Extra Virgin Cooking Classes / Countryside Mill location
Recommended by 99% of travelers
Montecatini Terme, Italy
- 5 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Unravel the secrets of Tuscan cuisine with a local chef in Montecatini Terme near Lucca, and learn to cook the region’s dishes. Taking place at the chef’s 18th-century family home, in a former olive oil mill, the experience covers a market visit, tasting session, cooking class, and 4-course lunch—created with your own hands. Regional wine and an insight into Tuscan cuisine and culture complete the experience.
- Skip the tourist plates, and cook Tuscan favorites such as a classic ragù
- Live the local culture in a scenic setting, a mill in the Tuscan countryside
- Receive your chef’s recipe book, and recreate other regional dishes at home
- Enjoy a sociable cooking experience in small-group class, capped at 14
Sample Menu
Starter
Florentine Gnudi
Hand made ricotta - Swiss chard gnocchi served with a classic tuscan ragu or seasonal tomato sauce.
Main
Tuscan pork roast with blend of herbs and garlic, Beef Florentine peposo
Heritage Tuscan countryside dish with Mediterranean flavours
Dessert
Florentine Trifle with Alkermes , lemon custard and sour cherries
Grandmother's special : lady fingers soaked with the liquor created at the Santa Maria Novella old Pharmacy , layered with custard and sour cherries.
What's Included
- Prosecco and local cheese, olive oil and honey tasting
- Hands-on cooking class
- Four course Meal (Appetiser, Two Main courses, Dessert)
- Regional wines, bottled water, Nespresso
- Recipe booklet written by Giuseppe
- Certificate of Achievement
- EVCC Apron (Adults)
- Market Tour and Tasting
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Via Garibaldi, 62, 51016 Montecatini-Terme PT, Italy
MERCATO COPERTO (Farmers market ) for arriving either by car or By train In Montecatini terme. Train Stop is : MONTECATINI CENTRO ( first stop in the city Montecatini terme)
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Operating hours.9:00 am
What To Expect
1
Montecatini Terme
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- A maximum of 14 people per booking
- Minimum age is 16 years
- Minimum 6 persons.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Natalia_A
This was the highlight of our 10 days in Italy! I would highly recommend this class to everyone!! Chef Giuseppe is such a charismatic and professional chef, with wonderful stories and good instruction on cooking. The class was very hands on, so we felt like we truly made the meal, and the wine we enjoyed was phenomenal. The small class of 8 was perfect, so we could all chat and participate, and the food was delicious. I'd come back to Lucca again just to take another class with Chef Giuseppe. This is a MUST-DO while in Tuscany.
Reviews
4.9
based on 155 reviews
Brenda_A, Mar 2026
This was the best cooking class at Giuseppe’s home in Italy! We learned so much and had so much fun cooking and eating!! Beautiful country setting! Thank you Giuseppe!
Deborah_M, Oct 2025
This experience was the best of the best! A fun and social time while learning how to cook with an amazing chef.
Response from Host, Nov 2025
Hello Debora . You are so Kind to remember m e and the experience ce at The Olive Press . Hope to see you again in the future . All my best . Giuseppe
Amy_H, Oct 2025
This was a wonderful experience and one of the highlights of our time in Italy. The Chef, Giuseppe Mazzocchi was first class! We were met at the train station and first went to the local farmer's market to select some of the items we would be cooking with. We then went to the Chef's incredible home in the hills that was a former Olive Press in his family. The home/kitchen and surroundings were beautiful. We made a 3 course delicious meal, far different from some of the menus that were offered by other cooking classes. We learned alot, had great company and a terrific meal. This is well worth doing on so many levels.
Gregory_M, Oct 2025
Was a wonderful experience. Giuseppe was delightful. We made a fantastic meal of bruschetta
Gnudi with tomato sauce, mushroom risotto and a wonderful desert all with wine pairings. The setting was idyllic. Definitely recommend!!
Debbie_W, Sep 2025
Giuseppe was amazing! Total pride in the dinner he prepared and had us assist in. Fun, entertaining, and DELICIOUS! What a wonderful experience to take back home!
lawrence_m, Sep 2025
What an amazing day of cooking . I would highly recommend this event . The place is amazing. Giuseppe and assistant are fantastic people
Terri_C, Sep 2025
Chef Giuseppe was amazing! Had such a great time. Fro.m the market to the gorgeous location, the amazing food and chef showing us how to make incredible dishes, even with us helping. Definitely a must do in Tuscany
Nigel_K, Sep 2025
We had an amazing time.
