Have your ever wanted to learn the secrets of Greek cooking? If so, then consider adding a cooking class to your Greek travel itinerary.
When you travel in Greece, you’ll find out very quickly that Greek food is drop-dead amazing and consistently tastier than any food I’ve eaten anywhere.
Sure, I’ve had great meals in France, Italy, Spain, and even North America, but Greece wins hands down when it comes to consistency, taste, and freshness.
To learn why Greek food is so great–and more importantly, how to prepare it myself, my daughter Julia and I decide take a cooking class at Savor Nafplio Cooking while staying in lovely little Nafplio.
In the three-hour class, we learn how to prepare Greek dishes and then enjoy a five-course meal complete with wine pairings.
Arrival at Savor Nafplio Cooking Class
We arrive at 5 pm to discover that we are the only two participants. Chef Kostas is a wonderful host and teacher. He keeps us enthralled and engaged throughout the class.
I’ve taken several cooking classes while traveling in Europe, and the class at Savor Nafplio Cooking ranks as one of the best.
Chef Kostas starts the evening by sharing the menu and telling us what to expect. We then dive right into work.
Main Course: Lamb Bogana
The main course of the four-course meal is lamb and potatoes. Since both must cook for at least two hours, we start by preparing the lamb followed by the potatoes. Kostas shows me how to cut slits in the lamb and insert small slivers of garlic, along with sprinklings of salt and pepper. Meanwhile, Julia is put to work making the paste to rub over the lamb.
I also peel potatoes to layer under the lamb. While we work, Kostas provides us with a wealth of useful tips and information about what we are doing—and why.
Appetizer: Beef-Stuffed Zucchini
Once the lamb and potatoes are in the oven, we set to work making the beef-stuffed zucchini. Julia and I learn how to core a zucchini (harder than it looks!), and then we prepare the meat filling. We mix fesh herbs, an egg, plenty of olive oil, and green onions with ground beef and then stuff the mixture into the hollowed-out zucchinis.
Kostas nestles three stuffed zucchinis into a pan half-filled with water. Later, we’ll smother them in a delectable egg and lemon sauce.
Tomato Salad with Cucumber Soup
Kostas teaches us how to prepare cucumbers for pureeing into a refreshing green soup. He uses small cucumbers which he says are less bitter. To ensure the soup is a pleasing color of green, but not too bitter, he instructs me to peel the cucumber in stripes. Cool tip.
Later, he serves the cucumber soup under a mound of cut up Greek salad fixings–tomatoes, onions, olives, capers and some crunchy bread bits all topped with fresh feta cheese. Delicious!
Orange Pie
Traditional Greek orange pie is what I’d call cake—a light, orange-flavored sponge soaked in an orange syrup. Kostas demonstrates how to prepare and measure the many ingredients required for the pie.
One of my jobs is to cut a roll of filo pastry into thin ribbons and then mix them with eggs and fresh orange juice. The filo is a substitute for flour. Its texture will give the pie a lighter texture than it would if made with flour. Interesting idea!
Dining at Savor Nafplio
With all the food prepared, the dining and wine tasting begins. Kostas brings out a small loaf of warm sourdough bread for us to dip in local olive oil flavored with local sea salt. The bread is so good that I eat too much of it and then later have trouble finishing all my dinner.
Kostas pairs five wines with the various courses—from a light white to an after-dinner dessert wine. Kostas explains each wine—its origins in Greece and what to expect while tasting. I thoroughly enjoy tasting the wine and sampling the dinner courses.
Here are pictures of the meal we enjoyed at Savor Nafplio Cooking.
One of the five local white wines we sampled Lamb Bogana with potatoes for the main courseOrange pie with Kaimaki ice cream for dessertTomato Salad with Cucumber SoupAppetizer of stuffed zucchini with lemon egg sauce
Booking a Class at Savor Nafplio Cooking
Kostas varies the menu depending on the preferences of the guests. We’d specified no fish or shellfish so they weren’t on the menu. He also looks at what’s fresh in the local market and consults his own mood. The menu we enjoyed may not be the menu a guest would enjoy on another night. I am, however, confident that whatever the menu, the cooking experience will be first-rate.
Carol Cram with Chef Kostas at Savor Nafplio Cooking Class
If you’re visiting Nafplio, I recommend finding three hours in your schedule to take a cooking class and enjoy a meal and wine pairings at Savor Nafplio Cooking. You get excellent value for the money and learn new cooking tips.
