Top Lecce Cooking Classes

Location: Balù Bistrot Shop (where you can find a selection of local wines and olive oils) Instructor: an experienced cooking class teacher (Puglia native and food wine olive oil connoisseur) Tuition: an immersive and learning experience for everyone Buffet Tastings: a selection of food and wine

Spend an evening in a real Italian home with Enza and her family in the countryside in Corigliano d'Otranto near Lecce. We begin with a traditional Italian aperitif, sharing homemade appetizers and prosecco while everyone gets to know each other. Then each guest prepares their own fresh pasta by hand using local ingredients and family recipes. Once the pasta is ready, we cook everything and sit around the table together to enjoy dinner with local wine, music and conversation. The evening ends with homemade dessert, our family limoncello, and a small memory of the experience.

What you will do will be an authentic sensory and cultural experience. Making fresh pasta by hand is a tradition deeply rooted in Salento culture and this course offers you a practical immersion in local life and customs, going beyond traditional tourist experiences. Learning will be practical and fun and the course will allow you to gain a skill that you can take home and replicate with friends and family. The course is aimed at small groups and therefore encourages direct interaction with hosts. While making the pasta with their own hands, guests will have the opportunity to ask questions, hear stories and receive personalized attention; for this, a human bond will be created that enriches the experience. The course is perfect for those traveling as a couple, family or small groups, allowing an intimate and fun sharing of the culinary experience.

You will be welcomed in the cozy garden of an ancient boathouse, typical Salento structure with 4 star vaults, recently renovated, used in the past as a stable and warehouse and used today to make you live a fantastic culinary experience respecting local traditions. After the visit of the structure, you can taste an aperitif of typical local products accompanied by the excellent wines of Salento. Next thing you know, everyone's at work... We will prepare with you the pasta that we will season with two different sauces based on "fresh tomato & basil" and "Ciceri & Tria" chickpeas flavored with a mix of vegetables and fried pasta. During the evening you can listen to the traditional music "La Pizzica" and use, if you want, the fine violin guitars and tambourines made available to accompany some stornello. An excellent homemade ice cream and a fresh limoncello of the house, will close the evening

Lecce is famous for its baroque architecture and authentic cuisine. With this cooking class in the heart of the city’s old town, experience the best of both. Meet your hosts at an “osteria” set on one of the most charming lanes in the historic center and discover the secrets to rolling and shaping fresh “orecchiette” pasta, a traditional specialty from Puglia. Then relax over a guided wine tasting paired with regional delicacies.

Immerse yourself in a hands-on cooking class in Lecce. Learn to make orecchiette and maccheroni al ferretto, enjoy fresh sauces, local wines, and traditional Salento specialties in a cozy family setting. The small-group lesson of no more than seven people means you'll get plenty of attention from your teacher, plus, you'll leave with recipes to take home with you.

Explore Lecce through its flavours—and uncover spots you'd likely miss alone—on this guided food and drink tour. Skip the guesswork as your local guide leads you down hidden streets and past highlights such as the Cathedral and the city’s oldest square. Along the way, stop at top foodie spots to sample traditional pizza, taralli, and local drinks. It's the perfect way to see—and taste—more of the city.

With the help of your native host, you will learn to make pasta from scratch and cook it according to our local recipes. Our host will teach you about the regional traditions, culture and history.

Learn how to make two different types of pasta as well as a traditional Italian dessert—tiramisu—with this small-group class. As well as having lots of fun, it’s a great way to learn special techniques from a local cook that you wouldn’t find in a recipe book. After an Italian aperitivo, enjoy a hands-on class, followed by the chance to eat all of your culinary masterpieces.

Delve into the world of Puglian wine without leaving Lecce’s old town with this wine tasting experience in the heart of the Baroque city. Take a break from sightseeing and relax at a local wine bar for a guided tasting featuring four different regional wines paired with local specialties. Learn about Puglia’s winemaking history and culture as you sip and enjoy views over the pretty lane lined with traditional “palazzi”.

The cooking class will take place in an ancient 19th century farmhouse, completely immersed in nature! We will only use water and durum wheat flour to prepare the dough. At the end of the preparation, you will enjoy the dish of orecchiette that you have made with your own hands!

