Venice Cooking Class: Authentic Italian Cuisine with Massimo

Immerse yourself in the culinary traditions of Venice with a market tour and private cooking class. Learn to make homemade pasta and warm focaccia bread from a passionate local chef.

Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Mercati di Rialto - Massimo is a fun and entertaining Venetian (and officer with the Merchant Navy) passionate about sharing his love for Venice and his family’s recipes. If you choose the market tour option, begin your culinary experience with a guided tour of Mercato di Rialto, Venice’s main market where the locals shop. Explore the market on foot and discover fresh and seasonal produce from Massimo’s favorite vendors. Purchase fresh fish from a fishmonger before returning to Massimo’s home on San Marco for your cooking class.

  • San Marco - Join Massimo in his kitchen to learn to cook regional Italian dishes. During your 1-hour lesson, learn to make handmade pasta and focaccia using seasonal ingredients. Learn about the tips and techniques involved in cooking Italian food before enjoying the meal with Massimo. Your meal includes prosecco and Ribolla Gialla from Massimo’s family’s vineyard or red wine. A truly special way to enjoy Venice with a local.
    Below is a sample menu:
    • Homemade rosemary and caramelized onion foccacia
    • Baked scallops or prosciutto and Alpine cheeses
    • Fresh salad in an Italian vinaigrette
    • Strozzapreti, hand-rolled pasta in a homemade sauce
    • Italian dessert served with liqueur

If you choose the cooking class only option (no market tour), meet Massimo at Campo Sant Anzolo, on top of the Ponte dei frati bridge.

What's Included
  • Homecooked meal
  • Hands-on cooking class
  • Guided tour of Mercato di Rialto
  • Alcoholic Beverages
What's Not Included
  • Hotel pick up and drop off
Additional Information

If you’ve always wanted to master the art of traditional Italian cuisine during your visit to Venice, your search ends here. Accompany your host, Massimo, on this 4-hour journey as you visit the Mercato di Rialto together, purchasing the fresh ingredients needed for your cooking lesson. Follow Massimo to his residence where you’ll be taught to prepare genuine Italian meals, followed by a sit-down meal at his dining table featuring the dishes you’ve just learnt to create. The lesson includes the preparation of handmade pasta and warm, inviting focaccia bread!

Massimo’s culinary skills stem from many generations of his family owning a restaurant. His mother and nonna were instrumental in shaping his love for food. He relishes the opportunity to host tourists at his house to allow him the opportunity to express his fervor for cooking as well as his beloved city.

Massimo resides in a historic 600-year-old structure situated at the core of Venice, boasting a delightful outdoor terrace. He specializes in dishes that represent the Veneto region, encompassing Venice and Bologna. The cuisine showcases a sound tradition of featuring seafood from the coast and meat from the hinterland.

