Wanna be Sicilian: Palermo Cooking Class and Market Tour

Recommended by 99% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Palermo, Italy

High interest

Booked 3 times today.

5 hours (approx.)
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.9

· Cate_S ·

Jan 2026

We thoroughly enjoyed our cooking lesson with Lidia, who was an excellent teacher and the recipes were easy to follow and accessible. She shared many practical cooking tips and also gave us great recommendations for places to try around the city. The session was fun, relaxed, and highly entertaining. We would absolutely recommend this experience to other travellers to Palermo.

· Alyssa_D ·

Apr 2026

Had a great time! Salvo, our instructor was great. Very knowledgeable about the food we were making being from Palermo himself with do's and don'ts for the Capo market. He shared a lot about the history of the food was all and, most importantly, the final result was delicious. Can't wait to bring the recipes home!

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Overview

Put a fun slant on a food experience in Palermo with this small-group cooking class and market tour. Shop alongside chefs at Mercato del Capo, selecting fresh seasonal ingredients, then learn to make a typical 3-course meal from scratch, including arancini, pasta alla Norma, and freshly baked cannoli. Enjoy your creations family-style with local wines, savoring authentic Sicilian flavors. The group is limited to 20 people, and the tour runs rain or shine.

Visit Palermo’s Mercato del Capo to shop fresh seasonal ingredients with chefs
Bypass tourist food and make arancini and pasta alla Norma
Enjoy three courses, finishing with freshly baked cannoli and local wines
Suitable for vegetarians with advance notice

Sample Menu

Starter

Arancine al ragù

Fried rice meatballs filled with meat sauce and peas

Main

Home-made maccheroni alla Norma

The ingredients are simple but the full-bodied taste is unmistakable. Just one forkful will prove that it contains the best of the Mediterranean meals

Dessert

Cannolo

Cannoli are Sicilian pastries consisting of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling containing ricotta

What's Included

Delight in the Food Market Tour
Hands-on Cooking Lesson with a Local Chef
All Ingredients for Your 3 Course Lunch
Alcoholic Beverages

Wine and Marsala wine or soft drinks for children
Receive a Graduation Certificate
Digital Booklet Packed with Recipes
Explore the Food Market (when closed: extra tastings at the cooking school will substitute instead)

Gratuities
Hotel pick up and Drop off
Market tour excluded if Pasta and Gelato option purchased

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Via Volturno, 44, 90138 Palermo PA, Italy
TOWNS OF ITALY TOURIST HUB & COOKING SCHOOL | PALERMO Via Volturno, 44 90138 Palermo. We kindly request your arrival at the meeting point at least 15 minutes before departure. Regrettably, we cannot accommodate latecomers.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Infant seats available
Please inform us of any food intolerance or allergy in advance

The tour runs rain or shine
Please note that fish shops are closed on Mondays and when the market is closed a special introduction and extra tastings at the cooking school will substitute instead
Suitable for vegetarians! (please inform us in advance)
This tour is not suitable for celiacs
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 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

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Alyssa_D

Reviews

4.9

based on 213 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Cooking Class

Meryl_S, Apr 2026

This was a fantastic experience. Chef Salvo was a wonderful teacher and made the afternoon just perfect. The dishes we prepared we're superb. Totally recommend this cooking class.

A great way to spend the morning!

Alyssa_D, Apr 2026

Short and sweet but...

chenggek_l, Apr 2026

Short and sweet but informative. Well organised, good instructors who gave great tips on making pasta and gelato. A good activity for the whole family.Very fun!

The organization and prep...

Janet_M, Apr 2026

The organization and prep was great. The chef was easy to follow and had fun traveling tips, as well. Everyone felt welcome.

A wonderful introduction to Sicilian cooking!

Cate_S, Jan 2026

It was a hands on cooking...

James_W, Oct 2025

It was a hands on cooking class lead by an excellent chef/teacher. Everyone in the class were engaged and from what I could tell had an excellent experience.

