$40 Book

Traditional Roman Cooking Demo in a Local Home

All amenities

Family Friendly
Vegetarian friendly
Italian, English
Apartment
Cooking demonstration
home cook
Cooking Experience
3 - 4 hours
Min 2, max 6 guests
Start times: 7:00pm
Step into a cozy Roman home and experience a traditional cooking demonstration with Massimo, who prepares beloved family recipes you won’t often find in restaurants. Massimo and his partner Federica are passionate about sharing their food and culture with guests. Drawing from both Roman culinary traditions and dishes from Viterbo, his mother’s hometown in northern Lazio, Massimo creates an unforgettable dining experience that blends storytelling, history, and homemade food. This is not a hands-on cooking class, but rather a chance to relax and observe as Massimo prepares a classic Roman pasta dish, perhaps cacio e pepe, carbonara, or amatriciana - explaining each step as he cooks. You'll learn the secrets behind these timeless recipes, from the perfect cheese and pepper balance to selecting quality guanciale and pecorino.

After the demonstration, sit down to enjoy a full traditional Roman meal. Your experience might begin with fresh Italian antipasti, followed by the handmade pasta you just saw prepared. For your main course, expect something comforting and rich like Grandma’s meatballs with Florentine beef. The meal ends on a sweet note with a classic Italian dessert such as tiramisu (Massimo makes his with ricotta instead of mascarpone) or maritozzi, soft cream-filled buns typical of Rome.
Notes
All the dishes and recipes can also be prepared in a vegetarian and gluten-free version, so please do let them know your preference while creating the booking.

Sample menu

This is just a sample menu to give you an idea of the types of dishes the host cooks. Your menu will vary according to seasonal availability.

  • Mixed fresh Roman antipasti
  • Bread of Lariano
  • Mezze maniche alla carbonara
  • Grandma's beef meatballs
  • Green beans with boiled eggs and mint
  • Sour cherry and roman ricotta cheesecake

More about Massimo and Frederica

Massimo and Frederica live just outside Porta Pia in a beautiful and contemporary apartment with a fantastic kitchen for cooking. Massimo is a neurologist by profession and Frederica works in the Internal Revenue Agency. Massimo has been passionate about food since his earliest days as a child; he inherited this passion from his grandparents, who taught him their secret family recipes from the Roman-Jewish tradition. Now, Massimo spends most of his spare time in the kitchen, cooking. He and Federica love food, wine and travel and love meeting new people.

What others are saying

Jun 19, 2019
"We had a lovely evening visiting with Massimo , Frederica and her aunt. We started with a delicious antipasto which included a Roman style artichoke that was delicious. We moved on to a traditional carbonara and his grandmothers recipe for homemade meatballs. We drank some delicious wine and finished off the meal with two desserts including a Pistachio cannoli and a traditional Roman cream puff. Massimo and Frederica are very welcoming, interesting, well traveled and knowledgeable. They live in a nice neighborhood in a modern well appointed apartment. We highly recommend having dinner with them ."
Ann W
Jun 27, 2018
"Massimo and Federica are the warmest hosts and take care of every detail of the experience... their lovely appartment is beautifully decorated and most welcoming... the table is set and received us with summer colors and all the elements we would need along the steps of the complete dinner...conversation is friendly and supplies information on Rome’s past, traditional cuisine and all the typical ingredients.... when it comes to food, Massimo is just the perfect chef, powered by family learned skills and all the intention of making the best of the night...Creamy ricotta, intense cherry tomatoes, peperoni with tuna, the best pecorino and prosciutto... and to round up those amazing flavors, a remarkable white wine: a great discovery for us and for Bavarian bishop Johannes Defuc back in the year 1111.After this unsurmountable “antipasti”, we found Pepino’s carbonara with local guanciale .... simply great, as only Italian grandparents can create. Perfect chiannina polpete and faggiolini followed, si soft and tasty !!! Red wine matched this explosion of flavors and enhaced delicious food.My Dad had a memourable birthday cake, so his 80’s in Rome won’t be forgotten: tante auguri Pappo! Thank you so so much Massimo and Federica... a perfect meal, top quality repies and your friendship touched our souls!"
Valeria F

Cancellation

  • No worries booking: free cancellation within 24 hours of booking.
  • Cancel anytime up to 48 hours before your experience for a full refund minus service fees.
  • If your experience is cancelled within 48 hours of your experience, no refund is provided.

Location

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