Private Tour
Florence Cooking Class in a Gorgeous Countryside Home with Maria
Overview
Available languages
4 hours
Mobile ticket
This is a unique opportunity to enjoy a private and immersive Tuscan cooking class in a beautiful Florence home with a lovely retired Italian couple. This is a perfect experience for anyone looking to connect with local culture over food. Your hands-on cooking class takes place in a local home kitchen where Maria teaches you 2-3 traditional Tuscan dishes. You'll learn traditional Italian cooking techniques that are easily replicated at home. After cooking, enjoy your meal together with this lovely Italian family. If you choose to add-on a market tour, Maria gives you a guided tour of San Lorenzo market, the historic food market of Florence, perfect for food lovers. This experience includes round-trip transfers (up to 6 guests) in Maria's car from downtown Florence to her beautifully designed countryside home. During your car ride, Maria regales you with stories of the city. Vegetarians and guests with dietary requests are welcome!
Additional Info
Service animals allowed
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Menu may vary depending on the season
For your pasta, Maria offers a choice of sauces: Ragu, broccoli pesto, arrabbiata or butter and sage with parmesan cream. If you have a specific preference, please inform her when making your booking.
If you are a group of 7 or more guests, Maria kindly requests that any guests beyond the first four arrange their own transportation to her home, as she can only accommodate up to 6 passengers in her car.
Please note that, as is common in many Italian homes, this residence does not have air conditioning.
This experience is not suited for gluten-free diets. If you are interested in a gluten-free experience, be sure to book Maria's dedicated "Gluten-Free Pasta Class in a Gorgeous Florence Home".
Please note that markets are closed on Sundays and public holidays.
This home has a cat.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What‘s Included
Round-trip transport from a central meeting location in Florence (for up to 6 guests)
Private cooking class and meal with your host Maria
Local Italian wine
What To Expect
Looking for an authentic cooking class in Florence perfect for a honeymooning couple or families? Join your host Maria, a recently retired architect and fun-loving Italian home cook, for a private culinary experience in her stunning countryside home. Maria picks you up from the heart of Florence and shares stories about the city’s history during the short drive. In her kitchen, learn her grandmother’s traditional recipes — from handmade pasta and bruschetta to tiramisu — all of which can be adapted for vegetarian diets. If you’d like, add a market tour where Maria guides you through San Lorenzo Market to select fresh, seasonal produce and learn how Italians cook with local ingredients. End your experience with a delicious meal and Italian wine overlooking the stunning Tuscan hills, enjoying authentic flavors, conversation, and laughter. If you are interested in a gluten-free experience, be sure to book Maria's dedicated "Private Gluten-Free Pasta Cooking Class in Florence".
Sample Menu
starter
Bruschetta
main
Spinach and cheese stuffed ravioli or tagliatelle
Handmade stuffed pasta or cut pasta in a sauce of your choice
dessert
Tiramisu
starter
Local Italian wine
Options
Cooking and lunch
Market + cooking + lunch
Cooking and dinner
Reviews
116 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Miss Maria provided us...
Aubrey G,
Nov 2, 2025
- Viator
5.00Miss Maria provided us with a very enjoyable experience both at the market and in the kitchen of her beautiful home. We very much enjoyed the opportunity to prepare a delicious meal using fresh ingredients. Very excited to get home and try her recipes in our own kitchen. Great experience, a highlight of our visit to Florence!
Do not miss this absolutely amazing evening!
574deannah,
Oct 30, 2025
- Tripadvisor
5.00I have gone to several cooking classes during my trips abroad but this was my all time favorite! Maria was charming. She was very organized. Recipes were delicious but easy enough for us to participate and make them at home. Her home is an absolute treasure and beyond beautiful. I’m so happy I booked this for our family trip!
The best thing we did in Florence!
Z8362UDtracyh,
Oct 27, 2025
- Tripadvisor
5.00Soo much fun!! Christina met us at the food market, we helped prepare the food, pasta, tiramisu and chicken & mushrooms! Delicious!!
Best Italian cooking experience !