Cooking Classes in Greece
Here are some GetYourGuide cooking classes available in Greece:
Have you taken a cooking class while traveling? Share your recommendations in the Comments below. Here are more posts about cooking classes I’ve taken when traveling.
In the aftermath of the pandemic, everyone and their cousin who wants to travel and can travel is heading for Europe. Recently, Italy was named the number one tourist destination in the world, with France close behind. Many destinations are full to bursting with visitors, which means sold-out accommodations, packed beaches, and museums filled to the rafters.
Some communities, such as Barcelona and Malaga in Spain, and Santorini in Greece, have even launched campaigns to limit the number of tourists permitted to invade their hometowns at any one time.
Introduction
I’ve experienced my share of crowds all flocking to experience the same iconic sites—the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, the Uffizi in Florence, the Colosseum in Rome, the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Thousands surge into spaces meant for hundreds, each holding aloft a smartphone to capture the moment.
The joys of travel—discovering new places, meeting new people, learning new things, enjoying great art—quickly dwindle in the face of relentless crowds, inflated prices, and grumpy locals.
Interacting with Locals
When you travel to a new place, consider looking for opportunities to interact with locals instead of lining up for the big-ticket sites. Sample local food, check out off-the-beaten path museums and galleries, meet local artists and artisans, go to local concerts, ride public transit, and wander around back streets where local people live.
You can do all these things in even the most heavily-touristed destinations if you’re willing to zig away from the crowds rather than zag towards them. Doing so may require you to skip the most famous—and crowded—sites. But the rewards more than make up for any lingering feelings of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).
Here are my top ten ways to joyously enjoy your European travels.
1. Check Restaurant Reviews
Chances are you’re traveling with a smartphone. Use it to find restaurants that fellow travelers and especially locals have rated highly. Ever since I started checking reviews and purposely choosing restaurants instead of wandering the streets in hopes of finding a place, I’ve enjoyed numerous awesome dining experiences.
In fact, I can safely say that almost every highly rated restaurant I’ve eaten at in Europe in the last few years was a winner.
A Parisian café is a great place to people watch while enjoying a trip to Europe
Search Criteria
I search for restaurants that have at least a 4.5-star average review and then read what people say about the quality of the food and the service. If most of the best reviews are in the local language, that’s a plus because it means the restaurant is well frequented by locals.
Make Reservations
Once I’ve made my choice, I visit the restaurant’s website and call to reserve a table or use the online booking system if it’s available. I’ve found in recent years that reservations are essential in many popular places. Without one, you may well be wandering for quite some time before finding a well-reviewed restaurant with available tables.
Note that during busy periods, you may have better luck choosing a reservation time when the restaurant opens (usually 7 or 8 pm, depending on the location). Europeans tend to eat dinner later than North Americans. If you make a reservation for 7 pm, you may well have the restaurant to yourself.
A good rule of thumb in any big European city is to steer clear of restaurants that are full of tour groups reading multi-lingual plasticated menus in high-rent locations such as the Piazza Navona in Rome.
Walk a few blocks away from the busy areas to quiet side streets and you’ll find favorite local restaurants with superb food.
Ask a Local for Recommendations
Another good strategy is to ask your hotel to recommend a local restaurant and then make a reservation for you. Every time we’ve gone to a restaurant recommended by our hotel, we’ve had a great meal.
For a giggle, check out what happened to me when I did not follow my own advice in Bella Roma Rip-off, one of the pieces inPastel & Pen: Two Ways of Seeing, a collaboration of my writing with Gregg Simpson’s artwork. Gregg is an artist and my husband and usual travel companion.
2. Seek Out Lesser-Known Museums
Your sightseeing time is precious. Instead of spending it waiting in long lines, seek out museums and other sites that may be less well known but are just as interesting (sometimes more so) and considerably less crowded. These days, you’ll stand in line to tour the big sites even if you book ahead. On a recent trip to Pompeii, I lined up for forty minutes to get my skip-the-line ticket that I’d purchased online days earlier, and then lined up for another twenty minutes in the skip-the-line line to get into Pompeii.
Instead of sweating in the queue outside the Louvre in Paris, visit the lovely Rodin Museum.
In Amsterdam, skip the Van Gogh Museum (or go very early in the day) and visit the charming and informative Rembrandt Huis.
In Rome, forget the Vatican Museum and head instead to the marvelous Etruscan Museum that houses an incredible collection of treasures. Both times I’ve visited, the museum was virtually empty, which is in no way a reflection on the quality of the displays. The museum just happens to be so far off the beaten track of Rome’s iconic sites that few tourists find it.
