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The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

THE COOKING LAB: A COOKERY SCHOOL WITH A VIEW IN FLORENCE

14th April 2020

Last Updated on 8th September 2020 by Bejal

The Cooking Touch in Florence has you covered, in terms of learning to cook great fresh Tuscan traditional food and now with, dare I say it views to match!!

In This Article

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  • THE COOKING LAB EXPERIENCE
  • THE COOKING LAB
  • À bientôt
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The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

When it comes to authentic experiences to tick off when in Florence, you HAVE to indulge in some cooking! Food tours are fabulous, however you want to recreate the tastes from your trip back home, right? Well I strongly recommend you check out The Cooking Touch.

The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

So my regular avid readers will know I did a similar private cookery experience in Florence a couple of years ago with Touch Bistro. You can have a read below if you fancy…

A PRIVATE COOKING CLASS AT TOUCH BISTRO, FLORENCE

The Cooking Lab

A cookery School with a view in Florence

www.be-lavie.com

The Cooking Lab by the rebranded Cooking Touch is the newest addition to the cookery school scene bought to us by the Matteo, Stefano and Max. You can read more on their story above and on the Cooking Touch website at the end of this post.

The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

The team now have three locations to their cookery school; The Cooking Lab (Ponte Vecchio), The Cooking Club (Sant’ Ambrogio), formerly the Bistro where I did the last experience and The Colle Bereto Winery (in the Chianti Classico region). The Cooking Touch also offer a bespoke private dining experience.

The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

THE COOKING LAB EXPERIENCE

1 FRESH INGREDIENTS

The experience started at 09:00 as we met Chef Matteo at our hotel in Oltrarno and made our way to the market in Santo Spirito Square, where we selected some fresh seasonal ingredients including potatoes, tomatoes, artichokes, pumpkin, aubergines and leeks.

The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence
The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

With fresh veg in tow Chef Matteo led the way to The Cooking Lab’s newest location, which is unarguably envious. It literally has an unparalleled view of the Ponte Vecchio. In fact if you could reach just that little bit far enough, you could touch it!!

The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

2 THE VENUE

Well what more can I say, bright, airy informal, full of organised memorabilia. It’s a little like being in someone’s apartment, with fun colourful interiors, a pretty decent kitchen and epic views!

The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence
The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence
  • The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence
  • The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence
  • The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence
The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

3 THE MENU

Menus are tailored to your dietary requirements and we stuck with a totally vegetarian option, where we had;

The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

Artichoke Salad sprinkled with Parmigiana shavings

The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

Pumpkin Soup topped with Brie

The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

Aubergine Parmigiana

The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

Pumpkin Ravioli drizzled with olive oil

The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

Chocolate Lava cake

The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

4 LETS GET COOKING

It’s time to grab your apron and start the fun part of the class, the Cooking! We begin at the  preparation stage, so  knives out and sharpened, we got stuck in with the chopping whilst learning some great techniques from Chef Matteo transferring some of his expert cooking skills and knowledge to the novice (I mean me of course!).

The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence
The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence
The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

Each dish is constructed one at a time under Chef Matteo’s watchful eye. You can be as involved or as uninvolved as you wish. Personally, I love to cook and learn new elements of cooking so it was a great opportunity to embrace this private session with one on one attention with regards to technique with traditional Tuscan cuisine, in the hope that I could recreate the menu at home.

The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence
  • The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence
  • The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

If you’re apprehensive about cooking, there is absolutely no need to be as you’ll be guided through the menu and you won’t be let loose on anything unless you want to partake. You can also take this opportunity to ask any burning questions as I did when it came to making ravioli, which was surprisingly easy and not as daunting or difficult than I first imagined.

Learning the intricacies of pasta flour…

The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

Making the dough for the Ravioli

  • The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence
  • The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence
  • The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

Rolling and filling the ravioli with pumpkin and potato mix

The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence
  • The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence
  • The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence
  • The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence
  • The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

5 LUNCH IS SERVED

Following the practical side of the class and approximately three hours of cooking trust me, it’s time to grab a pew and enjoy the fruits of your labour! After all, slaving over a hot stove for hours definitely builds up an appetite!

  • The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence
The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

With the wine poured, chef plates up the dishes and you get to have the most satisfying lunch with the stunning Ponte Vecchio right before you.

THE COOKING LAB

Out of all the experiences I’ve tried in Florence, I always enjoy the cookery-based ones and especially with The Cooking Touch team. The atmosphere is very relaxed and easy going and feels very much like you’re cooking with friends, for friends!

The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

As I said earlier, your private cooking class is very much tailored to your dietary needs and you’ll be emailed the electronic cook book at the end of the session. I must admit, I’m looking forward to making some ravioli at home! The question is though, can I do it without Chef Matteo standing beside me?!! Well, watch this space, I’ll feed back soon!

Hit play to see more of The Cooking Lab experience…

The Cooking Lab

Via di Mezzo 42r

50121 Florence

Tel. +39 055 246 6150

For further information about Private cooking class experiences and dining, please refer to the Cooking Touch’s website

The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

À bientôt

PIN FOR LATER

  • The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence
  • The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence
  • The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence
  • The Cooking Lab: A cookery school with a view in Florence

6 Comments
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Bejal

I’m Bejal aka Be, an ex-scientist turned travel writer and digital content creator. I have travelled to 6 continents, visited 70 plus countries, including an around the world trip, making me quite the expert in crafting intricate itineraries. I love to discover some of the world's more remote destinations and stay in some incredible hidden location eco-hotels. My aim is to transport you, my audience, to inspirational and cultural global spots that are less visited and allow you to see the 'real' and authentic side of destinations through detailed guides with a sprinkling of luxury. The spotlight is on eco-friendly responsible experiential travel with lifelong memories.

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  • Rasha
    15th April 2020

    It looks like such a fun experience Bejal! I love that you went along to get the veg as well and the school itself looks so homely.

    Reply
    • Bejal
      Rasha
      15th April 2020

      It really was a great cooking class and yes shopping for the ingredients is really interesting as you get to pick the seasonal things on offer, I would never normally choose artichokes. The school really does feel like a home as it’s not clinical but super comfy! Thanks fr stopping by Rasha.

      Reply
      • Aaron (@1dish4the4road)
        Bejal
        17th April 2020

        That sounds like such a wonderful cookery experience! Love aubergine in Italian dishes too. (And in fact, most other dishes!) Great post, Bejal!

        Reply
        • Bejal
          Aaron (@1dish4the4road)
          17th April 2020

          Me too! Aubergine and cheese in my case! Thanks so much for stopping by Aaron and reading, so glad you enjoyed it.

          Reply
  • the Curious Pixie
    16th April 2020

    I’d love to do this…especially in Italy. Looked like a wonderful experience.

    Reply
    • Bejal
      the Curious Pixie
      17th April 2020

      Yes another Italian foodie! I’m pretty sure you’d love the experience too Sima.

      Reply

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Hello, I'm Be, an ex-scientist turned travel writer and digital content creator having travelled to 70 plus countries, all over the globe. My aim is to transport you to less visited inspirational and cultural global spots showing off the 'real' authentic side of destinations through detailed guides with a sprinkling of luxury. The spotlight is on eco-friendly responsible travel with lots of coffee spots and veggie food thrown in!

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