In the kitchen · TAORMINA PASTA CLASSES
The good benches seat a dozen people and fill weeks ahead. Below: the 7 to book early, what each includes and how they differ.
Meet your English or Italian-speaking chef at Ristorante & Pizzeria Porta Messina for a hands-on Sicilian cooking class. You will make pizza dough, choose toppings, and may also prepare fresh pasta. Then eat your work with bruschetta, drinks, wine, dessert, and a pizza certificate.
“This was an excellent evening enjoyed meeting different people from around the world and the pasta & pizza making was good fun!”
Travel by air-conditioned Mercedes minivan from Taormina, Giardini Naxos, or Letojanni to Savoca and Forza D’Agro. Walk through The Godfather film sites with guides such as Orazio, Denise, Carlos, and Antonio, then enjoy Sicilian pasta and Etna white wine on a coastal terrace.
“Very interesting, our guide was informative and friendly. Very good lunch in nice location”
Travel by air-conditioned Mercedes minivan from Taormina to Forza d’Agrò and Savoca with an English-speaking guide such as Antonio, Giovanni, Denise, or Valerio. See Bar Vitelli and the wedding church from The Godfather, hear real Sicilian Mafia history, then enjoy homemade pasta, bruschetta, wine, and often cannoli.
“This was up there as the best excursion we’ve ever went. The guide Giovanni was excellent. His knowledge and passion for the subject was outstanding. We saw all the places we remember from the movies and Gio had backup footage for those who had forgotten. The transport was spot on and the meal we went for after it was outstanding. If I wasn’t leaving Sicily today I would have went back and done it again!! We could have listened to him for hours. Superb guide and a great sense of humour as well, he kept us all going and nothing was a bother. Thank you Giovanni for making our trip…”
Travel by private car from Taormina with an English-speaking guide such as Marco, Bruno, Massimo, or Omar. Walk through Savoca and Forza d’Agro, visit Bar Vitelli and movie churches, discuss Mafia history, then enjoy antipasti, pasta, wine, and lemon dessert at a local trattoria.
“This was a fabulous tour given by knowledgeable guides Davide and Leonardo. Both men provided us with a very personalized and friendly tour. We never felt rushed. Rather, they kept telling us that “today is your day”. We moved from place-to-place at our pace, not theirs. We very much enjoyed spending our day, and our lunch, with them. They wanted to give us time to ourselves during lunch, but we could not exclude them. Thank you Davide and Leonardo!”
Meet your pizzaiolo at Ristorante Pizzeria Porta Messina, learn dough and Sicilian sauce basics, then shape and top your own pizza. The class may also include pasta making, with chefs such as Francesca, Luca, Maurizio, Paolo, or Daniel leading the session. Eat your creations with water and soft drinks, then take home a certificate.
“Lovely evening! Everyone was super friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. The food was very yummy and the space was very cute!”
Meet your chef near Porta Messina for a hands-on Sicilian cooking class in central Taormina. Make homemade pasta and pizza, taste cheese and wine, share a full meal, and take home recipes and a certificate. Chefs such as Luca, Maurizio, Francesca, and Giovanni lead sessions.
“Lovely traditional feeling restaurant with a very passionate guide/host. We started off with some pasta making, then had a break for nibbles and wine. Next we made the pizza dough, learned about the different recipes and traditions and created our own toppings. We were then able to eat our creations along with the pasta made earlier, again, accompanied by plenty of wine. We finished the evening with Cannoli and Limoncello. Great experience for the evening. We even got to keep our aprons and were sent the recipes for the food we had made. Going home to buy a pizza oven…excellent!”
Meet your English or Italian-speaking instructors at Porta Messina, visit Taormina Regional Market, then make pizza and pasta in a professional kitchen. Expect about three hours of hands-on cooking, wine, snacks, lunch, a personalized apron, recipes, and a certificate. Families, vegetarians, and gluten-free diners can be accommodated.
“Absolutely brilliant. Great value for money, amazing friendly staff. Just an all round fantastic evening. A real must do experience when visiting this wonderful country”
Pick a city, a shape of pasta, or a bench with the wine left open.
