’s central market to buy ingredients, then return to the nearby school to prepare a meal.
- In this Florence cooking class, students shop the market and prepare a 3-course Italian meal.
- The Toscana Saporita cooking school, near Lucca, offers courses that include accommodation, meals and tours. One of our readers shares his experience in Toscana Saporita and photos.
- Judy Witts Francini is an American-born chef who taught cooking in Florence for many years. Her Divina Cucina classes, one day to one week, are now held in the medieval Tuscan town of Colle Val d’Elsa, but she still offers a day tour of the Florence market. He also does a cooking tour of Sicily twice a year.
Cooking schools in other Italian regions
- In the Piedmont Alps in northwestern Italy, Bella Baita Mountain Retreat offers Cooking Together, a class where students prepare a 2-3 course dinner (and eat it), customized to the students’ tastes. There is a wood oven for making bread or pizza and classes are taught by the owners, an Italian chef and an American chef. Read my review of Bella Baita Bed and Breakfast.
- In the Lazio region (around Rome), Flavor of Italy offers personalized cooking classes in a country house (transport can be arranged) and food tours in Rome, while Casa Gregorio, south of Rome, offers culinary holidays in the Roman countryside.
- The Puglia region of southern Italy, the heel of the boot, is still a bit off the beaten path. La Cucina in Gelso Bianco has a variety of gastronomic programs, from one-week residential courses to half-day excursions in your farmhouse or farm. Cyclists can try one of their Chef in Bici programs, a bike tour with a guest chef.
- Le Marche, in central Italy, is another unusual region. La Tavola Marche is an organic farm with guest apartments and cooking classes in the heart of truffle country. Choose from full-day or half-day classes or seasonal multi-day programs and special courses, taught by an American couple who have made the farm their home.
Culinary tours throughout Italy
If you’re not sure where you want to go, Cooking Vacations offers one-day to one-week Italian cooking programs in many of Italy’s regions, including its most popular school on the Amalfi Coast. Food artisan culinary workshops, led by cookbook author Pamela Sheldon Johns, are held at Pamela’s farm in Tuscany and elsewhere in Italy.
Mama Margaret and Friends has a variety of special interest culinary adventures in Italy ranging from 3 to 8 nights. Select Italy offers a variety of half-day or full-day food and wine tours, including cooking classes.