This is a way to really get to know authentic Tuscan people and their foods.
Chef Giovanni was so warm and welcoming as we spent time in his home (an amazing former olive press) and helped us to learn how to cook some amazing dishes with local ingredients.
If you love cooking, this is a must for you to do!!!!
Benjamin_F, Apr 2025
This class was one of the highlights of our trip to Italy! Giuseppe is very welcoming, engaging and full of life. The class was excellent, cooking three Tuscan dishes, and the setting was beautiful - in his ancestral family home, which was formally an olive press by the river, with much of the buildings over hundreds of years old and fantastically preserved and maintained. It was authentic, informative, and most importantly, fun. I will be coming back to do this again someday.
suzanne_r, Mar 2025
Don't miss this experience! Chef Giuseppe is a lovely human being, humble and a great cook! The things we made and ate for lunch was some of the best food I've eaten in a very long time! We stopped at the farmers market first to get some of what we needed and then to the mill in the hills of Tuscany where his kitchen is. The mill is his home and used to be a stone mill for pressing the olives. An awesome experience we won't soon forget!
William_M, Sep 2024
Giuseppe met us at the train station and then a short walk to an outdoor farmers market to purchase fresh vegetables for our cooking class. A visit to a truly unique pasta shop where we were treated to freshly made mushroom ravioli that was out of this world !
We were then driven to Giuseppe’s renovated 15 century olive mill . Class began in a small commercial kitchen and the instruction and aroma of the food was incredible .
Giuseppe is an energetic chief who made our experience one for the memory book . lunch was served in the renovated dining room amongst treasures collected over many years . One of the best experiences we have ever had . Mac
genevievewhitty, Jul 2023
A fantastic day cooking and tasting Lucca’s finest food.
Giuseppe is a brilliant host. We were made to feel so welcome in his home. We cooked in his kitchen and dined at a table that was set beautifully.
Well worth it.
Elizabeth_N, Jun 2023
The class was in a beautiful location, and it was enjoyable and well organized. We were pampered and educated, and we enjoyed delicious food. Suitable for a beginner but enjoyable for an experienced cook. Giuseppe was terrific!
Response from Host, Jun 2023
Thank you Elizabeth . You have e been so kind. Have a great summer.
50klm, May 2023
Chef was very experienced and personable. We cooked a number of dishes in the time allotted and he showed us techniques to achieve a perfect meal. The venue was lovely and clean.
Danielle_S, Nov 2022
My husband and I took this class and definitely recommend it. This said, much of the prep work had been completed in advance so there wasn't serious cooking if you're wanting to get your hands dirty. We did all participate in various parts of the cooking process - light sous chef duties. There were two other groups of 3 that joined us - 8 people total in the class.
It began with a trip to the market to buy some ingredients for the lunch we'd be making - a bakery and a produce store. Along the way, our chef/guide pointed out a couple of other stores and the food products we might want to purchase there.
When we arrived at the apartment/kitchen (which is gorgeous) we received glasses of prossecco and began with an olive oil tasting, then a cheese tasting. Part way through lunch preparation we had a focaccia tasting. For lunch, we prepared artichoke salad, ricotta and herb gnudis in tomato sauce, truffle & parmesan risotto. We ate what we prepared together and it was paired with lovely wines. For dessert we had a panna cotta with raspberries that was prepared by the chef due to timing. We finished the time together with espresso and limoncello. We received a couple of nice takeaways - an apron, cookbook(let), bay leaf bundle, a "certificate of completion" and a list of the chef's favorite cafes/restaurants in Lucca.
It was a nice time and we would do it again.
A couple of notes:
The restaurant we met in front of is not owned/worked in by the chef/guide. This was confusing for one of the groups who tried to the enter the restaurant.
Our chef/guide was great accommodating mobility issues for one of the guests.
This is not a pasta making class. Don't expect to learn how to make dough unless you specifically ask for this to be included.
John_C, Oct 2022
Giuseppe was amazing from the moment we met him at a local wine merchant. He truly enjoys what he does and is gracious enough to share this experience at his magnificent 16th century apartment within the walls of Lucca.
The Extra Virgin experience has Giuseppe taking us through the stone streets of Lucca searching out the necessary ingredients for our magnificent experience to come!
Giuseppe entertained us with his passion of food along with the proper wine Pairings and special ingredients for each recipe. His masterful skill of a simple composition of oil, ice and balsamic transforms a simple salad into a masterpiece! Extra Virgin is the center of the local cultural experience of Lucca!
Not to be missed!