The Etruscan Museum is one of Rome’s most interesting museums
Lesser-Known Museums to Visit
Here are posts about some of my favorite lesser-known and fabulous museums:
If you’ve checked out other posts on Artsy Traveler, you’ll know that a lot of my European travel centers around my husband’s art exhibitions. Most exhibitions include an opening (a vernissage in France; an inaugurazione in Italy). These events often include food and wine, and a short talk by the artist and the curator. They are also free to anyone who wants to drop in.
We’ve frequently met fellow travelers at Gregg’s openings, in addition to local art lovers, and have attended the openings of exhibitions by other artists—some we knew, some we didn’t. We always have a memorable time!
Art openings at private galleries in Europe are usually free and open to everyone
Finding Art Openings
To find art openings, check online listings. Also, stroll areas that have a lot of art galleries, such as the Left Bank and Marais districts in Paris. You’ll have the most luck finding an opening in the early evening on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
If you pass an art gallery hosting an opening, don’t be shy! Walk in and say hello, check out some artwork, and maybe even have a glass of wine and an appetizer. You’re bound to meet a few locals who speak English, or you can practice your language skills.
4. Attend Local Concerts and Events
One of my favorite things to do when traveling in Europe is going to classical music concerts. Sometimes, I book tickets ahead of time to see a particular concert, but at other times, I look for posters and flyers.
On a recent trip to Siena, I picked up a flyer in our hotel advertising an intimate concert with a singer and pianist held in a local church. It was magical!
While in Rome, we saw a poster advertising concerts at the stylish Auditorium Parco della Musica well off the tourist beat north of the city. We bought tickets, and enjoyed two fantastic concerts with other music lovers, the vast majority of whom were locals.
Classical music concerts are top quality and reasonably priced
Tourist Concerts
I find that attending concerts in Europe really enhances my appreciation of the local culture. Even if the concert is advertised for tourists—such as a flamenco performance in Seville—it’s going to be good.
Trust me on this. We’ve enjoyed fado in Lisbon, flamenco in Spain, medieval music in southern France, opera in Paris, folk music in Bacharach on the Rhine, Vivaldi in Venice, Stravinsky in Berlin, Chopin in Leipzig, Shostakovich in Hamburg…I could go on and on.
And best of all, prices for classical music concerts in some of the world’s best concert venues are shockingly reasonable compared to what we pay to attend a concert in Canada.
Local performances are generally authentic and well worth the price
5. Ride Public Transit
Few travel experiences bring you closer to locals than riding busses, trains, and metros. These days, you can pay for most transit options with a tap of your credit card. I love hopping on a bus and following my progress on Google Maps, so I know exactly where to get off.
I also enjoy people-watching on public transit. On very crowded busses and metros, just be sure to keep a good grip on your valuables. While violent crime in Europe is rare, pickpockets do flourish in crowded cities.
Take a city bus in Europe and enjoy great people watching
A Cautionary Tale
A word of caution about bus travel. If you happen to have a paper ticket, ALWAYS remember to validate it when you get on the bus. I learned this lesson the hard way. On a recent stay in Turin, I got on the bus, paper ticket in hand, and noticed that no one else was validating their tickets at the machine. I wrongly presumed that validation wasn’t required. Maybe it was a special holiday?
Ten minutes later, an inspector got on the bus and started checking tickets. Everyone on the bus held up their smartphones. As tourists, we had only the paper tickets we’d purchased from the local tobacconist. When the inspector came to Gregg and me and tried to scan our tickets—nada. My protestations of being a dumb tourist fell on deaf ears. That mistake cost us 40 euros—each.
So, just because no one else is validating their ticket doesn’t mean you shouldn’t validate your ticket!
6. Shop for Food in Local Markets
Shopping for snacks, lunches and the occasional dinner in your hotel room or apartment not only lets you experience life as a temporary local, but it also saves you money. In general, food prices are lower in Europe (although starting to rise). The quality of the fresh produce is also far superior to what is found in the average North American grocery store.
I love prowling the aisles of a European supermarket and ordering pre-made food at the in-store delis. I’ve typically found the staff to be friendly and tolerant of my attempts to at least say hello, good-bye and thank you in their language.
Outdoor Markets
Be on the lookout for open-air markets where you’ll find a dizzying array of foods along with clothing and knick-knacks. Some cities also have large indoor markets, such as the Mercado de Triana in Seville.
Interact with locals while browsing outdoor markets in Europe
7. Take a Cooking Class
When you take a cooking class in Europe, you’ll meet travelers from around the world and learn from a local chef. I’m a firm fan of cooking classes and take one every chance I get.
