Venice Spice Route Cooking Class: A Culinary Journey Through History

Meet Massimo

Massimo is a Venetian home cook, engaging storyteller, and former Merchant Navy officer with a deep passion for the food and history of Venice. Born into a family of restaurateurs, he learned traditional Italian and Venetian cooking from his mother and nonna. After nearly 20 years traveling the world at sea, along with culinary experiences in Germany and France, Massimo brings a unique perspective to Venice’s centuries-old connection to maritime trade and spices. Today, he loves welcoming travelers into his home to share Venetian cuisine, fascinating stories, and the culinary traditions of the city he loves.

What to expect

Please note menu might vary. If there are particular dishes you are interested in trying, please include your request in the booking form.

Cooking experience: (2-18 guests) Discover Venice through its spices in this hands-on Venetian cooking class that combines traditional recipes, local ingredients and the fascinating history of the city’s spice trade. Cook alongside your local host as you learn how spices brought to Venice along ancient maritime trade routes shaped the flavors of Venetian cuisine. Begin by exploring the aromas, colors and flavors of spices that have been prized in Venice for centuries. Then use them with fresh, seasonal ingredients to prepare a multi-course Venetian meal. Depending on the season and menu, you might make marinated zucchini with lemon, extra virgin olive oil, turmeric and cloves, or homemade ravioli filled with ricotta, prosciutto and fragrant nutmeg. As you cook, discover the story behind each spice and its journey to Venice. Learn how prized ingredients such as nutmeg traveled thousands of miles from the Banda Islands of Indonesia and how Venetian merchants helped introduce spices from the East to European kitchens. Your host brings a unique perspective to these stories, having spent nearly 20 years traveling the world as an officer in the merchant navy. After cooking, sit down together to enjoy the dishes you have prepared. Finish your Venetian meal with a creative homemade dessert, which might include ice cream made with fresh mountain milk, garden herbs, pistachios and honey, accompanied by blood-orange marmalade and a touch of ginger. If you choose the optional alcohol add-on, Massimo will serve a local Italian wine or an Aperol Spritz — Venice’s iconic aperitivo — paired with a traditional cicchetto, a small Venetian bite. Vegetarian guests are welcome too; Massimo is happy to prepare traditional Italian vegetarian dishes with advance notice. More than a Venice cooking class, this intimate culinary experience connects food, history and storytelling, offering a delicious way to discover how centuries of maritime trade helped shape Venice and its cuisine.

Market visit: (2-12 guests) Enjoy a guided tour of Venice’s iconic Rialto Market with Massimo, a wonderful way to experience one of the city’s most vibrant and historic food markets. On this Venice market tour, stroll through the bustling stalls alongside Venetians shopping for the freshest seasonal produce, seafood, and local ingredients, while gaining an authentic glimpse into everyday life in Venice. As you explore the colorful fruit and vegetable stands and visit the famous Rialto fish market, Massimo will share stories, culinary traditions, and insights into Venetian cuisine and the ingredients that define cooking in the Veneto region. Together, you’ll select fresh fish and other ingredients for your cooking class before heading back to Massimo’s home for a hands-on, Venetian spice route cooking class in Venice. Please note that the Rialto market is closed on Sundays.

Notes:
1. Massimo is happy to personalize the menu and can accommodate vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diets with advance notice. Please share any dietary restrictions or preferences at the time of booking.
2. For groups of 8 or more guests, Massimo brings in assistants to help host the experience, so pricing is higher. For groups of 15 or more guests, the experience is hosted at a different venue in Venice to better accommodate the group size. For pricing and venue details for larger groups, please contact reservations@travelingspoon.com.
3. For larger groups, guests will be divided into teams and rotate through three hands-on stations to prepare the Venetian meal. Francesco’s home is a traditional Venetian home, offering an intimate and authentic setting for this experience. With a larger group, the space will feel cozy, adding to the charm of cooking together in a real local home in Venice.

Languages spoken: English, Italian, Spanish

Sample menu

• Marinated Zucchini with Venetian Spices – lemon, turmeric and cloves
• Handmade Ricotta & Truffle Prosciutto Ravioli – fragrant nutmeg and truffle
• Slow-Proofed Venetian Focaccia – rosemary, pickled onions, sesame and cumin
• Seasonal Venetian Main – local produce and aromatic spices
• Homemade Garden Herb Ice Cream – pistachios, honey, blood orange and ginger

Traveler reviews

We booked this cooking class as the last day of our 18 day vacation in Europe and couldn’t be more happy to end our trip on the highest note. Massimo was informative, super friendly and welcomed us into his home with open arms, and he has a great sense of humor! We learned a lot about making pasta and pesto and consumed some amazing food and wine. We will definitely be recommending to our hotel to share his experience for future guest and all of our friends. Bravo.!!!

- sue August 31, 2026

We had an amazing time with Massimo! We made pasta and focaccia, and everything turned out absolutely delicious. Massimo was a fantastic teacher—knowledgeable, engaging, and genuinely fun to talk to throughout the class. One of the things that really stood out was how personalized the experience was. Massimo reached out ahead of time to ask about our likes and dislikes so he could tailor the class specifically to us. It made the whole experience feel much more personal than a typical cooking class. Afterward, he even sent us the recipes so we can recreate everything at home. Great food, great conversation, and a really memorable experience in Venice. We would absolutely recommend this class!

- daniel August 10, 2026

It was amazing they were so caring and wanted me and my family to help however we could. They were very kind and made very, very, ridiculously great food! We went to a coffee shop to meet up then he took us to a market that was beautiful and amazing. He also bought us ladies flowers!!🌺 Great Experience!

- ryleem August 01, 2026

Come hungry and leave happy!!! Such a unique experience with culinary history and special family recipes. This was the most memorable experience of my Italian vacation.

- carrie August 01, 2026