Traditional Dining In Livorno: Local Experience With Show Cooking

Joelle Nederlants was awesome and her food and skills should be Michelin-rated. We had a spectacular evening with her and her husband Riccardo Lettieri. The evening was flawless and the highlight of our Mediterranean Cruise. She taught my wife, Carol, and her best friend Dana the art of making ravioli, and the results were magnificent. Everything from the appetizers to the tiramisu dessert was marvelous. We cannot say enough good things about Joelle Nederlants and our evening with them. We've been to Paris, Madrid, Rome, Athens, Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Prague, Stockholm, Washington DC, New York City, San Francisco, New Orleans, etc., at the very best restaurants, and this is a meal and evening that will be remembered as one of the most exceptional evenings ever enjoyed.

Wonderful in home experience with traditional pasta making and local ingredients Hosts were wonderful easy to find from city center

This experience was amazing. The host family was very gracious. The only caveat is that there is limited transportation there and back.

I truly believe we have new friends in Livorno. Joelle and Ricardo welcomed us into their beautiful home and everything was perfect. The view of the Mediterranean Sea was beautiful and peaceful. Our food was delicious. One of our friends even helped make the Tortelli Maremmani. Chatting with both Joelle and Ricardo, we found that we had mutual hobbies and backgrounds. We postponed our taxi driver 3 times because we were having such a great time! This is a once in a lifetime experience!

Incredible dining experience with hostess and chef Joelle and host Ricardo. This five course meal was amazing from start to finish! Joelle even had us watch her prepare food in the kitchen, and asked us if we would like to assist in preparing the ravioli portion of the meal. Her cooking knowledge is unsurpassed, she is a published chef in the magazine Cucina Italiana, Ricardo is a professional photographer, and their home overlooking the Mediterranean Sea is the perfect setting for this event. We enjoyed every aspect of this meal, we enjoyed talking with Joelle and Ricardo, and highly recommend this to anyone who would like to get some local flavor while visiting Lavorno. I would say this was one of the highlights of a 12 day European vacation.

Our family of six, including our children, had such a lovely time with Joelle and Ricardo! Joelle’s cooking was absolutely delicious, and she even took the time to show us how to make fresh pasta. Their home is beautiful and easy to reach from the bus. We loved talking with them and feel like we now have new friends in Livorno. It was one of our trip highlights!

We had a truly delightful afternoon with Luciana and Francesco in Livorno during a cruise port stop. This was a highlight on our cruise and not your typical cruise port excursion. This experience invites you into someone’s home to learn, prepare, and enjoy a meal together. Our warm and friendly hosts made us feel welcome like long time friends. Luciana, an excellent pastry/pasta chef, led us through the creation of focaccia, ravioli, and desert pastry. Delicioso!! If you are curious about getting to know a bit more about life with someone local, the culture and cuisine, this is a great opportunity.

Cristiana is a perfect hostess. Her home is beautiful and her gardens are lush and very healthy. It is a lovely, well cared for Italian home and garden. She served an amazing bufalo mozzarella bruschetta to start with, then a delicious appetizer with eggplant (sotto pesto if I recall correctly) done in a way I have never had before. Delicious! She served a very nice Italian white wine, I had to stop at three glasses though 😂 The pasta was the best I have ever had, and I eat A LOT of Italian style food. My brother in law is a restaurateur and specializes in Italian cooking , but this was better. So much better (sorry Bro-hope you don’t read this LOL). She made a tiramisu that was also the best I have ever had. Cristiana was gracious and kind and funny and a very good cook. I really liked conversing with her and we shared many parts of our lives. This experience will be a highlight of my 2 month journey through Europe. I will return to Livorno again specifically to see her and experience her special home and kitchen again. I will have to learn to make that eggplant! I highly recommend this experience. It was intimate/personal and delicious. It will always be a highly treasured afternoon.

By far the best vacation experience ever! Joelle and Ricardo were amazing hosts! We were made to feel welcome right away. Lunch was fabulous and learning to make the ravioli was the best! Joelle gave us all the recipes too! But I must say tiramisu was my favorite part! It is not normally a favorite dessert of mine but this tiramisu was perfect! Of course the best part was all the wonderful conversation we had. The sharing of our life experiences and the realization that no matter where you live we are more alike than different. This is the reason we try to do these types of experiences when we travel! I cannot recommend this too highly.

Fantastic. Worth the money!! The food was absolutely delicious. Some courses were unique but none the less scrumptious. The team was very friendly and made us feel super welcome in their home as soon as we arrived.