Great fun cooking experience

Jo_K, Oct 2025

This was so much fun and a real highlight of our Palermo trip. The food is delicious, Marcelo was a wonderful host and we loved the market visit.

Highly Recommend!

Jon_S, Oct 2025

What a fantastic first day in Palermo. Our chef, I believe his name was Marcello, was great. He made the class fun and informative. He was very organized and made learning easy. I also enjoyed our walk throuh the market where he explained what some of the foods were and even gave us a taste of a few of his favorites.

Fun cooking (and eating) class.

Davidlmatthews61, Oct 2025

We had a great experience with Chef Salvatore. The walking tour of the market gave an appreciation of the various foods in this area with a sampling of street food. Cooking class included making pasta, arancini and the cannoli shell. Pacing was good as the experience lasted just under 4 hours. Show up hungry as the arancini and pasta you make will be filling. Need to leave room for the cannoli.

Great class and very...

Robert_G, Oct 2025

Great class and very informative/entertaining. All three were very personable and provided a great learning environment!

Great for foodies

Jenny_K, Sep 2025

The food and instruction were great. Very nice cooking facility. The market tour was a bit challenging as our group of 17 couldn’t always hear the guide in such a busy place. I’d have preferred to not eat food touched by and prepped by so many strangers, but I suppose that is the nature of the beast.

Do this!!!

Deanna_D, Sep 2025

It could not have been better. it was perfect. The market tour was great with small bites here and there. Our chef, Salvo was kind and patient and we loved what he taught us to make. It was the best.

So much fun! We really...

Gina_E, Sep 2025

So much fun! We really enjoyed the walk through the market, our guide gave some really great tips for picking out fresh, local fish and produce and gave us pointers on some good spots to shop from. The entire cooking class was fun, interactive and delicious! Plus, they share the recipes you learn in class with you afterwards, so you can just enjoy the experience and have a good time.

Wow fantastic

Connie_R, Aug 2025

Salvatore was professional yet very personable & friendly. Nice facility. good… no very good food!!!

Amazing!

victoriagiszczynski, Aug 2025

What a fantastic way to experience Italian food than to learn how to make it! This class is great for any skill level of cooking. As somebody who enjoys cooking, my boyfriend is quite the novice, and he even had such a great time. Our chef Nadia was phenomenal! She's very knowledgeable, not only in the kitchen, but when we went out to the market, she taught us how to identify fresh produce and fish, and she had a deep understanding of the ingredients and navigating the market. Nadia had such a fun personality and made the cooking lesson so much fun. All the staff members were kind and welcoming, and they even jumped into photo bomb some of our photos, which is such a great keepsake! While we were cooking, Nadia helped to take pictures, played amazing music and the overall experience was out of this world! We made some great friends while we were there and ate amazing food that we prepared from scratch! While we were bummed that our session came to an end, we will have this phenomenal memory of our time in Sicily and we even got to take home a cookbook with the recipes that we cooked for that day as well as some additional ones for us to try at home. If you are in Palermo and looking for something fun and different to do, this is it! The price may seem a little expensive at first, but considering you are getting a cooking lesson, a three-course meal, wine, and amazing memories, it was worth every penny, and we would 100% do it again. We even considered signing up for the pizza and gelato-making class later that week, but unfortunately, it was sold out for our time that we were in Palermo.

Amazing!

Hillary_B, Aug 2025

Absolutely amazing! A very unique experience. Market tour was very interesting and informative! Our chef, Nadia, was incredibly knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. 10/10 would recommend if you want to learn about traditional Sicilian cooking.

Great half day of cooking lunch

Scott_E, Jul 2025

Super fun and relaxing day. We made delicious food, sipped wine and laughed a lot. The capo market was great to see as well. Highly recommend this class.

