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Venice Spice Tour: Historic Flavors & Stories
5.0
22 Ratings
Venezia
Explore Venice’s ancient flavors with a market tour and cooking class. Recreate historic dishes with exotic spices. Taste history today.
Explore Venice’s ancient flavors with a market tour and cooking class. Recreate historic dishes with exotic spices. Taste history today.
Duration:
3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Campo San Giacomo di Rialto - Immerse yourself in the vibrant culinary heritage of Venice through this cooking class and market tour led by a local expert. Skip the typical tourist eateries and savor the authentic flavors of the region’s distinctive cuisine. Begin your adventure at the lively Rialto Market to select the freshest ingredients, then…
- Campo San Giacomo di Rialto - Immerse yourself in the vibrant culinary heritage of Venice through this cooking class and market tour led by a local expert. Skip the typical tourist eateries and savor the authentic flavors of the region’s distinctive cuisine. Begin your adventure at the lively Rialto Market to select the freshest ingredients, then proceed to a genuine Venetian home with your host to prepare traditional dishes, incorporating historic spices like saffron and cumin. Discover Venice’s culinary secrets while cooking alongside a local. Delight in Venetian specialties such as cheese, salami, and marmalades. Master the art of making fresh pasta with pesto or seafood. Conclude the experience by enjoying your meal, featuring multiple courses and a delightful homemade wine. Welcome!
What's Included
- Cook in an ancient Venetian house
- Unlimited homemade wine
- Customized menu for allergies or restrictions
- Stay with a local outside the tourist path
- Small-group or private cooking class
- Guide included
- Lunch included
- Recipes provided
- Cook in an ancient Venetian house
- Unlimited homemade wine
- Customized menu for allergies or restrictions
- Stay with a local outside the tourist path
- Small-group or private cooking class
- Guide included
- Lunch included
- Recipes provided
What's Not Included
- Private transportation
- Private transportation
Meal Options
- fresh salads from the market,the cumin and the fennel, and fresh edible flowers
- tasting of delicacies from the region…and i don t forget the spices.. - we have in Veneto region some amazing products cheese , salami , marmelades ..honey. Did you never try marmelade of mandarin with chili and saffron ?
- fresh handmade pasta, with fresh pesto…
- fresh salads from the market,the cumin and the fennel, and fresh edible flowers
- tasting of delicacies from the region…and i don t forget the spices.. - we have in Veneto region some amazing products cheese , salami , marmelades ..honey. Did you never try marmelade of mandarin with chili and saffron ?
- fresh handmade pasta, with fresh pesto (rucola pesto!) or fresh seafood - nutmeg , tumeric ,cloves, this depends of what we decide for our pasta sauce.Local shark, cloves and citrus…but we decide together!
- focaccia with ancients types of flours …rosemary and many other flavours - ocaccia is a kind of Bread/pizza used now and many century ago…we can eat our delicacies with that!
- fresh ricotta honey ,figs, hazelnuts and…. tumeric and lavander - you can eat in many ways; with your eyes , with your sense of smell ….with your heart
Additional Information
Experience a unique culinary adventure in Venice with a distinctive cooking class. Visit an ancient home to cook in a traditional style.
- Explore the renowned Rialto Market in Venice and uncover the local produce and spices that have inspired Venetian cuisine for centuries.
- Learn to prepare dishes influenced by historical figures such as Marco Polo…
Experience a unique culinary adventure in Venice with a distinctive cooking class. Visit an ancient home to cook in a traditional style.
- Explore the renowned Rialto Market in Venice and uncover the local produce and spices that have inspired Venetian cuisine for centuries.
- Learn to prepare dishes influenced by historical figures such as Marco Polo and Casanova.
- Savor the genuine flavors of Venice through personalized lessons and enjoy a communal lunch or dinner, available as a small group or private activity.
- Discover the rich culinary history and traditions of Venice.
- Delve into the history and stories of Venice: experiment with the flavors of the Venetian merchants, discover the spices, and enjoy the experience together!
- All recipes will be elegantly written on fancy paper for you.
The ancient home will welcome you. Embark on a journey into the past with unique flavors. There are numerous recipes to choose from, and selections can be made together!
- not suitable for celiacs
Location
Campo San Giacomo di Rialto
I will meet you in front of "Caffe´ Vergnano 1882" a nice caffee close to Rialto Bridge
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(22 Ratings)
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1 star
Bushann1
Oct 4, 2025
A glimpse of local Venice with delicious food and wine - What a great day with Massimo! We walked through the market and he told us about the history of Venice. We went to his house where we made an amazing meal with the produce and spices. We enjoyed his company and the food was delicious. It was a more intimate experience than the big group tours. We got to experience more how locals live and eat. I highly recommend this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Carmela_w
Sep 26, 2025
Cooking experience in Venice - It was more than we could have expected. Massimo was wonderful. Not only was the food amazing but he was funny and informative and the best host you could ask for!
