Sorrento: Pasta Making Class & Wine at Nonna Flora Kitchen

4.97

(146 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll admit it: I was nervous about kneading dough in front of strangers. The kitchen at Nonna Flora is right in the middle of Sorrento’s old town, and it smells like flour and basil even before you walk in. Our guide—Francesca, who actually grew up nearby—handed me a limoncello spritz as soon as I arrived, which helped. There were aprons everywhere and someone’s playlist humming quietly under the chatter. I still remember how the marble countertop felt cool under my palms when we started rolling out spaghetti.

We made two kinds of pasta (spaghetti and ravioli), both from scratch, which is harder than it looks on Instagram. Francesca showed us how to pinch the ravioli edges so they wouldn’t burst—mine looked a bit wonky but nobody cared. She laughed when I tried to say “semola rimacinata” with my American accent. The sauces bubbled away while we swapped stories—one couple was celebrating an anniversary, another guy just wanted to eat carbs without judgment. When we finally sat down together for lunch, there was local wine on the table and that red sauce tasted way better because we’d made it ourselves.

I didn’t expect to enjoy making tiramisu as much as I did (I’m usually not a dessert person), but dipping those ladyfingers into espresso felt oddly satisfying. The kitchen windows were open and you could hear scooters outside mixed with someone’s laughter inside. After coffee—Neapolitan style, strong enough to wake the dead—we toasted with limoncello again. They sent us home with digital photos of our messy hands and slightly lopsided pasta shapes. I still think about that view from the window, sunlight hitting the tiled rooftops while we ate together—felt like being part of someone’s family for an afternoon.