Private Hands-on Cooking Class & Wine In Mirella’s Florence Home

This was one of the highlights of my wife and I’s Italy trip. Stefano and Mirella met us at the local market and explained local cuisine and culture. They then welcomed us into their beautiful home and garden where they taught us how to cook an authentic 4 course Italian meal. The meal, wine, and conversation were terrific. Stefano and Mirella were a joy to be around! We would recommend this to anyone visiting Florence who is looking for an authentic experience away from the big crowds! Thank you very much to Stefano and Mirella!

My husband and I were recommended this cooking class and were very excited being that we were on our honeymoon. Initially, communication was great with the host and we seemed to have all the details ironed out. We decided to take an uber out to the location provided by Viator and expected to make it 15 minutes before our scheduled time. The location provided lead us to a dirt road with zero houses around. We continued to search for the house and tried to contact the host, where we got zero response. Both my husband and I called multiple times and it would not go through. We continued to drive around aimlessly for 15 minutes, because there was not any clear description on where we needed to go other than the location that was provided. Being that neither my husband or I spoke Italian and were nervous that we would not have a ride back to Florence, we decided to ask the uber driver to take us home. Transportation to and from the wrong location ran us $200+ usd. About one hour later, the host contacted us asking if we were going to be able to make it, where we told her our experience. They stated that they had never had an issue like this before. Shortly after, the host confirmed that the location provided on Viator was incorrect and we were then sent the correct location so we could attend the cooking class. Being that we had already spent $200+ to go to the wrong location and would need to spend an additional $200+, we would be paying the same amount of the cooking class just on transportation. This just didn’t seem feasible. We then had to make on the fly dinner plans in Florence, where places were booked and full. Finally, we asked for a refund since we were given the wrong information on where to go and it was denied. We were very disappointed being that this was an activity we had been looking forward to for our honeymoon. The cooking class and uber ride was well over a $750 adventure, not exactly how we wanted to spend the evening!

The cooking class experience was truly one-of-a-kind. Mirella and Stefano welcomed us into their home and treated us like a member of the family. It was special to get to know them, learn about life in Italy, all while 🧑‍🍳 by and enjoying homemade recipes. Along with the amazing hosts, the food and recipes were delicious. After helping create the dishes, we all sat down and enjoyed a delicious meal together. When I find myself back in Florence, I will definitely book again. Thank you both for an amazing experience!

What a fun class! We were able to book Ubers out to her house and she helped get taxis afterwards to get us back to Florence. We made eggplant parm, fresh tagliatelle and gnocchi, sauces, and tiramisu. All amazing and paired with local or homemade wine and limoncello. Would recommend!

Fantastic dining experience, amazing food especially the salad from the garden, book your own experience you won’t regret

Mirella and Stefano are amazing chefs as well as even more special people. They made the most delicious Italian food and welcomed us with warm hearts and food!

Mirella and her husband were wonderful!! My friend and I did a morning/midday cooking class with them. We met at the market, where they bought all the fresh ingredients for the meal, and then we went to their house which had an incredible garden. We did a combination of prepping and cooking inside and outdoors, and then we ate a perfect lunch in their garden and had a lot of laughs and conversation. Food was delicious, and Mirella gave us the recipes so I am ready to make the dishes back at home in Seattle. We made bruschetta, focaccia, handmade gnocchi and tagliatelle with tomato sauce, eggplant Parmesan, and tiramisu. Yum! During the meal, they provided drinks. This was one of the most worthwhile things we did on our entire trip to Italy. I highly recommend!

This was such an amazing experience! They (Mariel and Stefano) are absolutely lovely and being able to experience the market and their amazing garden hidden behind their house while making our own very simple florentine dishes was incredible!!

This was one of the best things we have ever done on any vacation. Stefano and Mirella are amazing hosts with a lovely Tuscan home. They provide a real culinary treat, and guide you through the process of preparing an authentic, multicourse meal. We so very much looked forward to getting home to try these recipes on our own. We even bought a pasta maker in Florence, and brought home some Italian flour to replicate the experience. I highly recommend this experience. Great food. Great wine. Great conversation with a lovely, funny and charming couple who are both accomplished chefs. Perfecto!

We loved the cooking class with Mirella and Stefano. Authentic Italian cooking experience with delicious food, drinks, and desserts! Mirella printed certificates and recipes for us to take home and made the birthday celebration in our group extra special. Our favorite experience during our time in Tuscany!

