Sicilian Cooking Class

Recommended by 100% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Palermo, Italy

Great choice

5+ bookings last month.

4 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

5.0

· Jenna_C ·

Apr 2026

This cooking class was so much fun! Michael was very knowledgeable about different authentic Italian dishes. My mom and I enjoyed shopping in the market and eating the food at the end. The pace of the class was perfect and the food we made was amazing! We highly recommend this class!

· William_R ·

Mar 2026

Great cooking class. Started with shopping for fresh ingredients. Then went to a cozy kitchen for our class. Kept us students busy with helping making all the dishes but balanced with keeping the class moving along smoothly. Sign up for this one. Oh, yea. The food was awesome.

Explore our promoted experiences

Palermo's Delight: Unleash the Secrets of Pizza and Gelato Making

Palermo, Sicily

5.0

(574)

Palermo's Delight: Unleash the Secrets of Pizza and Gelato Making

from $65

Price varies by group size

Wanna be Sicilian: Palermo Cooking Class and Market Tour

Palermo, Sicily

4.9

(216)

Wanna be Sicilian: Palermo Cooking Class and Market Tour

from $83

Price varies by group size

Cooking class in a villa with Palermo view

Palermo, Sicily

5.0

(165)

Cooking class in a villa with Palermo view

from $137

Viator earns higher commissions on experiences featured here

Overview

Sicily is home to a unique cuisine, different from mainland Italy and often hard to access without the knowledge of a local. With this Sicilian cooking class, enjoy an exclusive glimpse into Palermo’s culinary traditions by exploring one of the city’s oldest markets with a local and then preparing classic dishes at a family-run cooking school. Make four courses and sample what you’ve created during a celebratory meal.

Visit a historic market in Palermo’s old town to select fresh ingredients
Learn how to make traditional Sicilian dishes with a hands-on lesson
Air-conditioned cooking school and English-speaking instructor
Four-course dinner with wine, homemade liqueurs, and coffee

Sample Menu

Starter

Panelle

freshly fried chick pea fritters, served with a squeeze of lemon, a cornerstone of Palermo street food and a favourite of everyone

Starter

Arancine al burro

a Palermo market street food classic, saffron flavoured rice balls filled with ham and cheese then breaded and fried

Starter

Carciofi fritti

fresh artichokes, cleaned then quartered, breaded and fried

Main

Pasta fresca con salsa fresca

make your own southern Italian style fresh pasta, we’ll top this with some freshly made tomato sauce

Main

Pasta con le sarde

a Palermitan classic, pasta with fresh sardines, wild fennel, saffron, currents and pine nuts, topped with toasted breadcrumbs

Main

Involtini di carne

thin meat rolls stuffed with cheese, breadcrumbs, currants and almonds, skewered, breaded and roasted, this is a family favourite in any household

Main

Pesce spada panato

slices of delicious swordfish dipped in extra-virgin olive oil and coated with breadcrumbs seasoned with fresh parsley, mint and lemon zest

Dessert

Cannoli

the most famous Sicilian dessert, fried pastry tubes filled with sweet ricotta cream & garnished with candied orange peel & pistachios from Bronte

Dessert

Cassata

THE Sicilian cake! homemade almond paste & sponge cake stuffed with sweet ricotta cream & decorated with candied fruit, a real treat!

Dessert

Granita di mandorle

a simple and delicious frozen desert made simply with water, sugar and almonds

What's Included

Market Tour
Cookery Lesson
Lunch

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Parcheggio ORLANDO | APCOA
P.za Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, 49, 90134 Palermo PA, Italy
On the lesson day meet at 10:00am on Piazza Vittorio Emanuele Orlando The Piazza is in front of the Tribunale di Palermo - the courthouse At one end you will find a Unicredit bank, I will meet you in front of the bank You the gps position into a web browser GPS Position: 38.119715, 13.352518

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Operating hours
.10:00 am

What To Expect

Capo Street Market

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed

Near public transportation
Infant seats available
Not recommended for people with severe food allergies, please get in touch to let us know of any dietary requirements.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 8 travelers

Supplied by

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

Jenna_C

Reviews

5.0

based on 295 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

This cooking class was so...

Jenna_C, Apr 2026

Great food and a good time

William_R, Mar 2026

Great cooking and eating experience!!

Geraldine_E, Jan 2026

This is a fabulous authentic experience Loved it!! Michael is a terrific host. The market was mostly closed...turns out Palermo doesn't like the rain!! Cooking class was really informative. Michael speaks excellent english and italian. The meal was dishes that are local to Palermo. Thank goodness not pizza, gelato or tiramisu!!!!😆 I loved this class. I really learnt something about food culture in Palermo and Sicilian cooking I highly recommend this class!!! Valeva la penna!!!

