Private Florence Market Tour and Pasta Making Class with Cinzia
Description
Meet your host Cinzia, a kind and gentle host for whom food is love and life, and explore her favorite local food stores to shop at. Start with a cup of coffee at one of Cinzia's favorite cafes before you visit a high-end, historical supermarket known for its high-quality, specialty products. Next, visit a small family-owned grocery store to pick up fresh vegetables for your cooking class. Depending on the menu, you may make a few additional stops at either a wine, bread, chocolate or cheese shop. Your hands-on cooking class takes place on the patio in Cinzia’s home. Watch as Cinzia prepares an appetizer for you to enjoy before you roll up your sleeves and learn to cook regional Italian pasta from recipes passed down through generations of Cinzia’s family. You will cook three Italian dishes from scratch including a side or dessert. Choose between a menu of either three handmade pastas and accompanying sauces or a pasta and meat main course. Please note your preference when booking.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Shop and cook like a local in Florence with your warm host, Cinzia. Meet at the Loggia del Bigallo for a guided walking food shopping tour through a historic neighborhood. Begin with a coffee, then visit La Pegna, a historic specialty products shop. Continue to a family-run grocery shop to pick up fresh ingredients. You may also stop at a wine shop, bakery, or cheese shop. This curated tour lasts ~ 1 hour and covers less than 2 miles. Next, join Cinzia in her Florence home for a hands-on Tuscan cooking class. You’ll be welcomed with a glass of prosecco and a Tuscan appetizer before cooking traditional dishes using family recipes. Learn to make fresh pasta from scratch (flat, stuffed, or gnocchi) and a classic Tuscan main such as pollo alla cacciatora or make it a pasta class and learn 3 pastas instead! Sit down to enjoy a seasonal Tuscan meal with wine, then finish with a dessert. Prefer a traditional market? With advance notice, Cinzia can instead meet you at Sant’Ambrogio Market.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- If any travelers in your party have any allergies, dietary restrictions or cooking preferences please advise at time of booking
- Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
- Please note just the market experience is unavailable for the months of July and August, as it is too hot.
- Please note: Unlike a typical single market tour, this is a tour of several shops that sell high-quality Italian food and produce.
- For the cooking class, if you have a preference between learning to cook three pastas or one pasta and a meat main, please include it when making your booking. If you don't include your choice, your host will decide your menu for the day.
- Menu varies based on the season
- Complimentary transfer from the market to Cinzia’s home is included for up to three guests. For groups of four or more, guests are kindly asked to cover their own transportation to Cinzia’s home, as her car can accommodate a max of 3 guests. Of course, she can help you arrange a taxi.
Reviews(9)
One of the best experiences of our whole trip. Me and my two friends did a class with Cinzia and we had the best time. She took us to her favorite local markets to buy our ingredients and told us about the local history as we went. We then drove to her home where we were going to cook. Her home is beautiful and she was so kind and talented. She is a great teacher and the food turned out so delicious. We had a first course, main course with salad and then dessert, all with wine! It was lovely getting to know Cinzia and experience something so wonderful and learn more about Florentine customs/cooking.
Amazing cooking class with Cinzia! She was so warm and welcoming. Felt like we were visiting an old friend. Highly recommend this experience.
Cinzia was so kind in welcoming us into her home. She shared memories and cooking skills that we will take with us forever! We highly recommend this experience. It was the perfect way to celebrate our 10 year anniversary!
Our boys learned so much and have a new appreciation for international cuisine. We highly recommend Cinzia. She is wonderful. And the food was excellent!
Cinzia was a wonderful hostess as she welcomed us into her home and began to teach us to make homemade pasta (gnocchi, ravioli and tagliatelle) along with sauces using pumpkin, artichokes, pears, sausage and leaks. She was patient and wise and we had fun and enjoyed her amazing kitchen with all the best equipment-it was such a great experience for us and the food turned out to be delicious and very “Florentine”! By the end of the evening we were like family…highly recommend this experience while you are visiting Florence.
Fun, laid-back, and relaxed tour of the central market and restaurants above, then cooking with Alessio at his home nearby. We decided on the menu together, Alessio was very flexible. We learned new techniques for kneading dough I appreciated, & ways to prepare vegetables I've never heard of before. He's an expert on mushrooms and we learned so much. He made us feel welcome and comfortable.
What an amazing experience my Husband and I had with Cinzia in Florence. Starting in the shadows of the Duomo, we walked through the streets to a local coffee shop to enjoy an espresso and discuss what we would like to have on our menu for the evening. As we ventured through Florence to the various markets for bread, cheese, veggies and meat, Cinzia took the time to stop and discuss the many historical landmarks. We continued to visit the local shops and markets she used in the days following, as they had some of the best food and drinks we had during our week in Florence. Upon leaving the heart of the city, Cinzia drove us to the local B & B where the cooking class took place. A private, cozy kitchen awaited and the cooking began. Using herbs we hand cut from the garden below, Cinzia took us step by step, cut by cut through a traditional Italian dinner experience. We cannot recommend enough the entire experience from start to finish. Better yet, Cinzia will send you the recipes so you can repeat once home with your family and friends.
My husband and I enjoyed every moment of this market tour and class, from our shopping through our pasta lesson through dinner conversation. Cinzia is a great instructor and a lovely, warm host. As a pastry professional, I had a great time talking with her about ingredients, cooking for those with allergies and special diets (she's an expert, trust me), and real Tuscan cooking. She had great tips to share that I will use in my own home cooking, and introduced my husband and I to such an easy way of making fresh pasta that we have no excuse not to do it in the future. I will add that if you cook and love cooking, it's really worth it to take a private class - you get the kind of hands-on experience and attention you simply cannot get in a group.
My husband and I enjoyed our time with Cinzia touring several little shops for fresh ingredients and gelato before heading to our class. She is very knowledgeable about the city of Florence, and we learned a lot from her about some of the more recent history of the city and the stores. Cooking with Cinzia was a lot of fun! She catered to our vegetarian diet, and we prepared tagliatelle and ravioli from scratch. We also had a delicious eggplant, mozzarella, and fresh pesto dish, as well as a scrumptious panna cotta. The private setting made it more enjoyable than being in a big group with people you don’t know. Definitely recommend trying this private tour and cooking class with Cinzia!