They came to our villa and cooked us the most wonderful meal! It was the perfect end to our Italy vacation. They are delightful people, kind and humorous. Would recommend them to anyone thinking about wanting a personalized experience.

We had the best time at the Tuscan Cooking Class! I am gluten free and my husband is not. We made every dish both ways. Miravella and Stephano were very careful not to have any cross contamination. The gluten free pastas were outstanding. It was a lovely day in their kitchen and garden. They are wonderful cooks, teachers, and hosts.

Mirella and Stefano provided a rigorous yet relaxing culinary experience. We prepared several scrumptious Tuscan dishes that we can’t wait to try when we get home! We all sat down and enjoyed our dishes with some wine and homemade lemon cello! Highly recommend this experience!

Oh my goodness, this was the highlight of our trip! Miriella and Stefano are just the perfect cooking couple! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!! Do yourself a favor and take this wonderful class. Delicious and very informative, we learned so much and will be able to use what we learned at home!!! Thank you, thank you Miriella and Stefano!!! Simply the best!!!

This was such a fun experience and I can’t say enough good things about Mirella and Stefano. They were incredibly welcoming, accommodated food allergies and set up a bed for our son with special needs. The cooking lesson is well organized and was delicious. Highly recommend!

Mirella and Stefano are the absolute best hosts! If you want to experience local Florentine cuisine, choose them. The trip to the market, time preparing the food in their kitchen and then enjoying the meal with them was a wonderful experience.

We had many great meals on this trip, but our best and most memorable was the one we made ourselves with Mirella & Stefano. We laughed and chilled out for hours. Pure joy. Homemade gnocchi. Figs from the garden. Wine from local vineyards, Incredible place with the warmest people. Absolutely loved it. Note it’s STEFano, not Stef-AH-no thanks.

What a fantastic day we had with Mirella and Stefano! Not only was the food we prepared delicious, but we got so many cooking tips from these professional chefs! we learned about life in the city of Antella and how food there is such an important part of the culture. An absolutely great experience! We have made the recipes we learned so many times since.

MUST BOOK! Our time cooking with Mirella and Stefano was truly the highlight of our trip to Italy! Their home is so beautiful and they taught us incredible, easy dishes we could replicate when we got home. It is such a fabulous way to really experience Florence and the cuisine of the area. Highly, highly recommend!

If there is one thing on your Italian vacation you cannot cannot CANNOT miss, it's dinner with Mirella and Stefano. I know the country is known for the charm of its people and the grandeur of its food, but literally nothing we did compared to this. They were the warmest, most charming hosts, and the food was out of this world. My only complaint is that they didn't eat with us, but I can hardly quibble. A lifetime memory of extraordinary proportions.

This class was one of my favorite memories from our trip to Italy! When we booked this event, we had no idea what to expect. It seemed odd to be arriving at someone's private home and we were a little nervous, but from the second Mirella greeted us at our Uber, we never had a another doubt about the fun evening ahead. Mirella & Stefano put us completely at ease and it seemed like we were old friends hanging out together cooking, drinking and chatting. I was excited to learn how to make tagliatelle & gnocchi (noodles) from scratch and we made one of our favorite dishes, eggplant parmesan. I learned how easy it is to make tiramisu, which I served at Christmas and was a big hit, as well as sausage bruschetta from Italian ingredients, which I served at Thanksgiving and no one left room for dinner! Mirella & Stefano were kind enough to provide a cookbook of all the recipes we made together to take home! What made this class special and unique is that it didn't seem like a class at all! My husband can barely boil water (or so he tells me), but Stefano had him chopping, mixing, and prepping like it was second nature. The best part, other than the delicious food we ate until we were stuffed, was chatting at the table about family, world events, life in Italy compared to the US, and their wedding plans. I would recommend Mirella and Stefano's class to any couple, family, group, or just yourself! You will learn a lot and have fun making new friends while doing it!

My husband and I booked this experience during our honeymoon. It was FANTASTIC! The food was excellent, but the company was even better! It was so nice to be welcomed into Mirella's home and cook with her and Stefano. We would highly recommend this excursion to anyone traveling to Florence.

My husband and I were on our honeymoon in Florence and signed up for this cooking class. We met the two chefs, Mirella and Stefano, at the outdoor market, where we spent a lovely morning learning about local produce, cheeses, meats, and other specialties. We then hopped in Mirella and Stefano's car and took a short ride to their charming villa just outside Florence. We spent the entire day cooking with them -- pasta, gnocchi, bruschette, eggplant parm, and tiramisu, and then enjoyed the meal in their garden with them. The day could not have been more perfect. We are still in touch with them on a regular basis. They touched not only our stomachs, but our hearts. Not only did we learn some amazing dishes, we met two fantastic friends. We can't wait to go back and see them again.