  • If any travelers in your party have any allergies, dietary restrictions or cooking preferences please advise at time of booking - Massimo can offer vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free meals.
  • NOTE: Meeting location is different if you choose the cooking class only option (no market tour). Meet Massimo at Campo Sant Anzolo, on top of the Ponte dei frati bridge. You can take water bus #1 to get here.
  • Private, personalized experience
Location
Caffè Vergnano 1882
For your market tour, meet Massimo at Caffe Vergnano 1882, a cafe close to the Rialto bridge. Massimo will be waiting for you outside the cafe. If you choose the cooking class only (no market tour), meet Massimo at his home. Address can be found in the "Before you go" section in your confirmation.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(40 Ratings)
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Chelsea_c
Aug 1, 2024
Bravissimo! - This was well worth the money! Massimo is such an amazing host and went above and beyond what I was expected. The food was amazing and I would recommend this experience to anyone who is looking for a personalized cooking class in Venice.
Review provided by Viator
Kelly6547
Jul 25, 2024
A TRUE VENETIAN TASTE - We did this for our last night in Venice and we are so glad we did! It was a lot of fun, Massimo were really pleasant, and really sweet, funny, and taught us some cool new things. We made 3 different pastas, and a ricotta cake for dessert. The food came out delicious and we got the recipes to make at home. 100% recommend .
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Christina_m
Jul 21, 2024
Feel like you are being welcomed into a friend's home for a homemade lunch in Venice - We started at the Rialto Market where we met Massimo for a guided tour of the market and the fish market, which was perfect because my son is obsessed with fish. We picked out some shrimp and tuna for lunch along with some beautiful tomatoes. From here we walked with Massimo to his house were he prepared a beautiful lunch for us. He was amazing with my son…involved Jude in making pasta by hand, focaccia from scratch, and of course letting him touch the seafood. He prepared a tomato salad with the Cuore di Bue tomatoes we had purchased at the market, homemade pasta (strozzapreti pasta) with shrimp and tuna, homemade focaccia (half with rosemary and half with onion), artichoke hearts purchased from the market, an array of meats and cheeses with honey from the dolomites, and his families red and white wines from his hometown of Trieste. We were with him for about four hours and felt like we had been welcomed into an old friend’s home for a leisurely candle-lit lunch.
Review provided by Viator
Dream622042
Jul 10, 2024
A new friend in Venice - I felt like a venetian.Just loved this experience. Took a day class with my family and we visit Rialto market and we do the best cooking class ever. Started at the Rialto Market, then went to the vegetable and seafood- Massimo an authentic saior from Venice was a great guide...and an amazing chef! The highlight is Massimo who is energetic, opinionated, open and welcoming. After picking the most interesting, we prepared a number of amazing dishes. Massimo asked my son to arrange some music and it felt more like a get-together among friends with an interest in cooking than a formal class- we share italian and american colture. If you want a formal class with a white apron and a textbook, this is probably not for you.Highly recommend this experience if you want to feel a bit of what it is to be a Venetian.Ps his ancient house and the quality of seafood was excellent.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Katherine77hm
Jul 10, 2024
A PRIVATE COOKING CLASS AND RIALTO MARKET TOUR FOR US! - Genuine.Had a wonderful time learning how to make fresh pasta. Massimo is a sailor but also an amazing chef, made the experience extra fun, and eating the pasta at the end was yummy. 10/10 would recommend. He finish with a special game for us- and the ancient Venice was a dream with his stories! Massimo we come back!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
V5239shbrendas
Jul 10, 2024
The Best Focaccia ever- amazing sea food - The hystory of Venice in a plate.FUN - TASTY- AMAZING. The best seafood selected from a chef/sailor.Charming home. Thank you ! We come back again!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Willtoleo
Jul 4, 2024
AMAZING EXPERIENCE WITH A LOCAL CHEF AND...SAILOR! - Amazing.A PRIVATE COOKING CLASS FOR MY FAMILY! Best experience. AND Best food of our vacation. Hands-down. Chef is knowledgeable, engaging, and makes the experience and comfortable and enjoyable, but Max is also a sailor full of stories of Venice and sea's stories. An occasion for visit Rialto market with him-taste the best fish- and cooking in his fancy ancient home!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
J8857iusi
Jun 19, 2024
Best Cooking Class Ever - This cooking class with Massimo was fantastic! He is entertaining, charming, and an excellent chef. We drank, laughed, cooked and ate together in his home. This was truly an unforgettable experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
A3102eqchristopherf
Jun 19, 2024
Best Cooking Experience we have ever had! - When my wife and I booked this, we had read amazing reviews but still did not know what to expect. We met up with Massimo near the market were he taught us a lot about the different seafood that comes into Venice and what it’s suppose to look like to ensure the freshness when cooking. He later on brought us in to his lovely home and treated us just like family. We drank, we cooked and we ate together like long lost friends. It was an incredible experience to learn more about the culture, Massimo himself and also enjoy a fantastic meal in the process. Thank you so much Massimo we hope to do another cooking class with you the next time we are in Venezia!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jamieml4321yk
Jun 8, 2024
Familia, entertaining, Belissimo - Where can I start. Best experience in Venice. Mazzini was authentic, entertaining , and it was like a family meal prepared with lots of laughs and love. Learned many tips and most importantly when cooking from your heart nothing has to be perfect to be amazing. Food and company in our small group of 5 was so special. We will treasure this memory forever.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 15 guests
2 Adult
September 2024
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