Oct 9, 2024
True Italian Experience - This is a must do when in Varenna. Antonietta was the best! She accommodated a gluten free allergy and prepared gluten free pasta. So delicious. Admittedly, it is a bit of a ride but she helped arrange for transportation. She loves cooking and truly treats you like a member of the family.
Review provided by Viator
Aug 15, 2024
Private cooking class in the best locals home! - This was AMAZING! This totally exceeded our expectations. We felt so welcomed by Luca and Patrizia. The food was delicious and the views were breath taking. They are the best and made our experience incredible. I highly recommend booking a class with them you won’t regret it! We will definitely be back.
Kayleigh
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aug 6, 2024
Food with Feeling - This was a wonderful experience - to be welcomed in to true Italian hospitality and in a jaw dropping location, overlooking the lake.
Antonietta was so friendly and welcoming and fully adapted her cooking course for both me and my 6yo. He had an excellent time working the pasta machines and I learned a lot and feel more confident to make pasta and tiramisu from scratch. The meal was really delicious and we left full, smiling and happy.
The one surprise was that the Cesarine I was matched with was some way away from Varenna, so be aware that there may be extra costs involved in getting there.
Overall, it was worth the cost though, and provided one of the most rewarding and memorable nights of our trip.
Review provided by Viator
Jul 7, 2024
Highly recommend!!! - Luca and Patricia were amazing! They were so kind, inclusive, and beyond thoughtful! We had one person with a gluten allergy and one person with a buckwheat allergy and they were able to accommodate us. The class was instructive, fun, and Patricia made sure everyone had a chance to try out every step! We cannot wait to make this meal for our friends and family. Also the setting was breath taking! Highly recommend!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 11, 2024
Magical evening in Varenna! - My husband and I enjoyed our evening in Varenna with Monica. The experience will be one we remember always. The location, the food, our teacher and of course the weather all made it magical! Truly amazing!
Review provided by Viator
Apr 8, 2024
Best Experience On Lake Como! - This cooking class was a phenominal experience . The local couple was so sweet, and made their home our home. They were incredibly welcoming and kind. We were late and they were so patient with us, and excited that we were able to make it. They were a joy to learn to cook with. Best part of the trip was gettting to know them and learning from them! I will add that if the email says “meeting point” it is wrong. Just take a taxi to the address that is provided after booking. Great experience and amazing food!!!
Review provided by Viator
Mar 11, 2024
Very nice evening - Great evening, Patrizia and Luca were very sympathetic hosts! We very much enjoyed the cooking, eating and the lively conversation. Can fully recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 2, 2023
Great class in a cozy kitchen with a pleasant local instructor - Our host, Monica, was very pleasant and eager to make our class enjoyable. My wife is gluten-free and Monica purchased gluten-free flour so she could include gluten-free pasta from scratch as part of our class…and she had never used it before, so it was even a new experience for her.
Her facility was in a space one might have considered only good for storage, but she had cleverly designed it as a full kitchen and dining area with a private bathroom as well as a gallery area where she displays some of her artwork. It was very cozy.
The meal was great and we even got to meet another couple who were friends of hers and owned a shop in Varenna. We ended up going by the shop the next day and my wife purchased a necklace there.
All in all, a fun experience that I would do again. My only criticism (and this might have been more of a Viator issue than the instructor) was that I was asked to fill out a fairly extensive questionnaire upon confirmation of our class and after I did so, I never heard anything again about our planned menu. We didn’t receive Monica’s contact information until a day or two before the class and she ended up having to make some last-minute adjustments to meet my wife’s gluten-free requirements. I don’t know if Viator didn’t pass on the questionnaire or if Monica forgot about it, but it was a little disconcerting to be asked to fill out the questionnaire and then have it appear that nobody looked at it. Fortunately, we did contact Monica in time to make everything work and all turned out well; but I was disappointed that there was still uncertainty right up to the day of the class.
Review provided by Viator
Sep 2, 2024
Somewhat disappointing, average/good food. - Address for the meeting place was not the correct location. It would be great if they would update the address on the ticket reservation with a the correct address prior to the event, but they send an address via email later after you make the reservation, so you have to remember to look through your emails, not the ticket reservation for the event. Because of this mixup, we were 20 minutes late to the cooking class. The instructor was very friendly, but the class felt rushed and was not very hands-on. I understand that she had another class at 2 o’clock, but we definitely felt that we were booted out the door at 1 o’clock sharp . The instructor did most of the prep work, we did very little, so that was disappointing. I am comparing it to a cooking class I took in Monterroso a couple years ago. The environment was very nice, and we met two other travelers during cooking class. Ravioli was very good, tiramisu was excellent, tagliatelle was average with my husband and I mostly having noodles with no sauce because we used very few ingredients.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jul 3, 2024
BEWARE! Do not sign up unless you have transportation. The class may be far away! - DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS CLASS UNLESS YOU HAVE TRANSPORTATION! YOU WON'T GET THE ADDRESS OF THE CLASS UNTIL THE DAY BEFORE, AND BY THE TIME YOU READ YOUR EMAIL, IT IS LIKELY TO BE TOO LATE TO GET A REFUND IF YOU CANCEL. WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET A REFUND.
The class was advertised as being in Varenna. Since we were staying in Bellagio, we were careful to check to make sure that we could get to Varenna with time to spare before the 10:00 am class started.
We were notified the day before the class that, in fact, the class was considerably outside Varenna--12 kilometers away!
The promotional materials gave no indication that one would need to either have a car or spend 100E on a taxi (50E each way) to reach the class. It was literally impossible for us to get to Varenna, find a taxi, and get to 10:00 a.m. class. (Even if it had been possible, we would have incurred unreasonable added expense for a taxi.)
We were not notified of the class location with enough time to cancel the 10:00 a.m. class. As soon as we learned about the actual location of the class, we tried to cancel for a refund. However, by then, it was less than 24 hours before the class started, and our request was denied.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
