Venice Market Tour & Cooking Class: Learn Risotto & Tiramisu

Small groups skip bus line. Shop market with local, then cook in her kitchen

You meet Laura at the Santa Margherita market, walk through her neighborhood, and spend ninety minutes in her kitchen learning to make risotto and tiramisu. You cook it yourself, she guides you through the technique and the story, then you sit down and eat together with wine and coffee. It's private, small-group, and includes everything: market, ingredients, instruction, meal, and local wine.

Step-by-step itinerary

Market tour and cooking class

• Meet Laura at Santa Margherita market
• Explore local vendors and pick ingredients
• Walk 20 minutes to Laura’s home
• Enjoy light appetizer and aperitif
• Participate in 1.5-hour cooking class
• Prepare risotto or pasta and tiramisù
• Eat meal with wine and conversation

The experience

What if the person teaching you to make risotto actually grew up eating her mother's version, in the same neighborhood where you're standing right now? That's Laura. She was born in Venice, still lives there in an apartment twenty minutes from the center, and she's built this experience around the idea that cooking isn't something you watch. It's something you do, in her kitchen, with her talking you through it. The whole thing runs about three hours: you start at the Santa Margherita market, where she shows you which vendors she actually uses, then walk back to her place and spend ninety minutes learning to make a seasonal risotto (or fresh pasta if you ask when you book) and tiramisu from scratch.

The market part matters more than it sounds. Laura doesn't just point at things. She's picking ingredients with you for the meal you're about to cook, so you're not wandering around looking at produce. You're shopping for dinner. After that twenty-minute walk through real Venetian streets, you arrive at her apartment in a neighborhood with almost no tourists. Her kitchen is small and well-equipped, and she walks you through each step: how to build the risotto, how to get the mascarpone cream right for tiramisu, why the timing matters. She tells you stories about where these dishes come from, what her mother taught her, what changes with the season. Then you sit down and eat what you made, with wine, coffee, limoncello, and conversation that usually runs longer than anyone planned.

A few practical things: the apartment doesn't have air conditioning, but Laura uses fans and keeps it comfortable. She can take up to four people comfortably, five if everyone's okay with it being cozy. She handles vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free. Just mention it when you book. On rare occasions her friend Ilaria, also Venetian, might be there to help. The whole experience is private, so it's just you and Laura, no group of strangers learning to cook at the same time.

What’s included

• Your experience includes a private one-hour market tour with Laura at Santa Margherita, where you pick ingredients together for the meal.
• You'll then walk to her apartment and spend ninety minutes in a hands-on cooking class learning to prepare a seasonal risotto (or pasta or polenta if you prefer) and tiramisu.
• The meal you cook is served with a light appetizer, focaccia with regional olives and cheeses, wine, coffee, and limoncello.
• Laura accommodates dietary requests (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free) when you book.

Options for this experience

3 options

Cooking class and dinnerGuide in English, Spanish or Italian · 19:00Cooking class only: this cooking and dinner experience runs about 3 hours and does not include a market tour.

Market tour, cooking and lunchGuide in English, Spanish or Italian · 10:30Includes a market tour: this roughly 4-hour experience combines a market visit, a cooking class and a meal with Laura.

Market tour, cooking and dinnerGuide in English, Spanish or Italian · 17:30Includes a market tour: this roughly 4-hour experience combines a market visit, a cooking class and a meal with Laura.

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

Information

Lasts 4h, runs every day at 19:00, 10:30 and 17:30, from € 145 per person, with a live guide in English, Spanish and Italian, as a private tour and with free cancellation up to 24 h before.

Days and timesEvery day except Saturday: 19:00Saturday: 10:30, 17:30 and 19:00Another time? ›

GroupPrivate7 group tours ›

Live guideEnglish, Spanish and ItalianOther languages ›

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

Book up to1d before

AgesAdult (12 and older) · Child (5 to 11 years) · Infant (under 5): free

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

ConfirmationConfirmation within 48 h

Prices and times updated 6 days ago

Good to know

Stroller-friendlyPublic transport nearby

Operated by Traveling Spoon

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to learn actual cooking technique from someone who grew up cooking it, in a real Venetian home, without the performance of a tourist cooking school. The small group size and private setting are what make it feel like you're learning from a friend, not attending a class.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English, Spanish and Italian.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (5 to 11 years); Infant (under 5): free.

How long is the whole experience?

About three hours total: one hour at the market, a twenty-minute walk, then ninety minutes of hands-on cooking and eating.

Do I need cooking experience?

No. Laura teaches from the beginning. You're learning her family recipes, not competing.

What if I'm vegetarian or have dietary restrictions?

Laura is an expert in vegetarian cooking and handles vegan, gluten-free, and other requests. Tell her when you book.

Can I choose what to cook?

The risotto is seasonal and changes. You can request fresh pasta or polenta instead of risotto when you book.

How many people can join?

Up to four comfortably, five if needed. It's a private experience, just you and Laura.

Is the apartment air-conditioned?

No, but Laura uses fans and ventilation to keep it comfortable. It's a traditional Venetian home.

What's included in the price?

Market tour, all ingredients, ninety-minute cooking class, the meal you cook, wine, coffee, and limoncello.

Where does the experience take place?

At Laura's apartment in a local Venetian neighborhood, about twenty minutes' walk from central Venice.