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Private Cooking Class in Florence and Market Tour

Firenze, Italy
  • 5 hours (approx.)
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English
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Overview

Learn how to cook like an Italian on this full-day culinary experience from Florence. Led by an expert guide, shop for fresh ingredients at a Florentine market before traveling to the wine region of Chianti. There, begin your cooking class inside the walls of a historic villa under the guidance of a prominent Florentine chef. Prepare a delicious 4-course meal and then sit down to taste the fruits of your labor, complemented by top Chianti wine. Numbers are limited to 12 to ensure an intimate experience.
  • Tuscan food tour including market visit, cooking class, 4-course meal and wine tasting
  • Prepare and cook a 4-course Tuscan feast, featuring specialties such as ravioli gnudi and strawberry tiramisu
  • Enjoy a wine tasting with the meal and savor esteemed varietals such as Chianti Classico
  • Small-group tour with a maximum of 12 people ensures a personalized experience

Sample Menu

Starter

bruschette

Main

Fresh home made pasta

Tagliatelle and Ravioli with 2 different sauces. The menu may slightly vary depending on the fresh ingredients available and intollerances

Dessert

Tiramisu

What's Included

  • Use of apron and cooking utensils
  • Lunch
  • Wine tasting of 3 wines (Chianti Classico, Reserve, Tuscan dessert wine)
  • Graduation Certificate and Booklet with recipes
  • Suitable for vegetarians! (please inform us in advance)
  • Gratuities

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

  • Via Panicale, 43r
    Via Panicale, 43r, 50123 Firenze FI, Italy

    Meet your Chef at Florencetown cooking school, located near the Central Market

Start time

09:00 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Your cooking experience begins in central Florence, where you meet your host and head to a local market. Peruse the stalls, sample some of local specialties and shop for cooking ingredients with your host.

Afterward, climb aboard your minivan and journey out of the city, heading deeper into the rolling vineyards and olive groves of Tuscany’s Chianti wine region.

Arrive at a rustic villa and meet Chef Giovanni, your prominent instructor hailing from Florence. Tie on your apron and, under Giovanni’s guidance, prepare a delicious, 4-course meal. (See the Itinerary for a sample menu.)

Enjoy a special wine lab experience. This fun and educational experience lets you understand how different varieties of pure wines are blended to obtain the final complex wines, each one with a peculiar bouquet of scents and flavors.

Learn the ins and outs of Tuscan produce, tips on how best to prepare it and the fine art of creating pasta from scratch. Reward your efforts afterward by sitting down to feast on your dishes, complemented by local wine. Sip and swirl three varietals, typically a Chianti reserve, a Chianti Classico and a Tuscan dessert wine, and hear how to distinguish each blend’s characteristics.

After your meal, commemorate your new culinary chops with a certificate from Giovanni before returning to Florence.

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Vegetarians can be catered for; please make a note in the 'Special Requirements' field when booking
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Stroller accessible
  • Near public transportation
  • Infant seats available
  • Transportation is wheelchair accessible
  • Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
  • This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Cancellation Policy

