Puglia Cooking class "Le orecchiette, che pasta!"
Recommended by 94% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Taranto, Italy
- 4 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Orecchiette is one of the most traditional specialties from Puglia, but you may not know the trick to make this unique ear-shaped pasta. With this small-group, countryside cooking class, learn how to turn out orecchiette like a true Italian nonna and discover other classic dishes made with seasonal herbs and vegetables grown in the Itria Valley. Celebrate your new skill with a multi-course meal featuring your freshly made pasta.
- Learn to make Puglia’s classic orecchiette pasta in a country home
- Insights into the Valley di Itria’s traditional cuisine with a local cook
- Prepare a starter, fresh pasta and sauce, a meat dish, and vegetables
- A final meal with wine to cap off your experience
Sample Menu
Starter
La Frisa or Acqua sala
A typical but unusual Puglia starter.
Main
Orecchiette with sauce
Main alternative pasta course with plain tomato sauce, always available.
Main
Brasciole or Cime di Rapa
Depending on the season, we can offer a meat sauce (Brasciole) or the vegetarian Cime di rapa sauce, a typical vegetable.
Main
Vegetables and appetizers
Seasonal vegetables as contour.
Main
Fruit
Seasonal and organic fruit
What's Included
- Beverages (local red wine: Negramaro, Salice or Primitivo)
- Bottled water
- Lunch3-course lunch
- Coffee and/or Tea
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Nord Salento Tourvia Padula del Cimitero, sn, 72013 Ceglie Messapica BR, Italy
I will send you the position via Whatsapp, but in case of difficulties reach the cemetery of Ceglie Messapica on the SPexSS581, just outside the city. Before the cemetry, go in the tiny road called "Padula del Cimitero". Go straight on for about 200 yd till number 3 white a white gate.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
1
Valle d’itria e Dintorni
2
I Trulli di Alberobello - World Heritage Site
3
Grottaglie
4
Ostuni
5
Manduria
6
Oria
7
Parco Rupestre Lama D'Antico
8
Chiesa di San Vito Martire
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Infant seats available
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Dress code is smart casual
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
- Vegetarian, vegan, pascatarian options are available, please advise at time of booking if required
- Infant are welcome and for free
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Titia_S
We had a wonderful time at this pasta cooking class. Simona and Annamaria were warm, welcoming, and very informative—they made the experience fun, relaxed, and engaging. We learned a lot and truly enjoyed the evening.
For future guests, it’s helpful to know that the class takes place in Simona’s home rather than a professional kitchen. While it may not be what some expect, it offers a more authentic and personal Italian experience. We also enjoyed a tour of her trulli, which was a special touch.
The cooking and dining space accommodates a larger group (we had about 12 people) and is more rustic in nature—uneven flooring, older appliances, and a cozy, traditional setup.
Overall, if you’re looking for a genuine, home-style cooking experience with kind and engaging hosts, this is a great option.
Reviews
4.8
based on 253 reviews
Daniel_M, Apr 2026
Informative and very welcome by Simona. You get to have a nice afternoon surrounded by the quietness of nature.
Titia_S, Apr 2026
We had a wonderful time at this pasta cooking class. Simona and Annamaria were warm, welcoming, and very informative—they made the experience fun, relaxed, and engaging. We learned a lot and truly enjoyed the evening.
For future guests, it’s helpful to know that the class takes place in Simona’s home rather than a professional kitchen. While it may not be what some expect, it offers a more authentic and personal Italian experience. We also enjoyed a tour of her trulli, which was a special touch.
The cooking and dining space accommodates a larger group (we had about 12 people) and is more rustic in nature—uneven flooring, older appliances, and a cozy, traditional setup.
Overall, if you’re looking for a genuine, home-style cooking experience with kind and engaging hosts, this is a great option.
Marcos_R, Nov 2025
We had such an amazing time. Simona is a wealth of knowledge. Not only were we educated about pasta but also all the different sauces in the region. We cannot say enough how we enjoyed ourselves
Tammy_S, Oct 2025
The cooking class was fantastic. Our instructor was very knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and fun. She welcomed us into her home and shared a great deal of information about so many topics, with us. I learned a lot and had a blast!
Brian_H, Sep 2025
Simona was a charming host who introduced us to traditional Puglianova pastas and
Sauces in her trulli. We ate the pastas that we made, accompanied by some delicious sauces made by Simona.