Review provided by Viator
Natalie
Aug 26, 2025
Fun! - Massimo’s class was such a fun experience! He was super chill, funny, and made everyone feel comfortable right away. We learned how to make pasta from scratch and a fresh zucchini salad, which turned out delicious. The class was hands-on, relaxed, and enjoyable. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a mix of great food and a great time!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Scott_w
Jul 15, 2025
Much more than a cooking class!!! - We started our adventure at 9 am at the fish market in Venice near the Realto bridge where we met Massimo, our host for the day. We spent some time wandering the open air fish and produce markets searching for ingredients for our lunch that we would be preparing. Mossimo introduced us to the wonderful array of Venetian products that were available and enlightened us with culture, history, and fun facts as we shopped. For this luncheon, he selected Prawns and a special small zucchini with flowers. After finishing up our shopping, we followed him down the winding streets to his home, where he opened a bottle of sparkling wine to get us all started. While enjoying the sparkling wine, he began to tell us the history of spices, Venice having been a crossroads for the spice trade. Each dish we would be preparing that day would include the spices which he discussed. Massimo started by preparing Focaccia “alla Nona” and then we moved into a pasta demonstration where we all assisted in making handmade pasta. Next thing we knew, we were all sitting down at a large table with multiple dishes being brought out and set before us. There were fresh salads, the Prawn and Zucchini with flowers dish, fresh sheep’s and cow’s cheeses served with homemade chutney from his grandmother and an array of other delightful dishes. Mossimo even brought out a bottle of his father’s Pino Negro from his family’s vineyard! Wow!! We were blown away by Mossimo’s hospitality, warmth, and desire to share his culture and family with us and he was the quintessential host that married culture, history, family, and fun all into a wonderful experience. If you find yourself going to Venice, book this delightful event! I promise you won’t be disappointed!
Review provided by Viator
Scottw1159
Jul 15, 2025
Much more than a cooking class!!! - We started our adventure at 9 am at the fish market in Venice near the Realto bridge where we met Massimo, our host for the day. We spent some time wandering the open air fish and produce markets searching for ingredients for our lunch that we would be preparing. Mossimo introduced us to the wonderful array of Venetian products that were available and enlightened us with culture, history, and fun facts as we shopped. For this luncheon, he selected Prawns and a special small zucchini with flowers. After finishing up our shopping, we followed him down the winding streets to his home, where he opened a bottle of sparkling wine to get us all started. While enjoying the sparkling wine, he began to tell us the history of spices,Venice having been a crossroads for the spice trade. Each dish we would be preparing that day would include the spices which he discussed. Massimo started by preparing Focaccia “alla Nona” and then we moved into a pasta demonstration where we all assisted in making handmade pasta. Next thing we knew, we were all sitting down at a large table with multiple dishes being brought out and set before us. There were fresh salads, the Prawn and Zucchini with flowers dish, fresh sheep’s and cow’s cheeses served with homemade chutney from his grandmother and an array of other delightful dishes. Mossimo even brought out a bottle of his father’s Pino Negro from his family’s vineyard! Wow!! We were blown away by Mossimo’s hospitality, warmth, and desire to share his culture and family with us and he was the quintessential host that married culture, history, family, and fun all into a wonderful experience. If you find yourself going to Venice, book this delightful event! I promise you won’t be disappointed!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Albertolw3131gb
Mar 23, 2025
Discover the hystory of Venice through an amazing lunch! - We had the best day with Massimo. First stop market tour of Rialto market. Learning all about the cultural references in the foods , spices and produce available at the market and meeting Massimo’s
favorite vendors. Then cooking with him to make a delicious Italian ancient meal at his home. We enjoyed talking with her husband, bring herbs in his garden , walking his neighborhood and then eating our meal.
Can’t recommend this experience enough. Very fun and meaningful.
We taste spices , try ancient perfumes andare a lot of games...ideal for a group of friends or a family.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
430anastasiyap
Mar 21, 2025
Fantastic! The food was delicios, and Max was an excellent host - We immensely love our cooking class with Massimo. The atmosphere of dining in Venetian house was a truly unique experience.What he recreated took me back in time. It was the highlight of our trip. The flavors, the history and learning to twist on those recipes, fresh garden herbs, traditional cooking methods, the chats and discussion it all made me fall in love with Venice even more. Not only was the food delicious but Massimo is extremely knowledgeable about the culture and history surrounding the meal that she had planned. He is a fascinating dinner host that we enjoyed very much getting know and learning from while dining on traditional Ancient venetian food.His wealth of knowledge about ancient use of spices only added to this incredible four hour class. We left with lots of food and wonderful memories of our time with him. If you love to cook and eat-You do not want to miss this while you are in Venice!!Great way to learn more about a city that you are visiting, highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Charlottaw651
Mar 5, 2025
culture, laughter and good food! a truly wonderful idea - Meeting Massimo was like taking a trip to ancient Venice.The cooking class was beautiful and very educational. We looked for some delicious vegetables at the market (radicchio from Treviso), and bought some delicious cheese. Massimo explained to us how the spice trade worked in Venice, and it was very nice to create ancient dishes and use spices! culture, good food and good wine... we really enjoyed , Highly recommended for families!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
G_rardt861
Mar 2, 2025
Another unique way to know more about italian food culture! - I’m fascinated with italian culinary. I took class and really enjoyed the entire process, from mixing historically-appropriate ingredients and know how to use spices. Massimo is extremely generous with her knowledge and responded to every question in such a warm and nuturing way, we do many plates with spices and I never taste a " risotto " so amazing!
We use around 11 spices and the food was amazing , not strong in taste, but something new never try...we then tried blindfolded to recognize the spices!
it was a lot of fun! I didn't expect such unique food and such a beautiful house
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anna
Feb 25, 2025
A magical experience, in the history of Venice, wonderful forgotten flavours. - A magical experience, among the ancient flavors of Venice. We discovered how to cook exquisite dishes with spices, and each one accompanied by a beautiful story about Venice! We played discovering the spices in the dishes blindfolded, it was so much fun! Massimo accompanied us to the market, showing us the most unknown places. An experience between magic and reality! thank you Massimo for letting us discover the real risotto!!!
We cooked 7 dishes...and used 14 spices!
highly recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