This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

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      Reviews
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      57 reviews
      Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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      Reviews by Viator travelers.
      Showing 1-10 of 57 reviews
      Great day!
      Tara_G, Jul 2022
      Such a fun day! My husband and I learned so much from this class. The market tour was fantastic as well.
      Food experience
      Carol_M, Oct 2019
      My cooking class with Chief Marco was a total delight. Informative and fun. Met lovely people, a highlight!
      Marvelous Experience
      Joan M, Sep 2019
      The cooking class was fantastic. It was much better than we expected. Our chef, Marco, was passionate about the food and a wonderful instructor. We learned so much and had so much fun. We couldn’t believe we ate our own homemade ravioli and our own homemade tiramisu. Highly recommend this for cooks and non-cooks alike.
      What a wonderful day of shoppin, tasting, cooking and laughing!
      Kristen_G, Sep 2019
      Alain made our day so enjoyable when we were in Florence, first meeting us downtown and walking us through the city, giving us food tips and history that was so fascinating! Then we visited the produce market, where he had some of his friends prepare superfresh disshes of fruit for us. We then went inside to sample cheese, meat and wine before being whisked to the countryside to a comfortable space to cook, sample and drink delicious wine. Alain was funny and adept, sharing secrets and stories with us as we all had ample hands-on time to make two kinds of sauces, two kinds of pasta and some tiramisu... all of which we ate before he took us to the winery on site to sample sweet wine and biscotti and get a tour of the winery. Fascinating and fun, all day long. My husband and I met some great people and really appreciated Alain's presence and style. You should ask fir him by name if you're interested in this tour. Have fun! :D
      Dont miss out on this fun day with...
      Ken W, Sep 2018
      Dont miss out on this fun day with Marco! We met at a central location to watch him do his local shopping for our cooking class. We then took our van tour to the Tuscany hillside to a nice cooking facility. Learning how to make homemake pasta and Tiramisu was hands on and so much fun. A glass of local wine here and there was great too! We then toured a local wine cellar and then short scenic ride back to Florence. A must do in Tuscany.
      the cooking class was a lot of fun but...
      robert m, Sep 2018
      the cooking class was a lot of fun but the trip through the market felt a little disjointed. our tour host Marco was extremely patient with us as we attempted to make pasta and desert. The finished product was excellent! my wife and I enjoyed this tour very much and we look forward to trying the recipes provided.
      Tuscan Cooking Class was both entertaining as well as informative!
      Lisa_T, Sep 2018
      We had a fantastic time learning how to make pasta as well as learning about Italian food and culture. We met some great couples and our chef Giuseppe was fabulous engaging everyone and sharing his expertise.
      Fun market tour and a great cooking...
      George C, Aug 2018
      Fun market tour and a great cooking class where we made delicious pastas and then gorged on them afterwards.
      Awesome class! We started with a...
      Kim K, Jun 2018
      Awesome class! We started with a fresh market tour and bought all of the ingredients that we needed for the day. Matteo was very knowledgable about everything that we cooked. We received a lot of information and a take home cookbook! The groundsand the villa were beautiful!
      Amazing experience Our...
      Carmen_T, Oct 2017
      Amazing experience Our instructor Javier so knowledgeable Small group Highly recommended
      What a great way to end our time in...
      JACOBC_V, Oct 2017
      What a great way to end our time in Florence. Loved the experience from our time at the market - with samples - through making and eating our own pasta and tiramisu. Everyone in the small group had a great day.
      Tour was very nicely organized. Our...
      Larry F, Oct 2017
      Tour was very nicely organized. Our personal chef was most knowledgeable and had all of us engaged with the meal preparation.
      To begin with, this tour should...
      Nancy B, Oct 2017