In a tapas class I took in Madrid, I met fellow travelers from Australia, Holland, the UK, France, and Korea.
8. Go on a Walking Tour
I’ve also become a big fan of walking tours, particularly specialty tours that cater to a specific interest. In Rome, I went on a walking tour of the old Jewish ghetto. In London, I explored the back alleys and colorful history of the Covent Garden theater district. In Stratford-upon-Avon, I joined three other people for a small walking tour with a guide pretending to be William Shakespeare.
Walking tours usually take you behind the scenes and to places where regular bus tours can’t go. The guides are often locals who are very enthusiastic about their subject and love showing off hidden gems.
A great source for walking tours is GuruWalk. All the tours listed are pay-what-you-can and run by locals. Here are some of the free walks available from GuruWalk in Paris.
9. Skip the Iconic Sites
Yes, this recommendation is blasphemy but heeding it could make the difference between reveling in a relaxing and memorable European vacation and enduring one that leaves you hot, bothered, and blistered. When you’re planning what you want to see, consider not visiting super popular sites such as the Colosseum in Rome, the ruins in Pompeii, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Instead, choose smaller, lesser-known museums and sites, and leave more time for wandering.
By all means, stroll past the Colosseum and view the Eiffel Tower from one of the bridges. Snap some photos and drink in the view. Then, veer off into a shady side street and enjoy an hour or tour wandering around a quiet neighborhood, sitting in a park, and enjoying a drink at an outdoor café surrounded by locals.
See the Colosseum from the outside only
Travel isn’t all about ticking off the big sites. Instead, think of travel as your opportunity to surround yourself with a kaleidoscope of interesting sights, sounds, and smells.
Slow down and savor the displays in a small museum, make time for a concert or an art opening, be on the lookout for a local festival, and just be.
10. Walk Away from the Crowds
Even in Venice, one of Europe’s busiest tourist cities, you can find solitude. Leave the busy piazzas and thoroughfares and within seconds, you’ll be wandering down narrow alleyways and crossing tiny bridges spanning sleepy canals that look like they haven’t been disturbed for centuries.
Even in crowded Venice, you can easily find quiet corners
I skirt the main tourist drags in busy towns by going left or right down the first narrow street I see. I may get a bit lost, but I’ll also find glorious solitude and the chance to commune with the past.
Siena’s Campo bustles with tourists but walk a few meters down a side street and you’re alone and surrounded by buildings that haven’t changed much in 700 years. And at night, you’ll even have the Campo all to yourself.
Have the Campo in Siena to yourself at night
Such opportunities for quiet encounters with history make European travel endlessly appealing.
I’m a huge fan of taking cooking classes when I travel around interesting locales that have unique cuisines. So far, I’ve taken a market class and a French sauces class (sweet and savory) in Paris, a tapas class in Madrid, and a pasta & tiramasu class in Rome (see my post about that awesome class here).
Choosing a Class in Rome
With two weeks to spend in Rome in 2024 (with a few days off to visit Naples and Paestum), I decided to take yet another cooking class. Most of classes available were variations on the pasta/tiramasu class I’d already taken, but after a bit of searching on Get Your Guide, I discovered a pizza and gelato-making class.
Perfect! I signed up on Tuesday for the class on Friday.
EnjoyCooking.com with Crown Tours
In 2022, I’d taken the pasta/tiramisu class with InRome Cooking, which I highly recommend. But this time, I decided to go with EnjoyCooking.com for the sake of variety and having a new company to write about on Artsy Traveler. EnjoyCooking.com partners with Crown Tours to offer cooking classes in a lovely, brick-arched space next door to their tour office and across the street from the Colosseum.
The day before the class, I got a WhatsApp call from the company. The family that had signed up to take the class at the same time as me had canceled, leaving me on my own. Did I want to postpone the class to the evening slot? I could not because in the evening, we had the opening of Gregg’s art exhibition at Il Leone Galleria in Rome. I was assured that they were happy to still offer the class at the 10 am time slot even if I was on my own. Lucky me!
Arrival at EnjoyCooking.com
I arrived on Friday morning and was ushered into the cooking space. There was room for eight people in a class so it was much more intimate than the class I took at InRome Cooking in 2022 which hosted I think twelve people. To my delight, there was one other woman in the class. Over the course of the next three hours, we bonded and had an awesome time.
Chef Marco!