This will be a highlight of our holiday - not to be missed!
Emma_J, Sep 2025
Very enjoyable and informative. Simona is very generous with her time and knowledge. Not just cookery course! Well worth it.
Karen_G, Sep 2025
If I could give Simone more than 5 stars I would. Everything was exceptional. She is so warm and inviting, and her teaching goes well beyond just how to make pasta. Please don't miss this experience.
Suzanne_H, Aug 2025
A very relaxed evening, full of interesting cooking tips and history of Italian food and cooking. Simon was very interesting throughout. So much so we bought her book and can't wait to try the recipes.
Miranda_M, Aug 2025
This was such a fun, easy, authentic experience! We learned so much and loved having a long, full relaxing day enjoying Simona’s patio and taking in all the amazing smells and tastes. We accidentally took the wrong road at first, make sure your GPS does NOT take you to the left between two houses and down a gravel road. You should turn off the main road right into a nice big gated area, and shortly after that is the sign for Nord Salento Tour. We spent almost the entire class outdoors on the patio or open air kitchen, but even though it was peak August it wasn’t hot at all with the constant breeze. Our class had folks from two other countries that were fun to meet! We cooked 3 kinds of pasta recipes - plain tomato, winter recipe (anchovies + vegetables), and a bread crumb recipe (also with anchovies). We also had side snacks of coffee, wine, jam pastries, cucumbers, zucchini, a form of bruschetta (the name of which I can’t remember and Simona will be so upset I called bruschetta again lol!!), and more. We even picked fresh figs from her tree as a dessert treat at the end. I am not an adventurous eater, but I still loved the experience and tried most things! The noodle making part was my favorite, we all grabbed jars of natural coloring and made a rainbow of noodles in different shapes. Simona was very helpful with the younger ones in our group who needed assistance getting their dough the right texture, and even made sure we passed the colors around so everyone got a chance to make different kinds of noodles. In the end, all the noodles get used in the final pasta dishes. We even got to tour Simona’s own trulli home and learn the fascinating backstory with it as well. This was absolutely my favorite experience of our trip and worth every dollar and minute we spent there. We still talk about it daily now that we are home, and even used Simona’s advice during our trip when eating around Puglia. Simona spoke wonderful English and effortlessly switched between English and Italian which helped us learn and recognize words while she talked! And to top it all off, we got very neat certificates at the end. Would absolutely recommend!
Helle_F, Aug 2025
Making pasta with Simona was a fun and interesting experience. Simona is a good storyteller and you got the feeling that you were invited into her home. We heard stories about Puglia, the trulli and about Italy especially about food and pasta, then we made our own orecchiette and had 3 different meals from that. Furthermore we had other local dishes and wine. We absolutely recommend an evening with Simona. Preben and Helle from Denmark
Myrto_D, Jul 2025
Our teacher, Simona has been amazing! Not only we learned how to make orecchiette but we also learned a lot about the culture and pasta in general. Thank you Simona and Maristella!
Jodi_B, Jul 2025
Everything about this experience was wonderful. Make sure you book now so you don’t miss out on this particular hostess. The food was delicious. She was really good at teaching not just to make orrechiette but a lot of different types pastas and each type of sauce was absolutely fantastic. The traditional Apulia food was magnificent And we just spent close to 5 1/2 hours at the home.
Derek_L, Jun 2025
Authentic, fun, educational and time flew by. Felt very personal and was lovely to have Simone's Nonna and husband there helping out during the session, felt like a really Italian family experience wirh info being passed down through the generations.
Jonathan_J, Jun 2025
Loved our experience. Such great food and learned so much about Puliga and their food traditions. It was a experience that lasted 4 + hours and included a property tour. Loved meeting people from other countries and our host facilitated getting to know one another. Worth every penny.
Michelle_C, May 2025
This class was amazing! My husband and I had such a good time. Simona is a genuinely passionate person who taught us a lot about not only how to cook pasta, but the history of Puglian cuisine. We had a wonderful meal and met amazing people. We highly recommend this class!
fei_l, May 2025
Experiencing orecchiette making with Simona, Annamaria and the class (10 of us in total) in an old Puglian trullo was simply amazing! We learned to make traditional Puglian pasta in different shapes and styles of cooking- and how they’re different from other regions in Italy. Simona & Annamaria were generous to share with us their homemade wines, self pressed olive oils, sundried tomatoes, figs, almonds, self made chilli sauce, pickled shallots etc. The class lasted for about 6 hours, everyone seemed to enjoy the experience! Highly recommended!
