Our Experiences
Cooking class, foraging tour and masterclass: every experience is hosted by a local cook in her family kitchen.
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Genoese pesto in the mortar with a certified teacher
We knead Genoese focaccia together, hands in the dough, discovering every secret of its making. While we wait for it to rise we turn to real pesto alla genovese in the mortar: you get the mortar and the original PDO basil from Genova Prà, and together with Tiziana, a certified master and a competitor at the Pesto World Championship, you make your own pesto. We finish with the freshly baked focaccia and your own pesto, with a glass of chilled Prosecco.
Genoese focaccia · Pesto alla genovese in the mortar
Ligurian flavours in the park of Villa Serra di Comago
Tiziana welcomes you to the park of Villa Serra di Comago, an English-style jewel with centuries-old trees, 250 varieties of hydrangea and a romantic lake home to black and white swans and oriental ducks. In spring and summer the mortar pesto class takes place in the garden; in autumn and winter in the villa's carefully restored kitchen. After visiting the historic halls of 1763, renovated in 2004, we taste the pesto we made together with Genoese focaccia and prosecco. Then hands go back in the dough for gnocchi or trofie, to eat with the pesto you just made.
Pesto in the mortar with PDO basil · Gnocchi or trofie · Genoese focaccia
Pesto and cooking class between sea and nature in Montecontessa
Mara and Tiziana welcome you to an enchanting place between sea and mountains, surrounded by nature: a warm farmhouse with a wood-fired oven, a patio for the cooking classes and beautiful outdoor spaces overlooking the sea. At sunset we hold the mortar pesto and Genoese fresh pasta classes, for an authentic and convivial evening together. There is a large outdoor area for children, with games and farmyard animals to visit.
Pesto in the mortar · Gnocchi with pesto · Genoese focaccia
We knead pansotti, corzetti and tiramisu
A sensory journey into the past, caught up in the magic of kneading the fresh pasta that becomes pansotti, the traditional Genoese ravioli di magro: the filling is wild herbs from the Genoese valleys, ricotta and parmesan, dressed with the traditional walnut sauce. Then come Genoese corzetti with PDO pesto, and tiramisu to finish, also in a fresh fruit version.
Pansotti with walnut sauce · Corzetti with PDO pesto · Tiramisu
Cooking class on pesto and cheese focaccia
Welcome into the house, in the heart of old Genoa, a short walk from the Palazzi dei Rolli and the largest historic centre in Europe. Here you learn to make Genoese PDO pesto with traditional mortars and, after tasting the fresh pesto on Genoese focaccia, you roll the pasta matta for Recco cheese focaccia, a specialty known worldwide, with all the techniques you need to make it again at home.
Genoese PDO basil pesto · Genoese focaccia · Recco cheese focaccia
Tour of Genoa's Mercato Orientale
The finest tour of all, in a market dating back to the 1930s, Genoa's Mercato Orientale, in the heart of the city: an unforgettable mix of scents and colours. We shop together choosing traditional products, then head home, a few steps from the largest historic centre in Europe, to cook and taste everything we have made.
Anchovy tart · Genoese minestrone · Apple and cinnamon cake
Monsieur Cappon Magro: Genoese excellence at the table
Cappon Magro was born in the 14th century aboard Genoese sailing ships, from salvaged ingredients such as stale bread, salted anchovies and dried tuna, and it is built in layers like a monument. You learn to assemble it piece by piece: a masterpiece of colour, aroma and tradition that very few people still know how to make.
Cappon Magro
Vegan Genoese recipes
I'll be waiting for you in my old house in the heart of Genoa's historic centre for a traditional menu that is entirely plant-based. Gattafin is a large fried Genoese pastry filled with wild greens; then potato gnocchi with tomato, basil or dairy-free pesto, and a vegan tiramisu to finish. Simple, genuine Ligurian ingredients, 100% plant-based.
Gattafin · Potato gnocchi · Vegan tiramisu