Cesarine: Small group Pasta-Making class in Como
Description
Immerse yourself in a small group pasta-making class at a local's home, learn the secrets of the region's most famous pasta dishes and taste the fruit of your labour accompanied by a glass of local wine. During the lesson, the local home cook will reveal the tricks of the trade of 3 authentic regional pasta recipes. Have fun putting your cooking skills to the test. Each participant will have a workstation equipped with utensils and all the ingredients to make the dishes. Then, taste everything you have prepared accompanied by a selection of red and white local wines. This experience is held by Cesarine: Italy’s oldest network of 1000+ home cooks all over the country in more than 500 cities. They are passionate and welcoming hosts that open the doors of their own homes to curious travellers for immersive culinary experiences.
Tour Options
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
Reviews(25)
Luca met us at the hands monument (Monumento le Mani) and drove us to his and Francesca's beautiful home. From the very beginning it felt like we were visiting with friends we'd known for years; friends just working around the kitchen together to create a delicious lunch. They taught us how to make cheese and speck croissants, fettuccine with minced meat sauce, gnocchi in oil and garlic, and Tiramasu. It all turned out wonderfully but just getting to know Francesca and Luca was the best part. Something special about breaking bread together. The best of our day in Como.
Thos was so much fun! Our host and teacher was so lovely and the food was outstanding! Eating our homemade pasta was such a treat!
Morena was such a warm and welcoming host, we were the only ones in the class, which made it feel so personal. She walked us through everything clearly and jumped in with help exactly when we needed it. It was my first time making pasta and tiramisu, and I left feeling like I could actually do it again at home. Highly recommend this experience!
This experience was absolutely not what we expected. Nor what we paid for. Anna and her friend Kasia were very sweet and funny but Anna wore a mouth mask and was therefore very difficult to understand. The aperitifs were tasty and were already ready when we got there. The facts are that the course took place in a small and warm room (no kitchen) without proper facilities. We had two hotplates and a table and we were sometimes mostly in the way. The ingredients didn't seem to be ready and most of the parts were already prepared by Anna herself. We made little ourselves and learned little. We made gnocchi with unsuitable potatoes. Turns out it's not the season for gnocchi. So why was this dish chosen? Anna did the cooking of that. One of us stirred the risotto and that's all we've got to say. Mostly we listened and watched. The ragu was ready just like the tiramisu that was ready in the fridge. We were sitting outside in a deserted courtyard. Remember that this course costs €179 per person. In total we paid over €1000 for 3 hours of lessons. What we got was disproportionate to what we paid. Not in terms of location, ingredients, class or food. Looking at the description and photos of the workshop on your website then we have received the wrong product. In fact, we should receive a large part of the cost back. We would never recommend this course. . Anna was sweet but also quite chaotic and this was not a workshop or course. The highlights were the aperitifs and we laughed.
Dear Elsa, Thank you for sharing your honest feedback. We’re really sorry the experience didn’t meet your expectations and that you felt it didn’t match the description or value. We’re glad to hear that Anna made a positive impression and that you enjoyed the aperitifs and some laughs. Your comments about the class format, ingredients, and space are very helpful, and we’ll take them into account to improve the experience for future guests. Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts! We remain at your complete disposal, Cesarine Team
The description and photos said that we would be cooking gnocchi, but we ended up cooking ravioli. Anna explained that gnocchi was complicated to make and that she didn't have the right ingredients, so she always makes ravioli. I was disappointed because I really wanted to learn how to make gnocchi. The description and pictures should be updated. Also, I don't think you can really call it a cooking “class”. Often, Anna didn't tell us how to do things. For example, for the tiramisu, we had to mix the egg whites. There's a technique to keep the egg whites from breaking, but she didn't show us. Sometimes she didn't give us any instructions at all. For example, when we had to make pizza, we had a ball of dough in front of us, but she didn't tell us what to do. She was often on the phone and left us alone at the work surface without any instructions. We didn’t know what to do and were just waiting for her. Instead, the social media girl would tell us what to do. I thought we were going to cook, but Anna did a lot of things herself. For example, for the ravioli dough, I would have liked to use the machine to roll out the dough, but Anna did it and we just watched. We also had a little aperitif during the “class”, but we were seated in...the garage! It wasn't quite the view of Lago di Como we were expecting… Besides, we didn't know we would be filmed/photographed so much. It was annoying sometimes and made the whole thing feel fake.
Dear Madam, Thank you for taking the time to share your opinion with us. It is always important for us to listen from our customers in order to improve our service. We sincerely apologize that your experience did not meet our high standards. You are right to require the best from Cesarine and we're sorry that you didn't have what you expected. We investigated the issue with your Cesarina Anna, who confirmed that you prepared ravioli, but she told us that, upon knowing you would spend some time in Italy, she had offered you a free gnocchi class anytime you were available. She also explained the guests sat for a while in a sheltered part of her beautiful garden, only while having aperitivo and she showed us pictures of it - we are sorry you felt that was a garage :)) We do appreciate your feedback and thank you very much for your patience, we hope you enjoyed the rest of your time in Italy. Warm regards,
What a FANTASTIC experience!! Beautiful house, incredible setup and an WONDERFUL team!! Thank you Anna and your team for providing such an incredible experience… WE LOVE IT! 10000000% recommended!!!! Correa family.
What a wonderful and memorable experience we had with Carolina and Simona! We had so much fun and the food was amazing. A must try!
Our experience with Anna and her family was amazing. The experience was great fun. The food was delicious. The views from the garden where we ate were spectacular. Anna and her family helped create wonderful memories for our family and for that we are very happy and thankful! :)
Our host was great. Greates us in a warm manner. Sat with us and reviewed the dishes we would make. Discussed how we would do it and most importantly the why of things. I learned a lot and I have been preparing Italian food from scratch for decades Great food. Great wine. Great time
We spent an amazing morning trying new cheeses, making fresh pasta, quiche, tiramisu, and drinking a little vino. Margherita is very patient, organized and a clear communicator. She offered suggestions for our remaining time in Como and for our future travels. She is a positive delight to be around. Would happily cook with her supervision again. Highly recommend this memorable adventure!