Amazing Cooking Class- with a Wonderful Chef

Jennifer_C, Jan 2026

Michael lead an extremely organized market visit and cooking class - with exquisite food, fun and information. Michael is very skilled in the kitchen and was also very knowledgable about Sicilian foods and the history behind them. His studio is gorgeous, his English was impeccable- but most importantly he was warm and friendly and shared his love of cooking with our small multicultural class. I would give this class a 10/10. We loved everything about it.

Authentic Sicilian cooking class

Dawn_M, Oct 2025

Amazing cooking class led by a seasoned chef. Great experience from start to finish. Wandered through a local market where Michael purchased our food for the meal. Then headed to a quaint kitchen designed for the cooking classes to make the most delicious food. Hands on every step of the way with instruction from the chef in a small group setting. Learned some new tips. At the end we enjoyed the delicious meal with wine and a homemade orange liquor. Highly recommend Michael and the Sicilian Pantry cooking experience.

Amazing experience!

josephine_c, Sep 2025

Absolutely incredible. He introduced all of us to each other and helped us become familiar before starting the cooking was phenomenal. he explained everything as he did it and we participated heavily. The final experience was a four course dinner paired with wine and it was absolutely phenomenal. Michael was so friendly and shared stories from his life and experiences. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a fantastic, small cooking class.

A lovely way to spend 4...

Dagmar_A, Sep 2025

A lovely way to spend 4 hours. Michael divulged all kinds of cooking tips and we had an amazing meal with wine - just the right amount of food. Would do this experience again if I return to Palermo- a highlight of our trip!

Really entertaining...

Adam_T, Jun 2025

Really entertaining experience, there is clearly a load of knowledge and experience behind this! The food we made was tasty, and we came away knowing what to do to cook the meals well when we go back home! Lovely wine and conversation (and of course the delicious food we made) came afterwards. Highly recommend

Great experience

Timothy_S, May 2025

Michael is a terrific host and teacher. The pace was excellent and the food we all prepared was awesome. The market visit was fun and so useful to learn about local cooking.

Excellent experience!

Lucas_H, Apr 2025

We had a wondwrful time with this experience! The chef and assistant chefs were very fun, friendly, and knowledgeable. We appreciated the guided walk through the markets and teaching of how to make pasta, fried artichokes, granita, and more. Would highly recommend!

Highly recommend

Maureen_F, Mar 2025

Michael was a pleasure! Very personable and knowledgeable. We had a lot of fun preparing the dishes and thoroughly enjoyed eating it and pairing with local wines! Excellent experience!

Wonderful moments in Sicilia

MarceloEduardo_S, Jan 2025

Michael & Elena are wonderfull. Since the beginning. Buy the ingredients in the market, every place we have an explanation full of culture of Sicilia. Beyond the delicious meal, each tip during class permits us to learn some secrets of Sicilian art of cooking. Thank you so much

Michael was great host. ...

Stanley_K, Jan 2025

Michael was great host. He educating us at the market and showed us how to make delicious Sicilian dishes. Highly recommend.

Delicious and so informative!

Sheryl_B, Jan 2025

This class was just the right size with six of us and Chef Michael and assistant Elenas. We shopped for our ingredients in an open air market. Everything was incredibly fresh and Chef explained all of the ingredients as we purchased them. It was a very short walk to the apartment with large kitchen. [Please note there is a steep flight of stairs to the apartment if you have mobility issues.] Chef made sure everyone was able to assist with each step of the meal preparation. There was great conversation and wine as we got to know each other. Finally, we sat down to a four course lunch that was so delicious and convivial. I would take this class again and again. I highly recommend it.

Highlight of Palermo

kmthomas10, Dec 2024

Absolutely fabulous experience! From visiting local markets to gather fresh ingredients to actually making the dishes, Chef Michael, his assistant and the entire experience were 12 outta 10!

The best cooking class in town

Sofia_K, Dec 2024

I think this is the coolest cooking class in town. Michael is a very generous and professional person. They prepared a lot of delicious and simple recipes for interesting dishes for us. And we even made pasta with our own hands! I just fell in love with the process. Thank you so much for such variety and hospitality. I had an incredible time. Special thanks for the cookbook and for the conversation over lunch. It was very sweet!