Joëlle is a fantastic cook and an excellent teacher with a warm, engaging personality. She made the entire experience both educational and fun. Her husband, Ricardo, was equally lovely, together they are the perfect hosts. We were welcomed into their home like family and taught the art of making authentic Tuscan pasta, step by step, with plenty of hands-on practice. While our dough rested, we enjoyed delicious snacks and local wine, sharing stories and laughter despite the rainy weather outside. After the class, Ricardo graciously drove us back to the port shuttle so we could easily return to our ship — an unexpected kindness that truly went above and beyond. This experience was the highlight of our trip and one we will remember fondly. Highly recommend Joëlle’s class to anyone visiting the Livorno area!

It was fabulous. Food was a 10. Hosts went over and above. Joelle is a wonderful cook. The view of the Mediterranean from their terrace added so much to the experience

Fantastic experience with great food and company. Cristina, her son, and mother were so friendly and helpful. We hope to return.

We had the best afternoon! Our host’s were warm and welcoming. The food was delicious. We felt like we were spending the afternoon with friend’s. We enjoyed the day immensely. Highly recommend.

Feel very lucky to have experienced lunch with such nice people. We were a little nervous as we had never done an experience like this before. Joelle and Ricardo put us at ease and we enjoyed the next few hours chatting as if we were old friends. The food was wonderful. In truth, most of the preparation was done by professional cook Joelle, and we helped to finish it. Perfect. Joelle & Ricardo are such an interesting and engaging couple. As I mentioned, we feel fortunate to have enjoyed their company. Getting there from la Piazza Grande was easy and cheap (<€2 each by bus) and return to la Piazza easy with a stop outside the house. If you are unsure or nervous about booking, 'go for it', you will not be disappointed.

joelle and ricardo were the best hosts!! they listened to our dietary restrictions, taught us so many new food tricks and italian culture, and cooked the best food we’ve ever had. if you get joelle and ricardo then you are so lucky, this was the best part of our europe trip!

We arrived for the cooking class and the host was not there. It was the most disappoint experience. Location is far from the cruise ship area and we needed to spend. Lot of money to get there and back. Our day / my husband’s birthday was really disappointing. We were hoping to have a great day celebrating him.

What a great experience!!! After a short 20 minute taxi ride we met Cristiana and her mother and enjoyed her beautifull patio for a few minutes. After entering Cristiana's inviting home we met her college student son, Frederico. I can't describe how much our group of 4 enjoyed getting to know these fantastic people. Cristiana and Frederico's fun banter was a priceless treat. The food itself was amazing but being able to spend a few hours with this family was an unexpected bonus. Food, wine, conversation and culture helped make this a highlight of our Mediterranean Cruise. I highly recommend you do the same!!!

Eating at a locals house might sound intimidating but our experience was far from that. We had the absolute best time and I can’t imagine not having this in my itinerary on every vacation moving forward. We had a full meal, drinks coffee etc in a very beautiful home in Livorno! Food was exceptional and the hospitality provided was a 10/10

Ricardo & Joelle welcomed us into their home for a unique & informative food experience. It began with an interactive lesson on making ravioli and tortellini with a hand press. We very much enjoyed the four course dinner and wine they provided, but more importantly the conversation we shared. By the end of the evening we felt like old friends. This was truly a delight and I highly recommend you visit them soon

Christiana was excellent. We had a wonderful evening. Hope to see her again if we get back to Livorno. Very happy to have booked this experience.

My husband & I had the best time during our dinner after a day of exploring Tuscany. Joelle is a fantastic chef and even taught me how to make fresh ravioli. We wanted a unique experience and we got it. They welcomed us into their home as strangers and left feeling like family. If you get the opportunity this is a MUST. Joelle prepared a multi-course meal that unique to the Tuscany region and was absolutely delicious - best meal on our trip this far!! Her tiramisu was the best I've EVER tasted. Gratzi!!!

Joelle & Ricardo were the perfect hosts! We immediately felt comfortable when meeting them and enjoyed learning how to make homemade pasta and tiramisu, it was not only delicious but fun to cook with Joelle, she is so knowledgeable and is a fantastic teacher for a couple who doesn’t cook very often ;) lovely couple and would recommend 10/10, we hope to be back to cook with them again!

We had a very nice visit with Christiana in Livorno!! She made us ravioli, brushketta, and torta insalata which converts to salad cake. :) Her home was warm and comfortable along with her wonderful personality! We also got to meet her momma that lives downstairs from her in the house she was raised it. The wine was delicious a well! Highly recommend Christiana. She is bellissimo and her cookies by is magnifico!!

This was the best experience ever. Our host were amazing. The food was amazing and they made us feel right at home. I would recommend this to anyone visiting Livorno.

