Cook Like a Local in San Marino Countryside: Organic Farm Class

From wheat spike to your plate: pasta made with flour you mill yourself.

This hands-on cooking class at Podere Lesignano, a family-run organic farm in San Marino, teaches you to prepare traditional dishes using ingredients grown on the property. You start with a workshop on ancient grains, learning how wheat becomes flour through traditional methods, then move to the kitchen to make fresh tagliatelle and ravioli with classic ragù and a local dessert. The meal you cook is served on the farm's panoramic terrace with the family's own Sangiovese wine.

The experience

The experience begins with a tour of the farm itself (vineyards and olive groves surrounding a historic farmhouse), so you understand where the food comes from before you cook it. The hands-on workshop on ancient grains is the core of the morning: you'll learn how different heritage wheat varieties are milled into flour using traditional methods and why these grains matter to local food culture and sustainable farming. This is not a commercial cooking school but a personal invitation into how a San Marino farming family actually eats.

After the grain workshop, you move to the kitchen to prepare dishes that have been made in the region for generations. You'll make fresh tagliatelle or ravioli by hand, prepare traditional sauces including ragù, and learn to cook bustrengo, a folk dessert from the local farming tradition. Everything is built around seasonal ingredients, most of them grown directly on Podere Lesignano. The class runs about three and a half hours and stays informal. You're welcomed as a friend, not a student in a line.

The meal you've prepared is served together on the panoramic terrace, accompanied by a glass of the farm's own Sangiovese wine and an aperitivo of cured meat, cheese, and bakery products from the property. Bottled water is provided throughout, and children from age six are welcome to join.

What’s included

• Guided tour of the organic farm.
• hands-on workshop on ancient grains and traditional flour milling.
• cooking class preparing fresh pasta, traditional sauces, and a local dessert.
• the meal you've cooked, served on the terrace.
• a glass of Sangiovese wine.
• aperitivo with cured meat, cheese, and bakery products from the farm.
• bottled water throughout.

Before you book

Days and timesThursday to SundayDepartures at 10:30 and 18:00

Book up to4h before

AgesAdult (12 and older) · Child (6 to 11 years) · Under 6: can't be booked

GroupUp to 12

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 8 days ago

Good to know

Wheelchair accessiblePets welcome

Operated by Cook like a local in San Marino coutryside

Is this one for you?This class works best for small groups or families who want to understand where their food comes from and have time to linger over a meal together. The farm setting and the family atmosphere mean you're not rushing through stations or following a commercial schedule. You're learning and cooking at the pace of people who live this way.

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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 (6 to 11 years). Children under 6 can't be included in the booking.

What exactly do you learn to make in the cooking class?

You prepare fresh tagliatelle or ravioli by hand using flour milled from ancient grains on the farm, then make traditional sauces including ragù and bustrengo, a folk dessert from San Marino's farming tradition.

What is the ancient grains workshop, and how long does it take?

The workshop teaches you how wheat is transformed into flour using traditional methods, showing you different heritage grain varieties and explaining their importance to local food culture and sustainable agriculture. It's the first part of the experience, before you move to the kitchen.

Is this a group class, or do you cook with just your own party?

You cook together as one group on the farm, sharing the experience and the meal with the family and other guests, rather than in separate stations or private sessions.

What's included in the meal at the end?

You eat the dishes you've prepared on the panoramic terrace, served with a glass of the farm's own Sangiovese wine, plus an aperitivo of cured meat, cheese, and bakery products from Podere Lesignano.