A Cooking Class in Florence You’ll Remember Long After Your Trip Ends

One of the most memorable experiences you can have in Florence isn’t just eating incredible food — it’s learning how to make it yourself. While museums and historic sites are essential stops, taking a cooking class in Tuscany offers something different: a chance to slow down, connect, and experience Italian culture from inside a real kitchen.

If you love Italian food — especially fresh pasta — setting aside a few hours for a hands-on cooking class might become one of the highlights of your trip.

And the best part? No cooking experience is needed at all.

Meet Fiamma: A Private Chef Who Brings Tuscany to You

Fiamma is a Florentine chef who offers private cooking classes either in your accommodation or, if you’re staying in Florence without a kitchen, in her own home. Unlike traditional cooking schools, her lessons feel personal and relaxed — more like cooking with a local friend than attending a formal class.

Before the lesson, you agree on the menu together. Curious about pasta? Perfect. Prefer risotto, meat dishes such as chicken cacciatora, or classic desserts like tiramisù? She can tailor the experience entirely to your interests.

When I booked, I chose to learn how to make fresh pasta along with panna cotta — a dessert I often order at restaurants but had never attempted making at home.

From the moment you arrive, Fiamma’s warm smile immediately puts you at ease, setting the tone for an experience that feels welcoming and authentic.

Cooking "at Home" with a Florentine Chef

Fiamma typically travels directly to her clients, shopping for fresh ingredients beforehand and bringing everything needed for the lesson — including tools and equipment. You never have to worry about whether your rental kitchen is properly stocked.

If you’re interested, she can even arrange visits to local markets in Florence to select ingredients together, adding another layer to the experience.

→ Book or read more details about Fiamma's cooking class

The class lasts about three hours and unfolds naturally, step by step. We began with dessert since panna cotta needs time to set, then moved on to preparing pasta dough while also preparing the spinach filling for the ravioli. Tasks flow easily from one to another, and everyone can participate — making it ideal for couples, families, or groups of family and friends.

Even if you’ve never cooked before, Fiamma guides you through each step with patience and clarity. Within minutes, any hesitation disappears, replaced by flour-covered hands and plenty of laughter.

What We Made Together

During our class, we prepared:

• Tagliatelle with fresh tomato sauce, seasoned with garlic and rosemary
• Spinach and ricotta ravioli with butter and sage, a delicious classic
• Classic panna cotta for dessert, with chocolate sauce

As we worked, Fiamma shared practical cooking tips you can actually use at home — from choosing quality tomato sauce made with 100% tomatoes to understanding why simplicity is often the secret to Italian cooking. The pasta sauces are the most traditional in Florence and Tuscany, with the flavors of basil, rosemary, sage and garlic scenting the kitchen air.

Rolling pasta dough turned out to be easier than expected (though my technique definitely needs practice!), and shaping ravioli became a fun group activity rather than a challenge.

More Than a Cooking Class — A Shared Experience

What makes this experience truly special isn’t just learning recipes — it’s what happens by the end.

After cooking together, everyone sits down to enjoy the meal they’ve created side by side. The kitchen shifts from workspace to dining table, and the atmosphere becomes relaxed and celebratory.

Sharing food you’ve prepared together creates a different kind of travel memory — one filled with conversation, pride, and laughter. It’s not just lunch or dinner; it’s a moment you helped create.

Later, when I recreated the dishes at home with my kids helping knead the dough, roll the pasta and seal the ravioli, it instantly brought me back to that morning in Florence. That, to me, is the real value of the experience: you don’t just take home recipes — you take home memories and traditions you can relive again and again, with the chance to continue making new ones every time you recreate those dishes. My kids had fun rolling the pasta, were proud of having made pasta and have requested to spend another morning making tagliatelle together again. That is a success, not only time spent together but particularly getting them away from screens!

Who This Cooking Class Is Perfect For

This experience works especially well for:

• First-time visitors wanting an authentic Tuscan activity
• Families traveling with children
• Couples looking for a meaningful shared experience
• Food lovers curious about Italian cooking
• Travelers who want something more personal than a group class

No prior cooking skills are required — just curiosity and an appetite.

If you're in Florence and don't have a place with your own kitchen, you can go to Fiamma's house like I did! I'd just say that this option would not be available to anyone who has difficulty climbing stairs (no elevator and she's on the top floor) or who is allergic to cats as there are two in her home.

My Final Thoughts

The class was relaxed, informative, and genuinely fun — the kind of experience that makes you feel connected to a place rather than just visiting it. I learned that fresh pasta isn’t as complicated as it looks, just something that improves with time and practice.

Most importantly, it created a shared memory with my family that lasts longer than that one morning spent in Fiamma's kitchen, and it will likely be the same for you, lasting far beyond your time in Italy.

If you’re planning a trip to Tuscany and want an experience that combines food, culture, and meaningful connection, this cooking class is one I would wholeheartedly recommend.

Ready to book your class with Fiamma? You can book your cooking class experience directly here.