Florence: Tuscan Cooking Class with Fire, Wine & Dinner

4.89

(38 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I didn’t expect to smell woodsmoke before I even saw the kitchen. We’d just rolled out of Florence — not far, maybe half an hour? — and already the air felt different: softer, with that grassy-sweet thing you get in the Tuscan hills. Our guide, Marco, was waiting by this old stone house. He grinned and handed us tiny glasses of something sparkling (I forgot the name — it was cold and tasted like apples) while we all tried to remember each other’s names.

The “kitchen” turned out to be half outside, half inside, which made sense once I saw the fire pit. There was a home cook named Lucia who barely spoke English but somehow made everyone laugh anyway — she kept waving her hands and saying “pici!” until we finally got it right. Making pasta from scratch is messier than I thought; flour everywhere, sticky fingers, but honestly kind of meditative after a while. The main keyword here is patience (and maybe a little humility). Marco poured us Chianti as we worked — he said it helps the dough relax. Not sure if that’s true but it helped me relax.

Later, when Lucia started grilling bistecca alla fiorentina over open flames, the smell changed again — richer, smokier. She let me try flipping one steak (not my finest moment), and Li laughed when I tried to say “bistecca” in Italian. We ate everything at this long wooden table outside: pasta, steak, some kind of almond dessert that crumbled in your mouth. The sun dipped behind olive trees and someone put on music from their phone — nothing fancy but it fit.

I still think about that first bite of handmade pici tangled up with wild herbs and olive oil. It wasn’t perfect but it tasted like effort and laughter and a little bit of smoke clinging to my shirt for hours after. If you’re looking for a day trip from Florence that feels real (and includes dinner with wine), this Tuscan cooking class is probably it.