We had a fantastic three-hour class in Mirella’s kitchen and garden. We thought it might be awkward going to someone’s house, but Mirella and Stefano were extremely warm and welcoming. It felt like cooking with a friend. Their garden is lovely. It was beautiful day. We highly recommend Tuscan Cooking Class in Florence with a Local Expert.

My wife and I took a cooking class for our honeymoon, on holiday. The cooking class with Mirella in June. By far it was our favorite event in the entire honeymoon. Mirella was a gracious host and made us feel at home the entire time. The cooking skills obtained are some that my wife and I still use. Truly a great experience to have with friends or family. The food was delicious and the company was enjoyable!

The cooking lesson at their home was amazing. Save room, because we made about 6 dishes! Lovely dining in their garden at a long wooden table. Perfecto!

Mirella and Stefano were amazing - and gracious enough to host us for Easter dinner. It was very easy to get to their house - we took the bus from Florence and they were a short walk from the bus stop. We all thought that it was the best food we had on the entire trip. We learned a lot yet the evening seemed effortless. They shared excellent local wine and we were lucky sip their home-made limocello. Each dish was outstanding. We have cooked many of the recipes since returning home which brings back fun memories. I highly recommend Mirella and Stefano - they are great!

It is so interesting that you can make such delicious food with so few ingredients that can be easily located in any food market. We enjoyed preparing the ingredients, some of which were from Mirella’s garden, and then eating the food. An absolutely lovely evening of conversation and learning from two chefs.

AMAZING!!!! Would give this 10 stars if we could!! My wife & I thoroughly enjoyed our experience with Mirella and Stefano. It started with the both of them taking us on a tour of the Sant’Ambrogio food market, where they told us fascinating details about the market and vendors. This is where they picked up the ingredients for the menu we were to cook a bit later in the day. This market tour was a fascinating & entertaining way to start the experience! After the market, they drove us to their BEAUTIFUL home and gave us a tour of their home & lovely garden. This was such a thrill and further immersed us with Italian authenticity. We then got to cooking, during which my wife and I could not stop smiling. It started with two different forms of bruschetta, both of which turned out DELICIOUS. Then, we made handmade tagliatelle pasta with Tuscan ragu. WOW, just wow. The next thing we prepared for the menu was chicken cacciatore. Sooooo wonderful, tender, and flavorful. Finally, we prepared homemade tiramisu. It was every bit as tasty & amazing as it sounds! Throughout the food prepping and cooking, Mirella & Stefano gave us the perfect combination of talking us through it, assisting hands-on if needed, and informing us about the fascinating history behind each dish. The time passed so quickly, as we were having the time of our lives! When it came time to eat, Stefano served us each course. The food all came out INCREDIBLE and it was amongst the best meals we had throughout our entire week in Florence! Stefano & Mirella’s kindness and courtesy made us feel like we were family. This was our first full day in Italy (our first experience in all of Europe, in fact!) and we can’t stop talking about this experience. We get so welcomed & appreciated by Stefano and Mirella. We would highly recommend this experience to just about anybody, regardless of culinary interest. For all of the fascinating things you’ll learn about Tuscan food & history, you’ll also feel like you just had an amazing get-together with new friends! Thank you, Stefano & Mirella. The next time we make it out to Florence, we will absolutely sign up for another class. Oh, and one more thing: Mirella handed us a printout of our entire menu, with detailed instructions of how to prepare each item! We’ve already recreated the bruschetta with Tuscan bread, sausage & stracchino cheese - DELICIOUS!!! Grazie mille, James & Christa

My wife and I did this for our honeymoon and it was a great time and a nice, intimate experience! We got to make a beautiful Sunday lunch from scratch that was absolutely fantastic. Would definitely recommend for anyone who enjoys cooking, great food, and a personalized experience!

Our family loved the cooking class with Mirella and Stefano. They welcomed us into their home, and gave us a fun and interactive lesson. The food - clearly thanks to Mirella and Stefano - turned out great. And just as importantly, both were incredible with our kids, aged 11, 10 and 8, who immediately took to them and opened right up. Mirella and Stefano are teachers who know how to connect. It was like a dinner with family friends where we all joined in to cook. If you will be in the Florence area, this is a must do.