Puglia Cooking Class: Master the Art of Making Traditional Orecchiette Pasta in Trulli Surroundings

Immerse yourself in the traditions of Puglia with a cooking class in a trulli surrounded by nature. Learn the art of making orecchiette pasta and discover the secrets of our cuisine.

Duration: 4 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Nord Salento Tour - Join us in our Trullo house for an Orecchiette masterclass, where you’ll learn to make the renowned Puglia pasta and prepare two traditional recipes. Enjoy a delightful three-course lunch or dinner featuring seasonal ingredients, and partake in a brief historical tour of the Trulli, iconic Puglia structures, where we reside….
What's Included
  • Bottled water
  • Beverages (local red wine: Negramaro, Salice, or Primitivo)
  • Lunch
  • Tea and coffee
What's Not Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
Meal Options
  • La Frisa or Acqua sala - A typical but unusual Puglia starter.
  • Orecchiette with sauce - Main alternative pasta course with plain tomato sauce, always available.
  • Brasciole or Cime di Rapa - Depending on the season, we can offer a meat sauce (Brasciole) or the vegetarian Cime di rapa sauce, a typical vegetable.
  • Vegetables and appetizers - Seasonal vegetables as contour.
  • Fruit - Seasonal and organic fruit
Additional Information

Experience our customs and uncover the roots of our culinary arts in the characteristic Apulian structures: the trulli, nestled amidst tranquil nature.
Crafting orecchiette, our traditional pasta, encompasses more than cooking; it’s a ritual involving the earth and wind, unhurried periods in the countryside gathering wild herbs, fruits, tomatoes, melon,…

Location
Nord Salento Tour
I will send you the position via Whatsapp, but in case of difficulties reach the cemetery of Ceglie Messapica on the SPexSS581, just outside the city. Before the cemetry, go in the tiny road called "Padula del Cimitero". Go straight on for about 200 yd till number 3 white a white gate.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(238 Ratings)
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Suzanne_h
Aug 26, 2025
Very Authentic - A very relaxed evening, full of interesting cooking tips and history of Italian food and cooking. Simon was very interesting throughout. So much so we bought her book and can't wait to try the recipes.
Review provided by Viator
Miranda_m
Aug 17, 2025
The best part of our vacation! Memories and knowledge to last a lifetime - This was such a fun, easy, authentic experience! We learned so much and loved having a long, full relaxing day enjoying Simona’s patio and taking in all the amazing smells and tastes. We accidentally took the wrong road at first, make sure your GPS does NOT take you to the left between two houses and down a gravel road. You should turn off the main road right into a nice big gated area, and shortly after that is the sign for Nord Salento Tour. We spent almost the entire class outdoors on the patio or open air kitchen, but even though it was peak August it wasn’t hot at all with the constant breeze. Our class had folks from two other countries that were fun to meet! We cooked 3 kinds of pasta recipes - plain tomato, winter recipe (anchovies + vegetables), and a bread crumb recipe (also with anchovies). We also had side snacks of coffee, wine, jam pastries, cucumbers, zucchini, a form of bruschetta (the name of which I can’t remember and Simona will be so upset I called bruschetta again lol!!), and more. We even picked fresh figs from her tree as a dessert treat at the end. I am not an adventurous eater, but I still loved the experience and tried most things! The noodle making part was my favorite, we all grabbed jars of natural coloring and made a rainbow of noodles in different shapes. Simona was very helpful with the younger ones in our group who needed assistance getting their dough the right texture, and even made sure we passed the colors around so everyone got a chance to make different kinds of noodles. In the end, all the noodles get used in the final pasta dishes. We even got to tour Simona’s own trulli home and learn the fascinating backstory with it as well. This was absolutely my favorite experience of our trip and worth every dollar and minute we spent there. We still talk about it daily now that we are home, and even used Simona’s advice during our trip when eating around Puglia. Simona spoke wonderful English and effortlessly switched between English and Italian which helped us learn and recognize words while she talked! And to top it all off, we got very neat certificates at the end. Would absolutely recommend!
Review provided by Viator
Helle_f
Aug 12, 2025
Excellent evening with Simona - Making pasta with Simona was a fun and interesting experience. Simona is a good storyteller and you got the feeling that you were invited into her home. We heard stories about Puglia, the trulli and about Italy especially about food and pasta, then we made our own orecchiette and had 3 different meals from that. Furthermore we had other local dishes and wine. We absolutely recommend an evening with Simona. Preben and Helle from Denmark
Review provided by Viator
Mark
Aug 12, 2025
More than just cooking. - Simona ran a great evening, it’s much more than just learning to make pasta (which is fun), she gives an insight into the food of the region and many other aspects of the country life in Puglia. Great stuff.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bing
Aug 7, 2025
Very nice inspiring experience - Nice cooking class. Simona takes her time and tells interesting stories about Southern Italian food and traditions. Plenty of inspiration gained for home. Furthermore nice pasta made and delicious food. Also had nice conversations with other participants.
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Bex0001
Aug 1, 2025
Made our own pasta and ate it with great company. - A fun day out for our teenage children and us, making pasta, learning about local food and eating our creations around the table with the other guests.
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Helene_t
Jul 17, 2025
Great experience! - Simple and welcoming, a true and proud Italian, much more than a pasta course! History, architecture, experience and even dance! An evening not to be missed!
Review provided by Viator
Josephri2747go
Jul 14, 2025
Great cooking experience - Simona it was a great host and very pleasant to be around of. She taught us how to make multiple types of pasta as well as two traditional pasta sauces. We were in a group size of about 10 people which was fine as we all got personalized attention, and was also nice to engage with other people. Highly recommend this experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Janniev583
Jul 31, 2025
Fun cooking workshop - Super fun cooking workshop! Of course we made orichiette, but also learned a lot about the cuisine of Puglia and had a very good meal.
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Mariaritavegasdiva
Aug 10, 2025
Farm eating with a lively host. - If you’re looking for a true cooking class, this is not the one. If you’re looking for a very social entertaining, cultural, social event centered around orecchiette then this is exceptional. We arrived early, which I recommend simply because GPS can be wonky and lead you astray. But remember we’re in Italy and 530 means 545 when we arrived the wonderful Simona was on the phone. We alerted her that we had arrived at 5:15. She acknowledge our arrival and then emerged at 5:45. This is a very laid-back socially entertaining pasta, making class centered around cultural discussion of the region. Simone explained the do’s and don’ts of adding cheese to pasta discussed some of the seasonal vegetables, cultural history of the Trullo we were in etc. Wine was served during our class which was a nice touch before we ate our homemade pasta dinner. While the experience and the instructor were very pleasant it’s not a westernized cooking class with measurements and in-depth ratios so don’t have high expectations. Rather it’s a social gathering centered around orecchiette. Of the 5 hrs we spent on the farm only 1 hour really focused on pasta making the rest was focused on historical facts/opinions which created a very enjoyable evening as we drank wine. Simona was an exceptional host and very inviting - spoke English well. I suspect she speaks several languages. Overall we loved the experience with Simona she was the key to the evening as for the pasta making well that’s up for debate. Overall if you want to experience eating on a farm then I recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $76
up to 14 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).