But the biggest surprise was meeting the chef. In walked Marco–the same chef who had taught the pasta/tiramisu class at InRome Cooking. I couldn’t believe it! I told him I’d taken his class and showed him the blog post. He was so excited!
Back again with Chef Marco, this time at EnjoyCooking.com
So that was a great way to kick off the morning. Over the next three hours, Chef Marco led my new friend and me in a lively, hands on and informative class. I’m always amazed at how much I learn about cooking technique in these classes.
Gelato Making
We started with gelato. I discovered to my relief that the ice cream maker I’d purchased several years earlier could be dragged out, dusted off, and used to make gelato. Who knew?
We heated several pints of fresh milk in a pot over an electric hot plate. Marco informed us that the milk should be as fresh as possible–so fresh that it would spoil after three days. Of course, getting milk that fresh is pretty much impossible in North America unless you live on a farm, which I don’t. But the next best thing is high quality organic milk.
We heated the milk and whisked in sugar followed by ten egg yolks and grated lemon zest to make limone gelato. The lemons had come from the Amalfi coast and smelled divine.
After mixing the gelato, we poured it into the commercial gelato maker that would produce perfect gelato within thirty minutes. What an impressive looking machine!
Marco informed us that we would also make raspberry sorbetto to go along with the limone gelato. Sorbetto is even faster and easier to make than gelato. We mixed water with raspberries and once the gelato was made, we poured it into the gelato-maker (after the limone gelato was done, of course).
Here’s a video of the raspberry gelato being extruded from the gelato maker–an exceedingly beautiful and satisfying sight.
Suppli Making
I had never heard of suppli–a Roman street food that is widely available all over the city. Marco showed us how to take rice cooked in tomatoes and form it around fresh cubes of mozzarella cheese, then bread and deep fry it. The result was a log-shaped rectangle that when still hot and pulled apart stretched the warm mozzarella cheese. It was yummy but a bit rich for me at only 11 am!
But when in Rome!
Pizza Making
The main event of the cooking class was making pizza the proper way–aka like they make piazza in Napoli where Marco was from.
I learned that the pizza dough should be rested for two hours after mixing and then rested in the refrigerator for up to three days. That was something new to me. I’d always let my piazza dough rise for about an hour, if that, and then cooked it. Apparently, doing so results in dough that is still fermenting when it enters your tummy. Not good!
Mixing the Pizza Dough
We mixed the dough and kneaded it for about six minutes–a very satisfying process. The dough was light and very elastic. It was then put away to rest and presumably used for a class the next day. Marco then produced dough that had already been rested and risen for a day, and we proceeded to learn how to shape the dough into a pizza. Handling the soft, pliant dough was such a pleasure. We didn’t learn how to throw it in the air, but we did learn a few tricks I can apply back home.
Baking the Pizza
Another tip I learned was to slather on the tomato sauce first, bake the pizza for about six minutes in a home oven (much less in a high temperature commercial oven) and then add the toppings and cook for another three to four minutes. Who knew? I also learned that certain toppings such as prosciutto should not be cooked, but added after the pizza came out of the oven.
For best results, I was told that I should get myself a pizza stone so that’s going on my Christmas list for next year!
Topping the Pizza
After baking the pizza with the sauce, we were offered a wide array of toppings to dress our pizza. My companion chose mozzarella cheese and fresh sausage. I chose anchovies, mushrooms, olives, and of course mozzarella cheese. Here we are making our pizzas in front of the scrumptious assortment of toppings.
Finishing the Pizzas
The pizzas went back in the oven and voila! Within minutes they were being served to us. The first bites were wonderful–the crust slightly charred and very puffed up (the sign of a good pizza) and the toppings fresh. I managed to get through three pieces before having to give up. Marco thoughtfully put the remainder in a pizza box for me to carry home to Gregg.
After pizza, we were served the gelato we’d made earlier. OMG! The limone gelato, in particular, was truly to die for. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a fresher and more delightful-tasking gelato. It puts the run-of-the-mill gelatos found in gelato stores to shame. As Marco said, it’s all about using the freshest ingredients.
The class ended with me receiving my certificate and posing for a picture with Marco. I was thoroughly satisfied with my second Rome cooking experience in EnjoyCooking.com and Crown Tours.
A smile was on my face as I threaded my way through the crowds of tourists streaming past the Colosseum and Forum on my way back to our comfy little apartment in the Jewish Ghetto.
Thank you, EnjoyCooking.com and Marco for an excellent experience.
