Bologna cooking class with market tour: Learn 3 recipes

Market shopping, hands-on pasta and dessert, wine tasting in a local's home

A private cooking class in Bologna where you shop the local market with your host, then cook three authentic recipes (a starter, fresh pasta and dessert) in her home kitchen and eat what you've made with local wines. The class runs 4.5 hours total, split between market time and cooking instruction, and you choose whether to visit the market in the morning or skip it for an afternoon session. Your host is a Cesarina, part of Italy's oldest network of home cooks vetted for authentic culinary knowledge.

The experience

You arrive at a meeting point in Bologna's city centre and walk to the local market with your Cesarina host. She shows you how to pick the best ingredients (what to look for in fresh pasta, which vegetables matter, how to judge quality) the kind of knowledge that takes years to build. This part takes about an hour, and it's the foundation for everything you'll cook later. If you've booked the afternoon class, you skip the market and go straight to her home.

Back in her kitchen, you get your own workstation with knives, cutting boards and all the ingredients laid out. Your host walks you through three dishes: a starter, a fresh pasta and a dessert, each one a signature of Bologna cuisine. You're not watching a demonstration. You're making them yourself, with her guiding you through the techniques and the tricks that make the difference. This takes about three hours, and it's hands-on from start to finish.

Once everything is cooked, you sit down to eat what you've made. A three-course meal, the dishes you just prepared, paired with a selection of red and white wines from Emilia-Romagna producers. Water and espresso come with it. You leave with a Cesarine apron and shopping bag, the official kit to take home. The whole experience (market, cooking, eating) runs 4.5 hours, and your host speaks English or Italian depending on what you need.

What’s included

• Three authentic Bologna recipes (starter, fresh pasta and dessert) that you cook yourself.
• private guided market tour to learn ingredient selection (morning option only).
• hands-on cooking instruction in your host's home kitchen.
• water, local wines from Emilia-Romagna and espresso.
• a Cesarine apron and shopping bag to take home.

Options for this experience

2 options

Afternoon class without marketGuide in English or Italian · 15:00, 17:00 and 18:00Lasts 3 hours: a pasta and tiramisu class where you'll make two fresh pasta recipes from scratch and a classic tiramisù alongside your Cesarina

Class with a market visit in the morningGuide in English or Italian · 10:00Lasts 4.5 hours: a morning visit to the local market, followed by a cooking class and a three-course meal at a local's home

You pick the guide language when booking.

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDepartures at 10:00, 15:00, 17:00 and 18:00

Book up to10h before

AgesAdult (9 and older) · Child (4 to 8 years) · Infant (under 4): free

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish and Italian

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Pets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Cesarine: Cooking Class

Is this one for you?Book the morning class with market if you want to learn how to shop like a local before you cook. Choose the afternoon class if you have a free afternoon and want to skip the market and focus on the cooking and the meal.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Italian.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (4 to 8 years); Infant (under 4): free.

What three dishes do I learn to cook in the class?

A starter, fresh pasta and a dessert. All three are signature recipes of Bologna cuisine. Your host teaches you the techniques and the regional secrets that make each one authentic.

Do I have to visit the market, or can I just do the cooking class?

You choose at checkout: the morning option includes a one-hour market tour where your host teaches you how to pick ingredients, and the afternoon option skips the market and goes straight to the cooking class in her home.

Where does the class take place?

In your host's home in Bologna city centre. You meet her at a market or a meeting point depending on which option you book, and she walks you to her kitchen from there.

What wines are included?

A selection of red and white wines from Emilia-Romagna, the region where Bologna is located. Your host chooses them to pair with the three dishes you've cooked.

Is this a private class or will there be other people cooking?

It's a private class. Just you and your Cesarina host in her home kitchen. You get your own workstation and her full attention throughout the cooking and the meal.