Susan F,
Oct 21, 2025
- Viator
5.00Truly the most experience- it was like we were cooking with a nonna. Marie was amazing, taking all the time in the world to make us feel like guests in her house and sharing her many years of secrets to cooking genuine Italian cuisine. Her countryside cottage is like something out of a fairy tale. She allowed us to be hands on in the whole cooking process and even showed us how to prepare the beautiful table we shared our meal. By the end, we felt we not only knew how to cook and present an Italian meal, but also had made a new friend. Recommend to everyone
Marvelous Maria
Timothy S,
Oct 19, 2025
- Viator
5.00She was right on time picking us up. Very welcoming at our first meeting. A short drive through the countryside to a rustic farmhouse/estate that Maria (who is a restoration architect) restored with her husband. The property is idyllic and the kitchen space a perfect classroom for Maria to begin your class. Incredible hospitality. You felt like family visiting over a holiday. The pasta and tiramisu instruction was easy to follow and delish, but the sweet yellow pepper cream sauce was one we had never had in any restaurant and has become our favorite sauce of the trip. She paired a delicious wine to our lunch, which included - black cabbage bruschetta, anti pasta tray, linguini with yellow pepper cream sauce (taught to her by her husbands grandmother), Asiago/prosciutto/chicken breast rolled and covered in seasoned bread crumbs and cooked in olive oil and white wine, and tiramisu for desert. The lunch was exquisite. We sat outside as we ate, enjoying the view from her stone porch with a grape vine covered arbor that she designed and restored to its current glory. Such a welcoming host who had lead a fascinating life culminating in this gorgeous classroom for learning Italian family recipes and variations on some of your favorite dishes. And she emails out the complete recipes so you can give it a shot at home. Highlight of our trip.
A delicious, confidence building day!
Dreamer48463312639,
Oct 17, 2025
- Tripadvisor
5.00While Maria has a two-person minimum for this private class, I was more than happy to pay for two and go by myself. Maria picked me up in Florence, a quick walk from my rental. She had called earlier that morning to confirm she had my request to learn gluten free gnocci. Her home is up in the hills outside Florence and is enchanting. Without using any special equipment we made the GF gnocchi along with a light tomato sauce, and I have already been able to recreate this amazing pasta and sauce at home. We also made a simple chicken and porcini mushroom dish, tiramasu, and assembled several antipasta treats to start with. I've made tiramasu at home before, but her recipe is much easier. She opened a lovely wine just for me and we dined on her patio enjoying the fabulous food, conversation, and surroundings. The only sad part was realizing I neglected to take photos - but that was because I was too busy enjoying cooking with Maria and creating delicious food. Thank you Maria for an amazing experience and a delicious, confidence building day!
Excellent way to experience real Italy.
judyjudyevergreen,
Oct 16, 2025
- Tripadvisor
5.00Maria is such a gracious hostess. She will teach you all about Italian cooking. After you prepare the meal, you will have an opportunity to enjoy it with a glass of wine in her beautiful home in the countryside. If you want an authentic, hands on experience at a beautiful home, this is the one!
Once in a Lifetime Experience 10/10
shellij242,
Oct 14, 2025
- Tripadvisor
5.00This is one of the most wonderful experiences we have ever had, and would happily do again and again! Maria is so kind and genuine with a love of Italian culture that she is more than happy to share and educate about. Touring the local market with her was awesome, then the route to her lovely estate was the most beautiful drive about 25 minutes beyond center city Florence. Maria’s 12th century home was absolutely stunning, and we could not get over the fact that she’d done the restoration herself! We loved learning how to make the authentic Italian dishes, and they were all so delicious. If you’re teetering on whether or not to do it, book it immediately! We can’t thank Maria enough for such a wonderful experience!
Magical 10+ Cooking Experience
FLTravelGurl,
Oct 14, 2025
- Tripadvisor
5.00Such a fantastic day spent with Maria at her beautiful countryside home. We made pasta, ragu, tiramisu, chicken with porcini mushrooms, a black cabbage appetizer and drank some wonderful wines. The 4 of us had a truly wonderful experience living out our Italian dream (even for one day). Maria was such a gracious host - felt like home to this fellow Italian from the states. I highly recommend this truly amazing experience. Thank you Maria!
Cooking and dining in an 800-year-old Tuscan villa with Maria Cristina
lynkylem,
Oct 10, 2025
- Tripadvisor
5.00This experience exceeded my and my husband's expectations. The hostess, like me, is a retired architect. Also like me she had restored an old home - but hers was an 800-year-old villa! We shopped in a local Florence market before starting a 200-minute drive into the lovely countryside. We prepared and dined on a four-course meal with bruschetta, pasta (which we made... I am ordering a pasta machine!) with vegetables and pesto, tenderloin, and tiramisu, accompanied with a local white wine. All of this was despite a power outage in the community, which Maria Cristina easily overcame with the help of a gas stove. It was much more than a day well spent; it was a memory to be cherished.
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