We just spent a delightful afternoon at the home of Enrico and Maria. We were served a delicious four course lunch along with champagne, wine and coffee. I was able to help prepare some of the food with Chef Enrico while my husband and adult son chatted with Maria on their gorgeous patio. The fish dish was a spearfishing catch of our chef. Ingredients for some of the other dishes came from their family garden. We initially had difficulty getting a taxi from the city center. Enrico immediately offered to pick us up. He did help us get back to the cruise ship shuttle. He took us the scenic route and shared some additional local history. First class service with a first class dining experience. We highly recommend this experience. You won’t be disappointed! Book now!!

Joelle and Ricardo are wonderful hosts! Their home has a beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea and we took a short walk along the sea before our arrival. The food and the experience we had with this lovely couple in their home was amazing. We ate panzanella, tortelli maremmani with meat sauce, and tiramisu. Cesarine Joelle shared her recipes and even let us help make the ravioli. This was a highlight of our travels to Italy.

Cesarine and her husband were fantastic. So kind and patient with our kids. Food was beyond delicious. Highly recommend.

We had such an amazing time with our host family!! We felt like we got to know their culture and way of life. They were so generous with our 2 year old twin boys and the food was delicious. Amazing experience!

My husband and I had an amazing lunch with Cristiana at her beautiful villa. It was one of the highlights of our trip! The food was delicious but the conversation even better! I highly recommend!!

Ricardo and Joelle were the most gracious hosts and the food was amazing. The best meal we had in Italy. We were welcomed into their lovely home with a gorgeous view of the Mediterranean Sea. They served a four course meal with wine and even showed us how to make pasta in their kitchen. Would highly recommend this experience to anyone looking for an authentic Italian experience.

Joelle and Riccardo are the most gracious, charming, and welcoming hosts. I had the most wonderful time in their lovely home eating all kinds of scrumptious food prepared by Joelle who is a very accomplished chef. She even showed me my how to prepare fresh pasta and we made various preparations together. Consider yourself very fortunate indeed if you ever have the opportunity to spend an afternoon with this delightful couple. I feel as though I have made new friends.

My wife and I had a Wonderful evening together with Joelle and Riccardo with authentic Tuscan food and wine. It was a pleasure to meet the host couple in their home. We are definitely going to try the recipes we received when we return to our home.

We enjoyed a lovely evening and delicious food at Ricardo & Joelle's home while on a Viking cruise stop. It was one of the best memories of our trip!

Cristiana and her Mom were amazing hosts. The meal was absolutely delicious and the experience was priceless. We highly recommend!!! One of our best days in Italy 🇮🇹.

Our family toured the Mediterranean for a week and lunch with Joëlle and Riccardo was the highlight of the trip. I thought my teenage children might not find a lunch experience interesting, but boy was I wrong. They absolutely loved it and Joëlle and Riccardo made us feel welcome and at home. They shared a collection of old (pre-1900) books which my father and son really enjoyed flipping through and the kids were amazed by their collection of antique audio and video equipment. Lunch made it clear Joëlle is an accomplished chef. The menu included several types of crostini, ravioli, beef peposo, and tiramisu torte for dessert all while we worked our way through several different wine pairings. She was patient with my daughters helping prepare the ravioli from beginning to end and provided us with detailed recipes for all the dishes to take home -- so of course my daughters insisted on giving a try the day after we returned home! Joëlle and Riccardo went the extra mile and helped make some beautiful memories for my family on our stop in Livorno. Highly recommend this experience!

After spending more then a week touring the Mediterranean by boat we stopped in Livorno as our final port of call before departing. This experience with Joëlle and her family was by far the most enjoyable and memorable. We were welcomed into their beautiful home and treated like family. The food was exquisite and learning how to make Pici was a highlight. After starting with several different crostinis paired with wine we were then treated to pici in a fresh tomato sauce followed by fresh cod and finally a delcios dessert of fresh berries with cream on a cake. Joëlle is an accomplished chef w great credentials whose creations we were very fortunate to enjoy. She provided us with delailed recipes of our menu and we were even driven back to our boat and given a tour of Livorno due to the lack of taxis. Would highly recommend and give more stars if I could!

Christiana was a wonderful host. We went for lunch and had a great 4 course meal with red and white wine. Our dessert was fantastic. We had so much fun!!!

Cristiana was such a wonderful host and beautiful person. She was kind enough to pick us up in centero and drive us to her awesome villa. The food was fabulous and prepared with such care and expertise. She even shared her recipe that she created and called spaghetti my way! deliciouso! The views from her villa were also beautiful!

The food was delicious and Cesarina was so fun to talk with and she made us feel so welcome! I would do this again, definitely!

One of my favorite things we did our entire trip. Cristiana and her Mom were so sweet and welcomed us to their home. It felt like visiting a beloved family member while enjoying the most wonderful food. She also took us to some of her favorite spots in Livorno after we ate. I miss her already!