Orecchiette Cooking Class in Lecce: Make Apulian Pasta

Make two types of Apulian pasta with your hands, then sit down and eat them.

A homemade pasta cooking class in Lecce where you learn to shape orecchiette and sagne—the hand-rolled pastas of Puglia—from a professional cook in a 1400s courtyard in the historic center. You make the dough from water and flour, roll and cut the pasta yourself, watch it cook, and eat it on site with wine and soda included; the class runs 2.5 hours and a guide speaks English, Italian or French.

The Experience

The class starts in a 15th-century courtyard steps from Lecce's Archaeological Museum. A professional cook walks you through the production technique for orecchiette and sagne—the two pastas that define Apulian cooking—starting with nothing but water, flour, a rolling pin and your hands. You'll shape each piece yourself, learning the pressure and the angle that gives the pasta its form. The cook demonstrates first, then you work through the same motions until the technique holds.

Once you've finished rolling and cutting, the pasta goes straight into boiling water. You watch it cook in the courtyard while the cook prepares a fresh tomato and basil sauce. Then everyone eats together at a table in the same space where you made it—the pasta you shaped, dressed simply, with soda and wine to drink. The meal is part of the class, not a separate course tacked on after.

The point of learning here is taking it home. Once you've felt how the dough moves and seen how much water it needs, you can make orecchiette for friends without a recipe or a video. The technique is muscle memory by the end of the afternoon, and that's what stays.

What’s included

• All materials and tools (flour, water, rolling pin, forks, knife, work surface).
• dinner with the pasta you made.
• wine and soda.
• instruction from a professional cook in English, Italian or French.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Lecce Go

Is this one for you?You do the work yourself—this is not a demonstration you watch, but a class where you shape every piece of pasta with your own hands. It suits anyone who wants to learn a skill they can use at home, not just taste something once and move on.

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Top questions

What exactly do I make in this pasta class?

You make orecchiette and sagne, the two hand-rolled pastas traditional to Puglia. Both start as a dough of water and flour that you knead, roll out and shape by hand using a fork and rolling pin—the cook shows you the motion, then you practice it until it becomes automatic.

Do I eat what I make, or is it just a demonstration?

You eat it. After you finish shaping and cutting the pasta, it's cooked in the courtyard and plated with fresh tomato and basil sauce. Everyone sits down together and eats the pasta you made, with wine and soda included.

How long does the whole class take?

The class runs 2.5 hours from start to finish, including the time you spend making the pasta, watching it cook and eating it together in the courtyard.

Where does the class happen?

The class takes place in a 15th-century courtyard in the heart of Lecce's historic center, near the Archaeological Museum. You make and eat the pasta in the same space.

What language does the cook speak?

The guide speaks English, Italian or French, so you can book the class in whichever language suits you.

Will I be able to make this pasta at home after the class?

Yes. The whole point of the class is learning the technique so you can reproduce it at home. Once you've shaped the pasta by hand and felt how the dough moves, you'll have the muscle memory to make it for friends without needing a recipe.