EnjoyCooking.com Class
Here’s a link to the cooking class I took through Crown Tours. As I’ve mentioned often on Artsy Traveler, I’m a very big fan of Get Your Guide. I booked my class with Crown Tours through Get Your Guide. If you click on the link below (or the links in the next section) and take any tour (not just the ones listed), I get a small commission. Thank you.
Culinary tourism is definitely a thing, and nowhere more so than in Italy. Food tours and cooking classes abound and for good reason. Italy and food go together like, well, Italy and food.
The popularity of Stanley Tucci’s series Searching for Italy about food in Italy is proof that eating and cooking continue to be two of the many artsy reasons to travel in Italy.
Is cooking an art? Absolutely!
And so, while spending a week in Rome in 2022, I decided to take a cooking class. I’d taken a cooking class in Paris, and one of my guest posters, Liz Reding, has written a post about her cooking class experiences in France and Spain.
It was time for Italy to take a turn.
Choosing InRome Cooking
I chose a 3-hour cooking class with InRome Cooking. Here’s the link to register if, after reading this post, you’re interested in taking the class.
Full disclosure – the link takes you to the Tiqets.com website, which is one of my affiliates. That means I get a small percentage of the ticket price if you register.
Cut to the chase–I highly recommend taking a 3-hour class with InRome Cooking. The time flew by and not only did I learn a lot, but I also enjoyed a fabulous meal that I’d cooked myself with some help from my new friends and chef Marco.
About InRome Cooking
InRome Cooking operates out of three locations:
Flagship school on Corso del Rinascimento in a converted 17th-century palace very close to the Piazza Navona and overlooking the Italian parliament. This is the location for the Hands-on Pasta Making Class & Tiramisù class I took.
A sleek and stylish terraced building near the Pantheon on Via Giustiniani.
A cooking school located in the Pope’s organic farm at his private estate in Castel Gandolfo outside Rome.
My Experience with InRome Cooking
In this post, I write about my experience taking a 3-hour class at the Corso del Rinascimento location.
InRome Cooking offers several classes–either shared or private.
I chose the Hands-on Pasta Making Class & Tiramisù for two reasons. First, my husband, Gregg Simpson, had recently discovered the delectable delights of Tiramisù and so I thought it would be good to learn how to make it at home. And second, I have a pasta maker gathering dust in my cupboard, and felt it was high time I learned how to use it correctly.
Both goals were met during the course of the evening.
Registering for a Class with InRome Cooking
I registered for the class about three days in advance, in October 2022. The registration process through Tiqets.com was quick and efficient. Within seconds, I had my ticket downloaded and ready to show. It’s advisable to register well in advance. I was probably lucky to get a spot because the class of just twelve participants was full.
Arriving at InRome Cooking
Promptly at 5:20, I arrived at InRome Cooking located at Corso del Rinascimento, 65 after passing it and then doubling back. You have to look closely to see the rather small InRome Cooking sign on the door.
InRome Cooking next to the buzzer at Corso del Rinascimento, 65
For a few moments, I was flummoxed, but soon figured out that I needed to ring the buzzer to be let in. A voice answered (phew!), the buzzer buzzed, and I climbed two flights of marble stairs in the converted 17th-century palazzo. I do like a nice palazzo.
I was met at the top of the stairs by Chef Marco holding a clipboard and smiling broadly. He ushered me into a gorgeous, light-filled kitchen and introduced me to my companions for the evening: a mother and son from Arizona; a mother and son from Sweden, a mom and dad and son from San Francisco, and two couples from Toronto.
The InRome Cooking kitchen with ingredients set out to make Tiramisù
The evening began promptly at 5:30 with a welcome glass of prosecco. We were then placed around the large table already laden with the ingredients and utensils we’d need to make Tiramisù.
Prosecco!
Me with chef Marco
Making Tiramisù
We started by making dessert so it would have time to set before enjoying it at the end of the evening.
Chef Marco paired us up and told us to get cracking (literally!). We each separated an egg to get two yolks. The whites were whisked away to be beaten by the sous chefs for later folding into the Tiramisù. We then set to work beating the gorgeous yellow yolks.
Marco told us that fresh eggs are essential for Tiramisù (or indeed any cooking). They shouldn’t be much older than a few weeks and preferably from local hens. I’m lucky that I live on an island where fresh eggs are readily available.
Throughout the evening, Marco emphasized that great cooking starts with the very freshest of ingredients. You don’t need many ingredients to create a wonderful dish when each ingredient is top quality.
Tiramisù Ingredients
For the Tiramisù, we used only six ingredients: fresh eggs, sugar, mascarpone cheese, ladyfingers (called savoiardi), cold coffee, and cocoa powder (unsweetened) for the topping. Tiramisù translates literally as “pick me up,” a direct result of the espresso used in the recipe.
