{"id":8601,"date":"2026-08-14T12:49:47","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T10:49:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.weroad.com\/blog\/?p=8601"},"modified":"2026-08-14T12:49:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T10:49:47","slug":"the-new-italian-souvenir-is-a-skill-you-can-take-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.weroad.com\/blog\/the-new-italian-souvenir-is-a-skill-you-can-take-home","title":{"rendered":"The New Italian Souvenir Is a Skill You Can Take Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you think learning to cook comes down to measuring ingredients, following recipes to a T, and taking copious notes on cooking techniques, you clearly have not taken La Tagliata restaurant\u2019s cooking class<\/a> in Positano, Italy. To be sure, this social media-famous course involves plenty of delicious dishes like eggplant parmesan, gnocchi and tiramisu; you\u2019ll bask in the aroma of the food, you\u2019ll definitely taste it, and you may even prepare some of it.<\/p>\n

An Experience to Remember in Positano<\/h2>\n

But in this particular cooking class, in the cliffside village of Positano on the Amalfi Coast, you\u2019re not just learning how to cook an Italian meal. You are learning to celebrate and savor it in true Italian fashion: with song, dance, good cheer and wine poured into oversized glasses filled to the brim. By the end of the evening, the joy is palpable and everyone is dancing.<\/p>\n

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Several content creators who took the class describe it on social media as the best part of their vacation.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou begin the day in the garden. You pick all the fruits and vegetables that you\u2019re going to be using in the recipe,\u201d says<\/a> Sophie Cranmer, who goes by the Instagram handle @myguidetotheworld. \u201cYou might not actually get much cooking done or remember half of the recipes, but boy, was it fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rise of the Skillcation<\/h2>\n

Travelers to Italy<\/a> have long been drawn to cooking classes on everything from pasta to gelato, but Gen Z\u2019s growing appetite for immersive, experiential vacations has added fresh momentum to this trend. With \u201cskillcations\u201d on the rise, travelers are not only looking for new experiences but also for something that will stay with them long after the trip is over, such as a new skill. And learning to cook traditional Italian food remains at the top of the list.<\/p>\n

No matter where you go in Italy, someone is probably offering a cooking class. From learning artisanal cheesemaking at the Italian Culinary Institute in Calabria to brushing up on the basics of Italian brunch at Mama Isa\u2019s Cooking School in Venice, to cooking with seasonal ingredients at The Sicilian Pantry in Palermo, there is never a shortage of options for travelers eager to explore Italian cuisine.<\/p>\n

Among these food-focused experiences that immerse travelers in Italy\u2019s culinary heritage, WeRoad offers<\/a> weekend trips to Bologna and Parma. A combination of architecture, art, culture and gastronomy, the trips promise \u201ca journey through history, flavor and atmosphere.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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Pasta, Meatballs and Tiramisu in Rome<\/h2>\n

For content creator and model Kate Redecker, who took a cooking class with EnjoyCooking.com in Rome, the experience began at the farmer\u2019s market, where she picked her own fresh vegetables before gathering the rest of the ingredients at the bakery, cheese shop and butcher shop. Next came the preparation of the meal. First, course participants made the tiramisu for dessert, then they prepared the vegetables, cooked the meatballs, and hand-rolled the pasta. Finally, they put everything together.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had never made pasta from scratch before so this was a treat, and seeing how everything came together at the end was just marvelous. I think knowing where the ingredients came from made the food taste so much better,\u201d she says<\/a> on Instagram. \u201cAfter we ate the pasta and the main course, we finished the tiramisu. And oh my goodness, it was phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pizza in Naples<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re going to take a pizza-making class, you may as well head to the place where it all began: Naples. Among a wide range of courses run by various cooking schools, the Verace Neapolitan Pizza Association offers a popular class called \u201cPizzamaker for One Day.\u201d<\/a> Under the watchful eye of their instructors, students prepare the dough, stretch it, cover it in sauce and bake it in a traditional wood-fired oven.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve been wanting to come learn how to make pizza the true Neapolitan way and this was it. These guys train restaurant owners in the authentic ways and this three-hour course was great for someone who\u2019s more of an amateur,\u201d one participant wrote in a Tripadvisor review. \u201cEven with a decent amount of pizza making experience I still learned tips and tricks to make it even better.\u201d<\/p>\n

No Experience Necessary<\/h2>\n

Are you the kind of hopeless cook who can barely boil a pot of water? Worried that you will have trouble keeping up with other students in a cooking class? Have no fear, says the content creator Martina DeAngelis, who offers a variety of cooking classes inspired by traditional recipes her family has been making for decades at their home in Sorrento.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get this message every day: \u2018Martina, I love your energy but I burn everything. Is your masterclass too difficult for me?\u2019\u201d she says<\/a> on Instagram, where she goes by the handle @dea_incucina. \u201cThis academy is not a competition for a professional chef. It\u2019s a kitchen that we started from zero, together.\u201d<\/p>\n

On her website, Martina talks about learning to cook on her family\u2019s farm by watching her mother and grandmother, whose traditional techniques and culinary secrets she wants to share with her students. Among other immersive experiences, she offers private and group classes on how to make pasta and cheese, limoncello and dessert.<\/p>\n

\u201cStop saying \u2018I can\u2019t,\u2019\u201d Martina says. \u201cStart saying, \u2018I\u2019m learning.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With \u201cskillcations\u201d on the rise, travelers are not only looking for new experiences but also for something that will stay with them long after the trip is over, such as a new skill. And learning to cook traditional Italian food remains at the top of the list.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":8604,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"mete":[171,179],"class_list":["post-8601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","mete-europe","mete-italy"],"acf":{"post_summary":"