The Best Cooking Schools in Italy

Combining Italian Cooking School with a Vacation

Are you a foodie or home cook interested in attending a cooking school in Italy? There is good news for you! A holiday in Italy can include Italian cooking tours and classes. These events allow you to learn some secret traditional cooking methods and ingredients that will enable you to prepare authentic Italian dishes.

Italian cuisine is among the most loved cuisines globally, and it takes some effort to master. However, professional culinary schools will help you understand the procedures and details used by top-rated Italian chefs.

This guide will help you pick among the best culinary schools in Europe. From the ones reviewed below, select the one that best suits your career ambitions and cooking techniques you are interested in mastering.

Friends preparing food in cooking school Italy - The Proud Italian

The Best Cooking Schools in Italy

If you are aspiring to be a food entrepreneur, you will love this section. Here, you will discover where you can take Italian cooking classes during your next vacation. You will also find out what courses each cooking school offers and the school’s region.

Read on to find out the courses’ duration and any other relevant information that will help you make an informed decision.

The School of Culinary Arts – Cordon Bleu Florence

Region: Florence

The School of Culinary Arts Cordon Bleu Florence is arguably the oldest in the region. It is a renowned Italian cooking academy based in a good-looking 16th-century structure in Florence.

At the college, students can learn amateur and professional courses. They also host themed workshops and team-building courses for institutions.

Courses offered:

The college offers several courses. Some are degree and master’s level courses that may not be ideal for you if you are on vacation because of time issues. But, there are also short courses you can pursue that are specially designed to be short-term. 

Also, it would help if you went for the courses that are available on request. They include:

  • In the kitchen with love
  • Incentives
  • A culinary journey from Italy to Australia
  • Aroma Italia

Dishes you will learn to cook:

These courses do not train the participants to cook a specific type of food. You will learn how to prepare various Italian delicacies.

Chef and student in school of culinary arts preparing a meal - The Proud Italian

Course duration

Most of the courses last for a few hours as they are categorized as amateur courses. The more time you have in your hands, the more classes you can attend.

Tuscookany Cooking Schools in Tuscany

Region: Tuscany

Tuscookany cooking schools offer guests an unmatched vacation experience. They use an informal but fun setting to help you learn how to make delicious Italian meals. Participants take part in practical Tuscan cooking classes in the afternoon and later dine on their fantastic creations as they relax.

Courses offered

You will learn Tuscan cooking in style and enjoy yourself while at it. Trainees get hands-on training while staying in one of the luxurious villas: Bellorcia, Casa Ombuto, and Torre del Tarfuto.

The Tuscookany cooking course program gives its participants three options. You can choose:

  • Bellorcia – this option offers Italian cooking lessons only or Italian cooking lessons and hiking.
  • Casa Ombuto – at this castle, you can learn Italian cooking, Mediterranean cooking, or opt for the Italian cooking and hiking package. Participants can also have a three-day Italian cooking training session.
  • Torre del Tartufo – this castle offers Italian cooking, Italian cooking, fitness, yoga, and three-day Italian cooking. You can also choose to learn vegan and vegetarian dishes.

Dishes you will learn to cook:

What you learn depends on the castle you will choose and the course package you will attend. Generally, here are the things you will learn to prepare:

  • Anti pasta’s like Crostini’s, Torte Verdura, and Bruschetta.
  • Gnocchi.
  • Pasta with Tuscan fillings.
  • Sauces.
  • Meat dishes like Tagliata.

Course duration

The courses take a few hours in the afternoons for up to three days. You will learn how Tuscan women cook at the villas.

Gnocchi with red sauce and cheese grated on top - The Proud Italian

Vish School International

Region: Rieti

If you don’t want to attend your cooking school in Italian, you will love Vish as their lessons are available in English. The course facilitators are qualified and always available to take care of their student’s needs.

Courses Offered

This Italian cooking school offers courses in Culinary Arts Management, Tourism, and Hospitality. However, tourists on their Italian vacation might not be interested in taking long-term classes because of time constraints. 

There are no short term courses suitable for individuals on cooking tours in Italy. Nevertheless, here are the courses they offer:

Certifications and Diploma:

  • Pizza maker
  • Culinary Art
  • Pastry Maker
  • Travel & Tourism Management
  • Corso Hospitality Management (Diploma)

There are also other Bachelors and MBA courses as listed on the school’s official website.

Dishes you will learn to cook:

  • Pizza
  • Italian Pastry
  • Food preparation and presentation techniques.

Course Duration

The level determines the duration of each course. Most diploma and certification courses last 500 hours.

Italian Chef Academy 

Region: Rome

The Italian Chef Academy offers courses that help aspiring professionals in the catering industry to get training, internships, and training workshops. Their lessons are available in both Italian and English for non-locals. The trainers are handpicked by highly qualified professionals in the industry to facilitate the cooking classes in Rome.

