Verona: Gelato Making Class & Semifreddo Workshop

4.85

(144 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We ducked out of the afternoon bustle and stepped into this little kitchen tucked away in Verona. The air was sweet — not just from the fruit, but from that warm, milky scent you get when cream hits steel bowls. Our chef, Lucia, greeted us with a grin and flour-dusted apron. She handed me an apron too (mine was definitely less stylish) and we all crowded around the counter. I tried to pronounce “semifreddo” properly — Lucia laughed, corrected me gently, and then showed us how to pick out ripe strawberries by smell alone. I’d never really noticed how loud fresh berries are until then, if that makes sense.

We started making gelato from scratch — like actually chopping fruit, measuring sugar, and learning why Italian gelato is softer than ice cream back home. Lucia explained pasteurization while my daughter kept sneaking spoonfuls of cream (caught red-handed every time). There was this part where we churned everything together and I swear it felt like time slowed down for a second; everyone got quiet except for the soft whirring and someone’s phone buzzing in another room. When we finally tasted our gelato, it was cold and silky but not icy — just right. Not what I expected at all.

Afterwards, we made semifreddo too — something about folding whipped cream into fruit that made even my clumsy hands look competent for once. Lucia shared her family’s recipe book with us before we left (I still have mine on the kitchen shelf). We sat around with the rest of the group eating what we’d made together, swapping stories about where we were from or how badly we’d messed up our first attempts at tiramisu years ago. I keep thinking about that kitchen light — golden and low — and how easy it was to feel at home there, even though my Italian is mostly hand gestures.