Florence Countryside: Private Cooking Class with Fabio & Pickup

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Free cancellationExcellent qualityLikely to sell out

1/17

Duration3h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · IT

Mobile ticketAccepted

Cooking in the Tuscan hills with locals, pasta from scratch and olive oil stories

You’ll join Fabio and Christiane in their warm countryside home near Florence for a private Italian cooking class — rolling fresh pasta, tasting their own olive oil, sharing laughs over local wine, then lingering over a homemade meal at their kitchen table. Expect flour on your hands and stories you’ll want to remember.

Step-by-step itinerary

Private cooking class in Florence countryside

Pickup from central Florence
Drive to Fabio’s countryside home
Meet Fabio and Christiane
Enjoy seasonal welcome drink
Learn about olive harvesting and oil
Hands-on pasta making class
Prepare seasonal sauce
Cook local main dish
Enjoy meal with local wine
Finish with seasonal dessert

The Experience

I’ll be honest, I was a little nervous on the drive out of Florence — maybe it was the way the city faded behind us or just not knowing what to expect at someone’s actual home. But when Fabio opened his door (with Christiane waving from the kitchen), it felt like we’d dropped in on old friends. The place smelled like herbs and something sweet baking. There were olive trees everywhere outside, and Fabio handed us these tiny glasses of cold elderflower drink while he started talking about how he picks olives for their own oil. He even let us taste some — honestly, I never knew olive oil could taste grassy like that.

The kitchen was full of sunlight and old wooden spoons. We made pasta dough by hand (my arms still remember it) and then tried to roll it out with this heavy machine that looked older than me. Fabio kept making jokes about my “noodle technique” — I think he was being kind. He showed us how to make tagliatelle with ragù since it was chilly outside, but said sometimes he does squid risotto if you come in summer. At one point I got flour everywhere and Christiane just laughed and handed me an apron that said “Nonna in training.” It wasn’t fancy or formal, which honestly made it better.

We all sat down together at this big colorful table for lunch — homemade pasta, pork with almonds (Fabio’s favorite apparently), and a chestnut cake called castagnaccio that tastes earthy and weirdly comforting. There was local wine too, poured pretty generously. Conversation drifted between Italian words I couldn’t quite catch and stories about their 30 years together; you could tell they really liked each other, which was nice to see up close. The whole thing lasted longer than I expected — nobody seemed in a hurry to end it.

I still think about that afternoon sometimes when I cook at home. Something about learning to make pasta from scratch in the Florence countryside sticks with you more than just eating out somewhere fancy. If you’re looking for a private cooking class near Florence that feels real — not staged — this is probably it.

What’s included

Your day includes pickup and drop-off from central Florence by private car, all ingredients for your hands-on Italian cooking class with Fabio (and Christiane if she’s home), local wine with your meal, plus seasonal dessert and coffee before returning to Florence together.

Good to know

Stroller friendlyPublic transport nearby

Operated by Traveling Spoon