Discover an underground olive oil mill museum in Gallipoli’s historic center. Carved into local stone, these ancient spaces, part of Palace Granafei, span about 200 square meters beneath two historic buildings. Descend into rooms excavated in soft limestone from the 17th-19th centuries, showcasing original and reconstructed equipment like stone mills, presses, and storage pits used for olive oil production. An audio guide explains how olives were milled, pressed, and traded, highlighting Gallipoli’s role as a key olive oil port from the 16th century, exporting oil across Europe for cooking, lighting, and industrial uses. The short, engaging tour lasts 15-30 minutes and offers insight into traditional methods and history. Afterward, enjoy a tasting of 7–8 varieties of local extra virgin olive oil, paired with snacks like taralli and fried broad beans, and optional herbal liqueurs for 18+. This experience appeals to history, culture, and food lovers seeking a unique Mediterranean story.

hands-on instructions from a Bistrot culinary team guided workshop for focaccia and tiramisu' simple techniques, easy to purchase ingredients Italian culinary instructors Unconventional location in the old town, super centrally located lovely Italy style food & Wine This experience is perfect for couples, families and private small groups

Combine a market tour and a cooking class on the same day to have the ultimate culinary experience in Lecce. Going on a market tour helps expand your knowledge of local ingredients before you visit a local’s home to begin your experience. Start with a traditional aperitivo, followed by demonstrations on how to make pasta and tiramisu. Then, end the experience with a chance to taste your culinary creations with wine.

Hands-on cooking class Location: a cozy Bistrot in the old town of Lecce simple culinary techniques cooking with the locals in a casual atmosphere learning culinary experience

Group tour in English max 15 people, book your seat! to request a personalized tour write me a message before booking: mobile (via WhatsApp/iMessage): + 393287568899 instagram : discovering_lecce Welcome! We will take a tour of 2 through the streets and alleys of the old town, classical buildings, squares of extraordinary beauty, Baroque churches and monuments of Roman times...! Art, history, traditions... but also good food! it will be a pleasure to offer you our delicious 'coffee Leccese' on ice with almond extract and typical appetizers. Lecce will surprise you and this tour will be memorable!

Visit a local fish market with an expert. 'The pioneers of teaching food and wine in Puglia- The New York Times. Owner is a sommelier of wine, sommelier of extra virgin olive oil, classes are held in one of Italy's most beautiful kitchens, fitted with antique copper pots and pans and one of Italy's largest private amaro collections.

Skip the usual restaurant scene for this small-group pasta cooking class in a carefully selected private home in Otranto. Meet your host in their home, warm up with an Italian aperitivo, and learn how to make two kinds of fresh pasta and one of Italy’s most iconic desserts, tiramisu. Choose between lunch or dinner time classes and enjoy your meal with wine, water, and coffee.

Learn to make the famous Pasta and Tiramisu in a local home under the guidance of an expert home cook. Discover, cook and taste the most iconic Italian dishes together with other lovers of the “cucina italiana”. Warm-up with an Italian Aperitivo and then enjoy the authentic hands-on cooking class. Your host will welcome you into their home like part of the family and will teach you their family cooking secrets. After the class taste everything you have prepared with a selection of local wines, water and coffee included

Enjoy the perfect fusion of food and history with this small-group guided walking tour in Lecce. As you stroll through the old town and see stunning baroque architecture—such as the Basilica of Santa Croce—your guide provides entertaining background information to help you learn about the city. Best of all, street food snacks are included, so you expand your knowledge of the local food scene too.

We are more than a Traditional Restaurant, but a refined Puglia Heritage Restaurant, a place where people can learn hands-on how a historical dish comes to life. The origins of a dish go beyond the recipe. They encompass the history of a region. Over the years, many of our customers have rediscovered flavors long lost in their memory. Forgotten tastes that have touched their hearts, bringing back vivid memories. Currently, our Maestro di cucina is Giorgio Grassi. He learned everything from Rosalba De Carlo, his mother, a great expert in Puglia’s culinary culture. She belongs to the noble baronial family Andriani De Vito of Corigliano d’Otranto. Being also in close contact with the peasants of her village, Rosalba has deep knowledge of both the rich and the humble versions of the same culinary tradition. For this reason, a conference with the UNESCO Patronage chose her as a Case Study in 2010. Rosalba is a great treasure to our Restaurant, but above all a precious jewel of our family.

If you want to immerse yourself in authentic Lecce and Salento cuisine, come to my home where I'll be waiting to teach you the art of homemade pasta with simple ingredients. Together, we'll cook a Salento menu full of delicious aromas. We'll make pasticciotto, Lecce's most famous dessert, and then we'll make Lecce coffee, the kind that has captivated tourists from around the world. I'll use only the highest-quality ingredients, always favoring local, farmer-produced products and using organic products! Come cook and eat with me, a menu also suitable for vegetarians. We'll make pasta with our hands and a rolling pin, and we'll make orecchiette and maccheroncino just like my grandmother used to make.

Discover real Italian cooking—fresh pasta, seafood, family recipes, and tiramisù. Get hands-on, cook with heart, and savor every bite in a warm kitchen where guests become friends.