Tiramisù Method
Under Marco’s expert tutelage, we beat sugar into the egg yolks until the color was a rich and creamy light yellow. The more we beat, the creamier the eggs became. I’d say we beat for at least five minutes. Fortunately, Marco supplied links to recipes at the end of the class so I didn’t need to make notes.
After beating the eggs and sugar, we stirred in very generous dollops of mascarpone cheese. Marco emphasized that precise measuring is not necessary in Italian cooking. A generous tablespoon looked to me more like two or three level tablespoons. But then is there such a thing as too much marscapone?
Next step was folding in generous spoonfuls of whipped egg yolks.
Layering the Tiramisù
With our creamy, eggy, cheesy concoction all mixed and ready to go, we were ready to build our Tiramisù. Marco handed each of us a lovely big tea cup (I suppose coffee cup would be more accurate!) and demonstrated the next steps.
First, I took a ladyfinger biscuit and dipped it quickly into the bowl of cold espresso. Down and up, no lingering. The ladyfinger should absorb the coffee but not be dissolved by it. I then broke the ladyfinger in two and placed it at the bottom of the cup.
Next, I spooned in half of the creamy, eggy, cheesy mixture and then dipped and broke another ladyfinger. Finally, I slathered on the rest of the creamy stuff.
One more step! We were given shakers of pure, unsweetened cocoa to sprinkle on top of the Tiramisù and directed to carve something meaningful into the cocoa so we’d know which one is ours.
Here’s my first (and extremely delicious) attempt at Tiramisù with my initials etched in with a toothpick:
Tiramisù made at InRome Cooking
Making Pasta
The Tiramisùs were whisked away and the large workspace cleaned by the staff while I mingled for a while with the other guests and enjoyed another glass of prosecco. Two of the people from Toronto had been to Bowen Island where I live, and one has a friend who has just written her first historical novel. Coincidentally, it’s about a subject that intrigued me after visiting the Back to Backs National Trust property in Birmingham. Small world.
We were to make two kinds of pasta: cacio e pepe and amatriciana. It turned out we wouldn’t be making the sauces; Marco demonstrated that. Our job was to make the pasta.
Marco showed us how to mix the two flours and then to knead in the olive oil to make a beautiful, yellow dough. Next step was to pass the dough through the rollers of the pasta maker several times to flatten it and then through the cutters.
The pasta makers were equipped with two cutters–one to make spaghetti which we later ate with the cacio e pepe sauce and one to make fettucine, which we ate with the amatriciana sauce.
Carol flattening the pasta
Making the Sauces
As he had all evening, Marco emphasized the importance of using just a few, top quality ingredients.
Amatriciana Sauce
The amatriciana sauce contains only three ingredients: Mutti tomato sauce (it only contains tomatoes grown in Italy, of course), small pieces of pork cheek that have been very slowly cooked to release the fat and flavor, and romano cheese.
Marco cooked the fettucine we’d just made for a very few minutes and then showed us how to combine the pasta with the three-ingredient sauce. The smell was amazing!
Cacio e pepeSauce
This sauce is a Roman specialty and is the simplest of all. Only two ingredients are used–romano cheese and freshly ground pepper. That’s it! Marco demonstrated how he makes the sauce by stirring the starchy water from the boiled pasta into the cheese to make a rich, creamy sauce. He then added the fresh pepper. The result was to die for!
Making Amatriciana
Making Cacio e pepe
Eating the Results
Following the demonstrations of how the pasta is combined with the two sauces to make Amatriciana and Cacio e pepe, we were invited into the adjacent dining room, complete with coffered, Renaissance style ceiling. I joined the table of Canadians and enjoyed pleasant conversation about travel and food while enjoying the fruits of the evening’s labors.
Amatriciana
Cacio e pepe
Rome Walking Tours
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Conclusion
The three-hour cooking class (more like three and half by the time we finished eating) at InRome Cooking is a bargain at only €75 (price varies depending on which class you choose). Considering I enjoyed three delectable courses, learned a lot of valuable cooking tips and even got plenty of hands-on practice, I consider the fee very reasonable indeed.
Have you taken a cooking class in Rome? Share your experience in the comments below.
Have you considered taking a cooking class while traveling in France? Paris is the place for cooking classes, but you’ll also find classes in other French cities such as Lyon.
