Food & Wine Tours
Local market tour and cooking class in Salento
5.0
Lucia
Spoken languages:
Italian and English
Food Tour: discover the best places where to taste the finest local food & wine
Shared Experience
Your experience
- Typical Apulian dishes
Experience the authentic atmosphere of a local market in the province of Lecce, amid scents, colors and fresh, km 0 products. Discover the excellence of the area and take with you the flavors of Puglia. Afterwards, participate in a cooking class dedicated to the typical dishes of our beautiful region. A genuine experience, full of taste and tradition. Don't miss it...I'm waiting for you to make it truly unforgettable!
€194.00 per guest
(€97.00 per child)
Remaining char: 500
Total: €194.00
€194.00
per guest€97.00 per child
Reviews
5.0
37 reviews
- Fantastic experience! Lucia explained all the techniques thoroughly, both modern and traditional “grandmother-style” ones. Even two beginners like me and my friend managed to prepare three types of pasta and a tiramisu, and everything was absolutely delicious. Lucia was very passionate about the traditions and style of local cuisine, and it was clear she cooked with love. I would recommend her to anyone, regardless of their cooking experience level.
- Lucia was amazing, we had such a lovely experience in her home and felt very welcome. We made some amazing traditional things for the region of Zollino and we were told some amazing legends and stories behind it all. Lucia even played and sang for us the Taranta folklore song 👏🏻. I recommend Lucia highly.
- This cooking class was so unexpected in all of the best ways. From the moment we arrived to the meetup spot (this gorgeous cafe in Leece), to us getting to know each other as we walked around the local market, to the tour of the surrounding area (including this amazinggggg bakery that I can still smell when I think of it) and getting to know the genuine history and culture of Lucia's home... And that was only the START!!! All before we even arrived to her beautiful home for our cooking class! It was such a beautiful introduction and made us more excited for what was to come. Once we arrived to her home and began cooking she was so patient, kind, helpful, and NON judgemental - I felt 1000% comfortable and supported and honestly encouraged the entire time! I learned how to make two types of beautiful pasta (orecchiette and macaroni) but also the most amazingggggg tiramisu! I went into this class not knowing we were going to make tiramisu and honestly, was not excited when I found out because I'm not a fan of it at all but when I say.. we learned to make it the RIGHT way - I mean it. I left her home feeling confident in my new cooking abilities and loving a dessert I walked into the room hating. She set the table and we had a lovely local wine, some super yummy appetizers that were local to the area (my fav were these potato sticks - similar to hush puppy type of texture but not spicy soooo good!!) followed by the pasta we made ourselves and dessert! We spent the entire time laughing, bonding, talking - building a genuine connection! No kidding like our souls had all met before. It really felt like we (Lucia our host, Paolo our translator, my brother and myself) knew each other for years!! The most amazing moment of the entire experience that I will never forget is when they serenated us with a song of their culture, a freedom song of sorts, it was so beautiful that it genuinely brought my brother and I to tears. Not cute tears, but full on ugly crying. Having them open their doors to their culture and share something so intimate with us was amazing and we felt honored. It was something out of a movie. If you're looking for an experience that will move you from start to finish and to be hosted by someone who's heart shows through their actions and their cooking, I could not recommend Lucia's AMAZING cooking class enough. You will leave with your stomach and your heart full and memories that will last a lifetime.
- Lucia has an overwhelming empathetic quality, capable of making you feel immediately part of her world. The attention she pays to teaching every gesture with competence and care to every small detail makes the course a valuable opportunity to learn not only the skills necessary to make the dough suitable for preparing orecchiette, cavatelli, macaroni etc., but also to learn the history of the pasta-making tradition of the area and the cultural habits that each recipe passes down. The afternoon flew by for all of us thanks also to the precise details provided on raw materials, processing methods and use in recipes always aimed at satisfying the palate while respecting traditions. The support of Paolo, who with a wealth of detail integrates information on the all-round resources of the Salento food and wine heritage and beyond, completes the circle of a pleasant and certainly repeatable experience. Thank you and congratulations for your kindness and grace.
- An afternoon of commitment and fun thanks to Lucia’s contagious passion and technical skill, and to the warmth and hospitality of Paolo, her partner. This young, enthusiastic, passionate and lively couple transmits great energy and a lot of joy. Paolo helps Lucia in the kitchen and with organization, shares stories with glimpses of life and Salento traditions, and, to top it all off, plays the “tammorra” magnificently… don’t miss asking Lucia to sing a “pizzica” song with him. In practice, I learned how to make cavatelli, orecchiette, maccheroni col ferretto, sagne 'ncannulate, strascinate… it was beautiful! Not to mention the dinner Lucia prepared: Bari-style pizza, croquettes and “scèblasti,” a special Salento bread; then orecchiette (made by her) with a delicious sauce of yellow and red cherry tomatoes with sausage (prepared by Paolo) and fig and almond rolls. In short, a wonderful experience that I highly recommend to all lovers of fresh pasta and Salento popular culture. Thank you Lucia and Paolo!
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Sara - January 2026
Susie B - December 2025
Sasha Bowers - October 2025
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Mapi - October 2025
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Giovanni - October 2025
€194.00 per guest
(€97.00 per child)
Remaining char: 500
Total: €194.00
€194.00 per guest
Where
Lucia
Cesarina from 2024Location: Lecce (LE) Languages: Italian and English"You always cook thinking of someone, otherwise you're just preparing food" What I love most is passing down the traditions of my region through culinary art, that is, everything that has been passed down to me by my grandmothers since I was a child. A journey that goes from homemade pasta, to traditional pittule, to the typical sweets of my land.
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FAQ
How it works
Why book with Cesarine?
Families and solo travellers welcome
Your well-being is our priority
Free cancellation
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