      To begin with, this tour should really be 4 hours, not 7-8 hours. We wasted a whole day, with a lot of sitting around. The tour began with a visit to a local market. There was nothing special about the market, and we're not sure what the purpose of this was, since we did not personally shop for the ingredients. We tasted some fruit, meat and cheese, while our tour guide shopped for the ingredients separately. We spent 1.5 hours here, and this could have easily been 30 minutes or skipped entirely. The villa was located in the first town outside of Florence, a 30 min drive, so don't take this tour if you're expecting to see the Tuscan countryside. When we arrived, I was surprised to see the room was not equipped with sinks or stoves, there was simply one hot plate which the chef would use to cook everything. We were expecting for this to be a full cooking class, but it was more like a demonstration. The only part of the class we were involved in, was making the pasta. This was the most enjoyable part of the class. The chef/instructor did not pass out recipes for us to follow while he prepared and cooked, we really just watched and asked questions. We were supposed to be making a 3 or 4 course meal, but it turned out to only be pasta with meat sauce and tiramisu. For the bruschetta appetizer, he just opened jars of tapenade and put it onto bread! In terms of the instructor, Marco, he was not very enthusiastic or engaging. He did not introduce himself at the beginning, and did not engage the group or encourage any introductions. Additionally, the most disturbing part was that he did not practice safe handling of food. When we arrived, he did not ask the group to go and wash our hands, and in fact, he himself touched the meat with his hands, and right afterwards touched the vegetables, without washing his hands. This was extremely upsetting, since he was cooking the food for a large group of people. As a chef and instructor, he should have been practicing food safety, and ensuring the whole group was also being safe. Any cooking classes I have ever taken in the past, this was always of utmost importance. The food itself was very good. We spent about 45 minutes eating, and drinking wine. Afterwards we were taken to a nearby cellar where they make wine and olive oil. Again, we are not sure what the purpose of this was, since we didn't even get to taste any wine or olive oil. Some was available for purchase, but again this 30-45 mins was a complete waste of time. I think there are a lot of kinks that need to get worked out with this tour and I wouldn't recommend doing it unless you have a full day you don't mind wasting while in Florence. We only had 3 days in Florence and we were very disappointed we wasted one of them on this.
      Best day of our Tuscan honeymoon! thank...
      Roberta_R, Sep 2017
      Best day of our Tuscan honeymoon! thank you Chef Marco!
      We had a great time! Javier, our...
      Julie_W, Sep 2017
      We had a great time! Javier, our instructor, was wonderful. The food was delicious and I'm looking forward to trying it make it at home.
      We had an amazing day with Daniel as...
      Heidi F, Aug 2017
      We had an amazing day with Daniel as our tour guide through the market and as our chef and teacher. We learned how to make excellent pasta and two sauces along with tiramisu. We enjoyed the tasting in the market in the morning also. Our family of six thought this was one of the best things we did during our two weeks in Italy! Highly highly recommend!!
      Please note that the tour that is...
      Tracey H, Jun 2017
      Please note that the tour that is actually offered does not reflect the tour advertised by Viator. The supplier is Florencetown, they offer a VIP Tour. We received close to what they advertised. What was to be a highlight for my 25th Wedding Anniversary turned in to a complete disappointment. Florencetown offered a discount and after weeks of no communication from Viator we did receive the promise of this discount. This has yet to appear on our credit card. We arrived and expected to meet chef Giavonni as advertised. We had another chef. We expected a wine lab as advertised we did not receive it. We did not make all that was advertised by Viator. Also if you are expecting to have a high level of participation in this class. You will spend much of your time watching. Do not book with Viator for this tour as it is 100 misrepresentation of the actual tour provided.
      We met our chef Marco in the Piazza...
      Mike A, Jun 2017
      We met our chef Marco in the Piazza Republicca and then we walked about 3/4 of a mile to a small outdoor market where we spent almost two hours waiting for the bus. He walked us around and explained a little about the produce and meats but then sat us at a table with bread, meats, cheeses and wine. We were left alone most of this time and we were not sure what was going on. We finally made it to the villa to cook and was surprised to watch Marco cook for most of the time. We had paid to cook and not just watch. We did make our own tiramisu and pasta by hand which was fun. The food was amazing and Marco was very knowledgeable but he could have used some assistance as the 7 hours we were there were not used wisely. The wine experience at the end was rushed and again seemed unorganized.
      A great day with a professional tour...
      Stella, Jun 2017
      A great day with a professional tour group. The bus ride was comfortable and our chef Giuseppe was friendly and showed us how to make great pasta. Unfortunately the market was closed so no fresh basil for our pasta dish. Instead we had breakfast at a wonderful cafe. This was a great start for our day and was most enjoyable.
      This tour was great. I went with my...
      DrRM_S, Oct 2016
      This tour was great. I went with my mom and dad, and they got my dad to join in and cook. Making pasta was great and the food tasted great. Even though it a raining, it was still an awesome day. I would definitely recommend this tour again.

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