Courses Offered

All the courses offered at the academy include theory as well as practical classes. Students also get the privilege to go for internships in one of the prominent partner institutions. The courses are divided into three main categories, namely:

  • Chef professional courses
  • Pastry professional courses
  • Master culinary arts
Overview of bruschetti on wooden plate, with a glass of wine besides - The Proud Italian

Dishes you will learn to cook

The various courses will train you on how to prepare several Italian delicacies. You will learn to prepare some of the meals you see presented on Italian cooking shows. Here are some of the main categories of dishes you will learn to prepare:

  • Basic arguments
  • Appetizers
  • Bakery
  • First Dishes
  • Second Courses
  • Desserts
  • Innovations you can use in the kitchen.

Course Duration

The time you will spend in a cooking school in Italy while on vacation depends on the course you will take. The lessons usually run a few hours on particular days of the week.

Florence Culinary Arts School

Region: Florence

Florence is one of the top tourist destinations in Italy. If you go out of the classroom and take a tour of the streets, you will come across various traditional dishes and the latest trends. 

Florence, being one of the cooking towns in Italy, offers a unique environment to learn Italian cooking.

Courses offered

Trainees will find a wide range of courses to choose from. It will help if you go for a course that aligns with your professional goals. Here are the main courses you can select:

  1. Italian cuisine professional chef training
  2. Italian home cooking
  3. Special programs including :
    • Summer cooking
    • Gelato course
    • Christmas course
    • Sommelier course
    • One-day classes
Chef learning student how to make dough,cooking school Italy - The Proud Italian

Dishes you will learn to cook

The Italian food you will learn to prepare depends on the course you take. But here is a general view of what you will learn:

  • Home cooking.
  • How to prepare fresh pasta.
  • Pizza preparation.
  • How to prepare Gelato.
  • Pastry lessons.
  • Italian regional cuisines.

Course Duration

The duration of the course depends on the level of detail. For instance, Italian vacation cooking classes will last a shorter time than more intensive professional courses. The School’s official website clearly outlines the course details.

Villa San Michele School of Cookery

Region: Florence

At this Italian cooking school, you will learn from the best guest chefs and others from the renowned Orient-Express hotels in Italy. The school’s location is a former Franciscan monastery in the Fiesole hills. Orient –Express refurbished this ancient structure into a lush hotel.

Courses offered

  • Here, trainees learn a lot, including two-and-a-half-hour classes on how to cook traditional Italian foods like risotto.
  • There are also more intensive pasta courses that last up to three days taught by different chefs.
  • You will also learn the cooking styles from the South, North, and Central Italy.   

Dishes you will learn to cook

Trainees in the courses mentioned above will learn to prepare a wide range of Italian dishes.

Course duration

The courses last from two and a half hours to three days. The duration of the training is determined by what you intend to learn and how fast you learn.

Castello Banfi-II Borgo

Region: Tuscany

In this culinary school, students learn from the best chefs in Italy. For instance, the only Michelin three-star chef in Rome, Heinz Beck, has held some cooking lessons in the school. 

Also, home cooks and local chefs who cook in Italian restaurants facilitate classes. Guests stay in stone houses that were constructed in the 18th century.  

Tuscany fields with road to house - The Proud Italian

Courses Offered

Students get the opportunity to learn how to prepare many Italian dishes, some of which you cannot find in a traditional cooking school. Here is what you will learn to prepare:

  • Traditional and modern Tuscan dishes.
  • Wine seminars by Castello Banfi estate wines.  

Dishes you will learn to cook

As mentioned above, trainees attending this cooking school in Tuscany will learn how to cook traditional and modern Tuscan delicacies. They will also get some wine lessons from the best in the industry.

Course Duration

Most of the courses last three days, but it could be longer or shorter depending on what you are learning.

Cucina con Vista

Region: Florence

At the Cucina con Vista, the main trainer is Chef Elena Mattei. Elena is a native of Florence and was running a successful restaurant before opening the school in 2001. The school is based in a farmhouse with a professional kitchen. It also has its own vineyards and olive groves.

Courses Offered

This school offers students hands-on training on how to prepare various Italian dishes. Elena’s primary focus is Tuscan dishes, which she calls “nonna’s cooking.

View of someone's hands holding a cooking pan with vegetables inside and besides the stove - The Proud Italian

Dishes you will learn to cook

In nonna’s cooking class, you will learn to prepare:

  • Crostini alla Fiorentina con fegatini (Chicken liver pate on toast).
  • Polpettone al Pomodoro (meatballs with tomato sauce).

Course duration

The classes take between one to four days and are available throughout the year. They are convenient for individuals on Italian food tours.

Summary

Are you an aspiring chef? Do you dream of taking cooking classes in Venice, Italy? Arise and shine because your dreams are valid! You don’t have to worry about tuition fees and accommodation; you can take Tuscan cooking classes while on vacation. 

Depending on your future aspirations, you can select from one of the top-rated culinary schools reviewed here to sharpen your skills. Which cooking school in Italy is your favorite?