Share Your Pasta Love In A Local’s Home In Florence

Me and my fiance had a wonderful time at this cooking class. Our host was kind, knowledgeable, and patient with teaching us how to make tortellini from scratch. This was the time we have ever done a cooking class, and won’t be our last. Doing this at a locals house made the experience more authentic. The food was amazing and our host even provided us with wine and dessert. This is the perfect experience for a couple for a few friends who want to immerse themselves in Italian culture.

Valeria and Valentina were outstanding. We began our afternoon seated in a beautiful living room where we munched on light snacks, had a drink, and got to know one another. Then they set up a folding table and brought out all of the ingredients we would be using for our meal. We began with an easy and delicious cherry ricotta tart. Then we moved on to making our own fresh pasta dough and rolled into long strands. While the pasta rested, we made a yummy bruschetta of tomato, basil, and olives. And we finished the whole thing off by learning to make a traditional cacio e pepe sauce. Valeria and Valentina were so fun and patient. They spoke flawless English. My husband who NEVER cooks, was completely engaged, and under our teachers' wonderful guidance, was able to make the whole meal and love it! We even bought all of the equipment and supplies once we returned home and have had pasta making parties with friends and family. It's such a great and social experience. Don't miss this class with Valentina and Valeria. They are THE BEST!

Silvia created such a lovely experience with us in her charming and spacious home. Her kitchen is well-appointed and perfectly suited to demonstrating how she prepares the various recipes. She was very thorough in her explanations and had sourced beautiful, fresh produce and other local ingredients for the evening's meal. The gnocchi were pillow-soft and melted in my mouth, and the meat sauce was superb. There were only two of us attending (sisters-in-law), so the three of us had a really intimate evening and of course invited Silvia to join us in enjoying the delicious meal she'd just prepared. I highly recommend this experience for those looking to meet and learn from a local who lives right in the heart of the medieval center of Lucca.

A great experience; learning some ways to make better sauces than we had attempted before taking the class. Just the 2 of us working in the kitchen with a wonderful teacher

Travelled from Riomaggiore by train. Could not get a taxi. Called to let them know. No-one answered - went to voice mail which was in Italian (and I don't speak Italian). Myself and my family tried for 1 and 1/2 hrs to get a taxi but no luck. When i contacted the provider via email for a partial or full refund (as it cost me over $1000 Australian dollars) the answer was no as I didn't call/speak to anyone on the day. Very frustrating and expensive for no experience. Advice to anyone wanting to do this activity - make sure you can get there!

We had a great time making pici in a tomato and vegetable sauce, gnocchi in a cacio e pepe sauce and tiramisù. Our host, Barbara was very hospitable and showed us how to make delicious Tuscan dishes in her well-equipped home. She had recommendations for restaurants in the towns/cities we were visited and even sent us her recipes so we could make them at home. Our friends and family have enjoyed trying our best efforts at Tuscan cuisine! This was one of the best memories from our trip, we highly recommend this experience!

We had a great time making pasta, pumpkin, and a great dessert. Really a different experience, and we were so lucky to have such a great night and learn so much. Highly recommended.

This cooking class was a 5-star experience! I not only learned to make delicious dishes but also gained deep insights into italian culinary culture. An unforgettable, enriching journey into the heart of Italian cuisine.

Donatella was the most wonderful and gracious host. We had so much fun and my wife was laughing the entire time. The food was wonderful and the instruction on how to make the pasta was fantastic. We highly recommend this class. It was so memorable to dine with locals and get a real feel for Florence and Italy. Can't say enough about how great this experience was for us.

Our host, Barbara, was wonderful! Our family had the best time learning her tricks for making pasta and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal with her after cooking our pastas. We will definitely look for more Cesarine experiences in the future!

This experience surpassed my expectations. The host provided detailed and caring pasta making instructions in her private kitchen. The views from her estate enhanced the experience. This is a must do for couples or families with teenage and adult children.

If you are in Florence and want to take a cooking class- we cannot recommend Cesarine enough for a private course. You must request Ivana! Her home was not far from the city center and she and her husband could not have been more welcoming into their beautiful home! Ivana is an incredible teacher and we made 3 types of homemade pasta. She is patient, a great conversationalist and went above and beyond to make our experience so special! This class was truly one of the highlights of our honeymoon in Italy and we cannot thank Ivana and Vincent enough for welcoming us into their home!

Cecilia was such a wonderful host and made this a memorable experience. She had a lovely home with a beautiful view, and she showed us how to make tiramisu, then spinach and ricotta filled ravioli. We had a great morning getting to know her and cooking together before enjoying lunch and bruschetta with her own olive oil. Cecilia also followed up by email to share the recipes. It was a bit confusing determining who the host would be — after registering we were assigned a host, then sent a questionnaire to determine the host. Ultimately the host was changed a couple of days before, and in any case it all worked out great, but the process was a bit confusing. We also felt the price was very high. However, we appreciated the experience especially compared to a group class, and we couldn’t have had a better host.

I would rate this a 3/5, except that our host really was so kind and welcoming! Our host did a majority of the work, rather than us truly learning how to make the dishes. And I wish we would have had some sort of recipes or something to take home so that we could do this again. The highlight was being in someone’s actual home, but I would say it felt like we were invited over for a (fantastic!) meal, rather than actually learning how to cook.

My husband and I had an amazing personal experience at our private pasta making class with our local Cesarina and host, Cecilia's home; just a short drive outside the heart of Florence. Cecilia welcomed us into her beautiful home, with stunning views of the Duomo overlooking the mountains and trees. Cecilia prepared all of the ingredients we'd need and taught us her Grandmother's pasta recipe from scratch. We completed together ricotta and spinach stuffed raviolis with a sage butter sauce and tagliatelle with both a tomato sauce made from scratch and carbonara. As we were cooking, she served us some fresh bruschetta with olive oil from her family's grove right outside the window and after we were all done, we sat down at her dining room table to enjoy the fruits of our labor over a local bottle of red wine. Don't be fooled by the "cooking experiences" hosted at stainless steel cooking schools, and go for a truly local experience with a kind and generous host who calls Florence her home.