Sarah_O, Dec 2024
Beautiful location, host and delicious lunch prepared, we had such a fun time. Highly recommend this experience!
Robert_L, Oct 2024
We enjoyed the whole experience, making a lovely four course meal from scratch and great hosts. Also, we really enjoyed hearing the history of the trulli.
Lindsey_C, Oct 2024
Wonderful food, company, and atmosphere! Also, a fantastic value given the reasonable cost and the number of hours we spent there.
Annchristin_B, Oct 2024
Very nice host, nice to meet other travellers, good tips, food and local wine. We also danced and had fun.
It was a 6 hour experiance instead of 4🤗🍷
Diane_C, Oct 2024
Delightful setting.. Simona was very knowledgeable. Generous host and the meal we made was delicious. A great treat!
Regina_D, Sep 2024
Simona was an amazing teacher and host! Our group learned so much about Puglia and the history of Italian pastas in this class, and we thoroughly enjoyed the day spent with Simona! Would absolutely recommend to anyone looking to learn more about the region and get an authentic glimpse into Puglia life.
Nicole_F, Sep 2024
Wonderful experience! Not only did Simona teach us how to make various different forms of pasta and sauce, she also explained the reason behind the different pasta shapes and their history. Whilst our pasta was cooking she showed us around her Trullo, which was very interesting. Highly recommend this course, Thank you Simona for your fabulous hospitality!!! Nicola and Andrew
Stefani_S, Sep 2024
This wasn’t just a orecchiette cooking class, but a Puglia experience! Simona was such a nice host and taught us a bit about the culture in south of Italy, the historical background of the Trullo houses and most importantly how to make great orecchiette. Besides that we also learned two traditional sauces that are served with the pasta. It was really one of our highlights this vacation!
RoccoPio_M, Sep 2024
Making orecchiette was very nice and Simona guided us through the whole process. Eating together and making new friendships was also one of the best parts. It felt like a true italian experience, eating on the countriside next to a trullo with typicla dishes
Gabriella_d, Aug 2024
We are from Apulia but we live in Rome since years and I decide to buy this experience for my dad’s bday to give to my parents the possibility of “going back to the roots”
They came back home super enthusiastic of the entire day, they were so happy and my mom found out the “mistake” that was not allowing her to make perfect orecchiette!
Very recommended for national and international tourists!
A special thank to Simona that welcome my parents to her beautiful trullo!
Kristyn_M, Aug 2024
This class was amazing, full of history and southern culture. Very authentic and memorable. I’ve made the recipe 3 times since my return home from Puglia. She also gave us great recommendations for ceramic shopping.
Jordaine_M, Aug 2024
Simona was a wonderful host. She took the time time to get know us throughout the evening and shared her rich knowledge of the history of Puglia and cooking from feeling which made for a relaxed, informal and enjoyable class.
Billie_L, Aug 2024
We learnt alot about pasta and meal pairings and had a tour of a trulli house. Would have been great to have a bot more involvement with cooking not just pasta making and a take away recipe
Jonathan_M, Aug 2024
This Puglia cooking class was an absolute dream! Our family, including our adventurous 2-year-old, had an unforgettable time learning the art of making orecchiette.
The class was a delightful blend of culture, cuisine, and family fun. Our host was incredibly welcoming and patient, making everyone feel at ease. Even our little one was captivated by the process and had a blast trying her hand at shaping the pasta.
From the moment we arrived, we were immersed in the heart of Puglia. The beautiful countryside setting provided the perfect backdrop for this authentic culinary experience. We loved learning about the region's traditional dishes and the secrets to creating the perfect orecchiette.
The four-course meal we enjoyed at the end was simply divine! Every dish was bursting with flavour and showcased the fresh, local ingredients. The wine pairing was also excellent.
We can't recommend this cooking class enough! It's a must-do for anyone visiting Puglia.
If you're traveling with children, this is a fantastic activity to share together.
From $77.13
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Puglia Cooking class "Le orecchiette, che pasta!"
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