Cooking Class

I love learning to cook from locals. It’s a two-for: fun family activity and a great meal. Plus you have a lifelong souvenir to take with you.

One of my favorites was Il Ritrovo, outside Positano. The restaurant picked up our group of 12 (3 families with kids 8 and 10 at the time) and spent a few hours instructing us in the fine art of Italian pasta. Everyone tried their hands, and there was plenty of wine flowing for the adults. The kids really loved the lesson, and the meal was that much better, since we’d made it ourselves. If you don’t have time for the cooking class, the restaurant is amazing on its own too!

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Another cooking class we loved was Cooking with Nonna. When our kids were younger, we left them in our Rome hotel with a sitter and room service, while we enjoyed the adults only cooking class. Our lovely instructor, an Italian-speaking Nonna, was as sweet as the fabulous tiramisu we enjoyed together.

In Hoi An, Vietnam, our Tra Que Water Wheel experience included shopping in the local market, water buffalo and basket boat rides, tending the garden and making a fabulous Vietnamese meal.

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In addition to cooking classes, you can also experience a country’s food and neighborhoods on a walking food tour. Eating Europe offers cooking classes and food experiences in Rome, Florence, London, Paris, Prague and Amsterdam. We loved their walking food tour of Rome’s Testaccio neighborhood.

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On our Hong Kong walking food tour, the guide oriented us to Hong Kong Island, while we enjoyed the dry market and several local hot spots for dim sum, noodle soup and other favorites. Check AirBNB experiences or Viator for walking food tours in your next destination – they’re available most everywhere. Happy eating!

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