Cooking Masterclass & Food Walking Tour

Thomaz was a great tour guide. We visited the patisserie, cafe, and olive oil store before our cooking class. At the patisserie we experienced traditional savory and sweet baked goods made from historical recipes. We had our first experience of traditional Italian espresso at the cafe. We were able to taste first press olive oil and balsamic vinegar at the olive oil store. Our last stop was at a local restaurant where we had our cooking class. The venue was a good location with a separate room next to the kitchen. We made gnocchi, eggplant Parmesan, pesto, and Cantucci di Prato. All the recipes were easy to make and tasted delicious. Any cooking level experience would enjoy this class. They also provided the recipes for everything that we made.

This was a highlight of my 5 day trip to Florence. The food we cooked was excellent. The restaurant space was perfect. I learned some great new tips and recipes I'll make again. I'd give the cooking portion of the experience 5 stars (though, in a couple of cases, it could have been improved slightly with more supplies (e.g. two scales) so there could be less waiting as the ingredients were passed between the six of us. I was less entranced by the tour before the cooking experience. First, it would have been nice to know breakfast was going to be purchased along the route - not knowing that, I ate in advance. Second, I thought our breakfast stop, to teach us about different Italian breads and pastries, was pretty mediocre. I can't imagine that was the best pastry shop Florence had to offer...and if it was, I'd skip the stop. I found the tour itself pretty redundant of other tours I'd done in Florence. Maybe instead of sharing familiar facts about Florentine architecture, the chef might share some gastronomical history or little known facts about Florentine food? Or go to the Mercato Centrale? I think there's a lot of potential to make this tour really extraordinary. So I rated this a 4-star tour for now; it was definitely a highlight - I'd do it again and recommend it strongly. But a few tweaks of the tour portion would make it a wow.

Great morning shop and cook. Instructor great presenter. Walking tour included related to buying the fresh ingredients and flavorings for the lunch. Broke up tasks among participants. Menu tasty, walked away with useful information and skills. Nice way to experience the heart of Florence - the food.

Marco was amazing! Very professional and a wonderful chef. I highly recommend this tour for anyone wanting to experience really Italian cooking :)