Sorrento: Garden Cooking Class & Fresh Ingredient Picking

4.99

(138 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We stepped through the old iron gate and right away, I caught this mix of basil and lemon leaves—sort of earthy, sort of sweet. Our host, Giulia, waved us over with a basket (she called it her “magic bowl,” which made me laugh) and we wandered between tomato vines and these wild-looking zucchini flowers. She showed us how to twist them off gently—“like you’re saying good morning,” she said in Italian. I tried to repeat it back and she grinned, probably forgiving my accent. The sun was just starting to dip behind the olive trees but it was still warm on my arms.

Inside the kitchen, which honestly felt more like someone’s living room than a classroom, we got to work on gnocchi alla sorrentina. The dough was stickier than I expected—my hands were covered in flour and I kept sneaking little tastes of the sauce when Giulia turned around. She told us her grandmother used to make eggplant parmesan every Sunday and showed us how to layer everything “with patience.” There was this moment when everyone went quiet except for the clink of forks and the faint sound of someone’s phone buzzing on the counter. Kind of peaceful actually.

I didn’t expect to laugh so much over tiramisu or end up swapping stories with a couple from Naples about whose nonna had the best recipe. When we finally sat outside under those big leafy branches, eating what we’d made (and sipping Limoncello spritzes that tasted almost too fresh), it felt like being at a family table—even though none of us had met before that afternoon. I still think about that light coming through the olive leaves while we ate dessert, you know?