Rosa is fantastic. She adapted the menu on the fly around my likes and dislikes and to meet my experience/skill level. She had me do all the cooking, which is so much better than watching someone else. And she topped it off by recommending a number of different restaurants, enotecas, cafes, and gelato shops that I can easily walk to. She is also very friendly and speaks English very well.
This was one of the most enjoyable and valuable experiences I have ever had in all my travels. My adult daughter and I met Paola in the city center and she took us on a tour of the Mercato delle Erbe, a public market with food stalls and places to eat and drink. We then continued on to her lovely home for the cooking lesson. Paola had everything set out and pre-measured in her spacious, well-appointed kitchen. She provided us with all the recipes for safe-keeping in advance of the lesson. We then learned to make piedine, garganelli, and tiramisù. Paola explained everything clearly and made sure we both got turns to work on all aspects of the preparation of each dish. Her directions were not only clear and easy to follow, but were filled with explanations, culinary history and tradition, and many helpful hints to ensure the best results. While we kneaded, rolled dough, and made garganelli, we also engaged in conversation about ourselves. Paola is a delightful and very interesting, warm person and she was wonderful to get to know. Once the food was prepared she served us our lunch in her dining room where she had set a beautiful table. She provided a choice of wines, and we chose a very tasty Lambrusco to accompany the garganelli al ragù. She had prepared several other antipasti to add to our meal, and everything was delicious! Added to the meal was more stimulating conversation and by the time we were done eating, we felt we had made a new friend. We had so much fun during this lesson, but also learned a lot. Even though we are both experienced cooks (for example, we had both made tiramisù many times before), we learned new tricks and techniques to increase our expertise. Rolling garganelli was so enjoyable that we followed Paola’s advice and bought a riga gnocchi on the walk back home to be able to make these pasta shapes again when we return home. We are happy to be able to provide the highest recommendation possible for this experience with Cesarina Paola. We made some wonderful food, warm mother-daughter memories, and a lovely new friend.
How do I begin to describe this cooking class. This was absolutely the best part of our entire trip. I cannot say that enough. This was more than a cooking class, it was a look into the life of a true bologian. Learning about the local markets, stopping to say hello along the streets to venders, business owners and friends. The cooking portion of this experience was excellent and so much fun but this experience was much more than just a cooking class. Oriana welcomed us into her home as strangers and we left as friends. We decided as we left that if we every come back to Italy we definitely have to go to Bologna.
My wife and I were matched with Paola and we are so happy that this happened! We met her by the Fontana del Nettuno (Neptune Fountain) in downtown Bologna and asked her to show us the city market more frequented by locals (versus the more touristy one) and so she did. We went and bought a few ingredients together and she explained everything around the market. We then all chatted on our way to her beautiful home, where she led us through preparing a three-course meal of Piadina, Tortelloni, and Tiramisu. We ate the food we made at her table and she made us feel at home. It was honestly an amazing value because we can now go home and make this on our own. It’s not out of our reach, and that was her intention. She is kind, super intelligent, fun, and a great teacher. A Bolognese local! Ask for Paola and I hope you get her as a guide.
Alessia was and excellent host. We did local market tour in Bologna. Then to her house to make Tiramsu, tortelloni and tagliatelle. We actual made everything but the Bolognese sauce. Once completed we eat our pasta and tiramisu. Don’t miss this opportunity with Alessia! Great experience!