AMAZING experience both fun and delicious

Brandonjj, Nov 2024

We absolutely LOVED our class with Michael! We had 6 people in our class. It was easy to meet up and he communicated well on the menu in advance. We met, went shopping in the market (he taught us there as well) and then started cooking at his nearby cooking studio and dining room. He did a great job of teaching us WHAT we were making and WHY (the history, how they adjust menu to seasonally match what is available), and then HOW to prepare and cooking it. He adjusted the menu for one of the six, who was vegetarian, without compromising the menu for the rest of the group. Everything was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS and AMAZING! After preparing, we had a nice sit-down meal, with the food we prepared (combined with his pre-made special sauce…he only makes this once per year), but everything else was of our doing (with much help from him). His assistance (Elena?) was great and fun, as well. The class was a highlight of our visit and so happy we arranged the Silician Cooking Class with Michael. BOOK IT NOW! We loved every part of it and hope to return again someday.

Fabulous cocking school in Palermo

Rosemary_V, Nov 2024

Michael , our Irish chef , was incredible. He lives in Palermo with his Sicilian wife and is truly fabulous at his job. He was so personable , friendly , accomplished , and fun . We first went to the Capo market and selected the food for our meal . All local and fresh . Then to the test kitchen to learn the recipes , hands on . And afterwards we all sat down for a delicious lunch we prepared with wine . I have booked many Viator experiences . All excellent , but this was the best of all . Highly recommended .

The best cooking class!!

Shelley_M, Sep 2024

The best cooking class I’ve ever been to. The food was amazing!! Opportunities to prepare food but not stressful. Everything was timed perfectly. Lots of laughs and conversation. Highly recommend!!

Fun class and great Sicilian food

Betsy_F, Aug 2024

This class was not only informative, but fun. Michael taught us the simplicity of making a delicious pasta, pesto and “watermelon pudding”. We had a lovely sit down lunch to enjoy the fruits of our labor. I highly recommend this adventure!

Mangia, Mangia!

james_s, Aug 2024

Michael took us to the market, explaining how to shop the vendors. He was very knowledgeable and guided us through. Afterwards in the kitchen, he explained all the cooking techniques thoroughly. It was a hands-on experience that resulted with some of the best panelle and pasta we had on our trip to Italy! A highlight of our trip! Thank you Michael for an amazing afternoon.

Love that class

Anna_K, Jul 2024

Cooking class was an absolute amazing experience, we had a fantastic time with amazing people and atmosphere. Michael was such a talented chef and he passed on so much informations about sicilian cooking. The meals were delicious

Cooking with Michael a Sicilian Delight

Betty_F, Jul 2024

Michael was exceptional at sharing his love for cooking and using local produce to make traditional Sicilian dishes. We began in the local market and proceeded to his private kitchen to clean, prepare and assemble the ingredients for a delicious meal that we shared with the eight of us. I learned a lot about how to use knives and a scraper tool correctly. A wonderful experience that was made enjoyable for adults as well as my 13 year old great nephew.

Great

Ewa_P, Jul 2024

The cooking class with Michael and Melissa was an excellent experience, I highly recommend it to everyone who enjoys cooking, learning new skills and trying new dishes

10/10

Kate_H, Jun 2024

Great experience!! We had so much fun with our group and the chefs! The food we learnt to cook was especially delicious!

La Dolce Vita

WILLIAM_P, Jun 2024

Michael and his assistant, Melissa, did an excellent job providing us with a fun, educational and tasty experience. From taking our group through the market to buy the ingredients for the day's meal, to the food prep and then onto actually eating the meal they were always entertaining and informative. It was much more like having a fun, casual dinner at a friend's house than a normal cooking course. It was one of our favorite activities during our time spend in Italy. We would recommend this to anyone who enjoys good food and good company.

This cooking class with Michael and Melissa, his helper was the Was the highlight of our stay in Palermo.

Edward_G, May 2024

This was by far the best cooking class I have ever taken. Chef Michael was so organized and knowledgeable and personable. If I had known how fabulous it was going to be, I would’ve signed up for more classes. He bought only the best of ingredients at the market. And we made a four course meal, appetizer through dessert. All of the recipes were wonderful.

Interesting and Delicious

Stacy_M, May 2024

Starts with a walk through a local market, buying things for the cooking class - what you make depends on the season, so it will always be fresh. We made a wonderful meal. Interesting class with different courses. Coffee, water and wine served. A great day was had by all.

Do It

Jeff_W, May 2024

Michael was great. A real chef. Great info at the market and while cooking and eating. Melissa, his assistant, was a laugh and fun to work with. We've taken many cooking classes during our trips to Italy and this was #1 or 2 out of all of them. Highly recommend.

Above and beyond

Jennifer_G, Apr 2024

Absolutely fantastic! Michael and Melissa not only helped us prepare delicious polpette, pasta, and granita—they shared stories with our group, patiently answered questions and offered cooking tips…and even helped us find a transfer to the airport on a tight schedule. Awesome experience :)

Likely to Sell Out