John, Cathi, Bob & Therese
Grazie Mille Giuseppe!
Mark_M, Jul 2022
It was a very nice living where we have eat.
Guiseppe was a fantastic men who has a real passion for the Italian kitchen
Joseph_F, Jul 2022
Just a great great great experience, if you love Italian cooking then take this tour you will not regret it
Daniel_S, Jun 2022
Interesting, but not truly a hands-on class. Small tasks were under taken by individuals, but we basically watched Giuseppe cook.
Joyce_T, Apr 2022
We were greeted by Chef Giuseppe and then escorted on a wonderful journey through the markets of Lucca. Eight of us arrived at his lovely home where the class was to be held and were greeted by a beautiful table set and decorated by his wife Liz. In the kitchen we began with prosecco and an olive oil tasting followed by more prosecco and the class. The class was fun and the food delicious. We helped prepare and enjoyed a four course meal that was fresh and wonderful, This class is not to be missed. If you enjoy good food and wine you will love this food experience.
Wayne_C, Mar 2022
Had an amazing time with Guiseppie. It was very nice to be invited to his home and cook an amazing meal together. We shopped for vegetables and bread and toured the market. We had wine for each part of the process (4 bottles) A must do if you go to Lucca Italy. You won't regret it.
Helen_S, Mar 2022
We all thoroughly enjoyed our cookery experience with Giuseppe. Even my husband who has problems opening tins! It was great to be taken to the bakeries and food shops and have the goods explained to us. Who knew my garden weed Borage can be used as a vegetable? We went to Giuseppe’s fabulous apartment, it was so nice to see inside buildings that as a tourist you can usually only walk past. We were then shown how to prepare a delicious lunch, whilst tasting and comparing virgin olive oil, local wines, bread, beautiful ingredients and so on. Plus some great kitchen technique training. Giuseppe is engaging, informative and a lot of fun. After our delicious lunch, we left with huge smiles and many great memories.
Susan_B, Feb 2022
Chef was fantastic. There was only 3 of us gals and we had a great intimate, fun and most enjoyable cooking class. Would highly recommend this to everyone.
Wouter_D, Oct 2021
We have had a great cooking class! The chef was amazing and very friendly! Beautiful ambiance and really an activity to remember, definitely a highlight of our trip to Tuscany!
Laura_v, Oct 2021
Chef Giuseppe is a very skilled chef, organized and what a house/kitchen!! Very romantic experience. Not to much cooking yourself, Giuseppe lets you help and do a lot of tasting! Thank you, was a great experience!!
Stephen_D, Sep 2021
This experience was more than we could have ever imagined or hoped for. Giuseppe is such a gracious guide and host. His creations are so delicious.
Michael_R, Jun 2021
Imagine walking the streets of an ancient walled city while learning about the local food, culture, exploring hidden cafes, bakeries, and a fresh vegetable shop that will blow your mind! Imagine no more as Chef Guiseppe makes this a reality. For lovers of simple yet elegant local Italian cuisine who prefer an intimate setting to learn how to prepare a wonderful four course meal using local, sustainable ingredients, paired with local wine, this class is for you! We would do it all over again just to hang out with Guiseppe! Five stars are not enough!
Marybeth S, Nov 2019
Excellent, well-prepared, informative and fun market tour with an expert. The Cooking Class was awesome, food delicious and we were all inspired by Giuseppe.
Kellypalmr, Oct 2019
I made a reservation and didn't notice that the date they were showing me was the following month.
I went in person the next day and they couldn't fit me in and would not give me a refund. No refunds even if you make a mistake and the date you booked is a month away!
Response from Host, Oct 2019
Hi Kelly, You were booked on October 26th via Viator. You did not show up or contact us. Maybe you communicated with Viator? If you had kindly contacted us directly instead of leaving a bad review, for which we had no knowledge, I would gladly have rescheduled you! You did not show up in person the next day (Sunday), as we are closed on Sundays. Yes, we are fully booked at this time of year, it is up to the guest to read and know the class date they select. But this is not an honest representation of the facts. If Viator refused you a refund you need to address with them, we handle the cooking, they handle the money. thank you.
Susana_M, Jul 2019
To me my day in Lucca was the best part of my 20 day trip to Italy and the time I spent with the group getting to know a little bit of the town, with the group and the actual cooking class and tastings were spectacular. A great memory and I´ve already sent the link to friends who will visit later this year! I hope everyone enjoys it just as much!
From $196.65
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Extra Virgin Cooking Classes / Countryside Mill location
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