Several years ago, guest poster Liz Reding moved with her husband Michael to France and settled in the charming city of Lyon. Every few months, she and Michael take trips to explore different areas in Europe.
One of the things Liz likes to do when she travels around Europe from her new French home is to take cooking classes.
Here’s what Liz has to say about taking cooking classes in Paris and Lyon.
Cooking in France by Liz Reding
Is cooking art? If you’ve ever seen a great chef at work or eaten a beautifully plated meal, I think you’ll agree that cooking is an art form.
Maybe you love to cook, maybe you don’t … but you have to eat, right? So, doesn’t it make sense to spend time perfecting your cooking skills?
Some might say, YES… but not while I’m on vacation. I say, YES, especially while I’m on vacation!
The quality of the local produce, cheese, seafood, and meat in French markets is outstanding. When you take a class taught by a local chef at a cooking school, you learn how to use local ingredients to prepare regional favorites.
Cooking Classes in Paris
Thanks to the ongoing popularity of French cuisine and French cooking, several culinary schools offer short-duration classes designed for travelers.
Paris is the undisputed center for cooking classes in France. Consider spending a morning or an evening taking a class. You’ll meet interesting people and learn new skills and cooking methods.
Eiffel Tower in Paris
Several kinds of cooking classes are available in Paris. In some classes, you focus on how to make specific dishes, such as macarons or baguettes, while in others, you cook several dishes which you then enjoy along with a glass or two of wine.
The Market Class
My favorite type of cooking class is the Market Class.
Choose a market class that starts early in the morning and includes lunch or one that starts later in the afternoon and includes dinner.
You’ll start a market class by meeting up with the chef at a local outdoor market. With the help of the chef, you’ll choose whatever is seasonally available and then return to the kitchen to start cooking.
Several hours later, you’ll sit down to the wonderful three-course lunch or dinner that you and your classmates prepared. A glass or two of wine is often included, along with wine-tasting tips.
In some market classes, the chef decides ahead of time what you’ll make. You pick up the ingredients and then head to the cooking school to start learning and cooking. No surprises!
Seafood in a Paris market; photo credit: Liz Reding
Other classes take more of a let’s see what we can find approach. You go to the market with the chef and see what’s fresh.
Will it be crayfish or lamb? New asparagus or an oozing camembert? Fresh tomatoes from Provence or foie gras from the Dordogne?
The chef accompanies you around the stalls and helps you make the selections.
Either type of class is a wonderful experience, but the laissez-faire version is more exciting and a test of the chef’s ability to create a yummy menu on the fly.
If you have a food allergy or other dietary restrictions, let the chef know. He or she will either tell you how to modify the recipe or will provide an alternative.
Recommendations in Paris & Lyon
I’ve taken four cooking classes in Paris (a baguette-making class and three market classes) as well as in Lyon, France, where I live. All the classes were conducted in English.
In the French baguette class, I learned an important lesson—read the reviews of the cooking class before you sign up! Two of the three ovens weren’t working which made the experience less enjoyable than it could have been.
Fresh baguettes made in the baguette class; Photo credit: Liz Reding
Nevertheless, I did learn how to make baguettes the old-fashioned way by smacking the dough against a granite surface. In my kitchen at home, I was able to adapt the baguette recipe and make it in my mixer with a dough hook. The results were fabulous!
Some of the cooking techniques I learned in cooking classes were fun but not useful. For example, I learned how to strain potatoes through a screen, but why would I want to?
No matter what type of class you take or where you take it, you’ll always learn new techniques and new recipes. And at the end of the class, you can relax and enjoy the meal you helped make, often with people from around the world.
Paris Cooking Classes
Here are the three cooking schools I attended in Paris. Typically, a cooking class that includes a meal costs between €150 and €200 per person. Some cooking schools offer group rates. If you’re traveling with a group, you may be able to save money by booking a private class.
I highly recommend adding a cooking class to your itinerary.
If you’re really into cooking classes, consider going on a cooking retreat. Plenty of options are available in places such as Tuscany and Provence.
About Liz Reding
Liz Reding is a retired computer textbook author who lives in Lyon, France. Born in Manhattan and having lived in Boston and New Mexico (Santa Fe and Albuquerque), she and her husband are discovering the joys of traveling and exploring the world. She enjoys learning French, cycling, and cooking nutritious meals.
Conclusion
Have you taken a cooking class while traveling? You can find them all over the world! I took a cooking class in Rome that I write about in Cooking in Roma with InRome Cooking.
Share your experiences in the comments below.
And here’s some more inspiration for cooking classes in Japan, Morocco, and Madrid.