Response from Host, Jul 2025

Hi Scott, Thanks so much for your great review! We’re thrilled to hear you had a fun and relaxing time diving into Sicilian flavors with us. From the Capo market to the kitchen, it sounds like you truly embraced the spirit of the day—good food, good wine, and lots of laughter! We’d love to welcome you again for another authentic experience, whether in Palermo or one of our other Towns of Italy destinations. – The Towns of Italy Team

Fun cooking like a Sicilian!

Adriana_T, Jun 2025

Great fun to cook and eat Sicilian food, plus have the recipes to try and reproduce the recipes at home. Small group, chef lovely, friendly, knowledgeable. Fun wander through the market highlighting local produce and foods, plus opportunity to try a couple of the local snacks

Family Cooking Experience!

skydive100, Jun 2025

Wonderful experience! Everything from the atmosphere to the food we made was perfect. Highly recommended as a way to spend time together as a family, learn about the local food culture, and a way to make some great food and memories!

The BEST cooking class I’ve done

Barbara_W, Jun 2025

The BEST cooking class I’ve done! A small group of passionate foodies led by Salvatore who was equally passionate! I was sceptical about making arancini (and pasta Norma and Cannoli) but any relationship between these sensational items(crispy, soft and FULL of beef ragù) and what is available on the street, is purely coincidental! And am now re-inspired to make my own pasta and rediscover whipped ricotta bliss! Afantastic market tour with so much information and random tastings and a wonderful morning perfected with free flowing wine to complement our lunch. Full marks Salvatore, and Thank You!

Chef Filippo was awesome!

James_P, Jun 2025

Our chef, Filippo, was awesome. He was totally in his game, knowledgeable and fun with a great sense of humor. This is a must do experience in Palermo. As a chef I always do the food tour and chef class and this was one of the best. The recipes and end results were fantastic. Chef Filippo was an awesome instructor. I highly recommend it.

What a great fun...

Mike_S, May 2025

What a great fun experience with Salvo. Cooked great food learnt a lot and had a lot fun doing it. Thanks Salvo

Fantastic class

Michael_J, May 2025

Great experience learning some history and methods of Sicilian cooking with Chef Salvo. The market was interesting as we sampled some street food, learned about choosing fresh fish and fruits, and purchased sweets from a traditional pastry shop. The meal we made together was delicious.

I was expecting more...

kgorin, May 2025

I was expecting more hands on. That said it was a good class. There were only 2 students. The market tour was nice.

Sicily cooking FUN!

kristin_k, May 2025

This class is fun, we learned some new cooking techniques, and enjoyed a few laughs as well. The lunch menu was delicious and I felt like a Sicilian! Our chef/instructor seems to really enjoy his work.

Don't miss this!

Susan_V, May 2025

I highly recommend this tour to see how easy it can be to cook like a Sicilian! The market trip was great and we found the overall experience awesome!!

A fun and expertly...

Chris_O, May 2025

A fun and expertly constructed class inside a professional kitchen, which includes a visit to the street market next door. The instructor Lidia was expert and easy going. Fellow Participants added to the fun and you did learn how to make some quite complicated dishes. A thoroughly enjoyable as well as instructive experience.

Amazing Experience!!!

Madison_D, May 2025

This experience was amazing!! The cooking class was fun and informative and the trip to the market was awesome! Loved seeing all the fresh produce and fish and getting to try out some classic Sicilian street food!

Incredible Experience

Madeline_W, Apr 2025

It was excellent, we cannot say enough good things about this tour. The chefs were professional, enjoyable and gave lots of tips and tricks. The food was some of the best we have had. An irreplaceable experience.

Great Cooking Class

Norman_T, Apr 2025

The cooking experience was amazing! So was the market tour! Our Chefs were Lidia and Salvo they explained everything to us so thoroughly! They both had great personalities and were a lot of fun to work with! We really learned how to make pasta, the ragu for arancini's and of course arancini's and also cannoli! The meal was delicious and everybody really learned a lot and had a great time! I would recommend this tour very highly!!