Cooking Class: Private Chef, Wine, and Local Recipes

Join private cooking classes in Sestri Levante. Make authentic pesto, pasta, focaccia, and more. Enjoy wine tasting with a sommelier. Book now!

Duration: 1 hour
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • LA SCIAMADDA DEI VINACCIERI BALLERINI - PESTO EXPERIENCE - The most popular course: we have taught more than 20,000 guests how to make Pesto!
    You will learn all the secrets for making REAL Pesto according to the Genoese recipe Work with a real mortar all for you under the guidance of a Personal Chef…
    in the end the PESTO PRODUCT WILL BE YOURS!…
What's Included
  • Glass of wine in every cooking class for motivation
  • Prepare and taste Genoese Focaccia and Pane Marinaro
  • Guided wine tasting with Vinaccieri Ballerini wines
  • Make and take home Genoese Pesto using a marble mortar
  • Prepare and taste two fish dishes with a professional chef
  • Make fresh pasta using ancient wooden molds and take it home
Meal Options
  • Pesto Experience at the Mortar - You will taste and take away what you have produced.
    Organize lunch or dinner with the products you have made for a small fee
  • Fresh Pasta Course (Gnocchi and Corzetti) - You will taste and take away what you have produced.
    Organize lunch or dinner with the products you have made for a small fee
  • Focaccia and seafood…
Additional Information

Each cooking class is private and followed by a PERSONAL Chef, furthermore a glass of Vinaccieri wine is provided at the beginning for motivational purposes!
PESTO EXPERIENCE: Discover its history and anecdotes about it. With the use of a mortar you will produce your Genoese PESTO which you will taste and take away with you in a special container that…

Location
LA SCIAMADDA DEI VINACCIERI BALLERINI
Via XXV Aprile
Trattoria La Sciamadda in Sestri Levante. Reachable from: Genoa, Sori, Camogli, Recco, Zoagli, San Fruttuoso, Portofino, Santa Margherita Ligure, Rapallo, Chiavari, Lavagna, Moneglia, Deiva Marina, Framura, Bonassola, Levanto and the Cinque Terre (Monterosso, Corniglia, Vernazza, Manarola, Riomaggiore).
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
5.0
(162 Ratings)
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645pierluigia
Dec 30, 2025
Pesto wonderful experience - A one-hour journey through the history of Genoese cuisine, guided by knowledgeable and skilled staff who accompanied us step by step in the traditional preparation of pesto, using fresh, high-quality ingredients. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Carolh335
Dec 8, 2025
Pesto making in Sestri Levante! - Absolutely wonderful experience! David is very knowledgeable and made the pesto making fun. Do this when you are in Sestri Levante!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jaywe9298vi
Oct 16, 2025
A great deal of fun - There were just the two of us doing pesto making and focaccia and bread making workshops on a sunny Tuesday morning. David was a warm and charming pesto instructor, Daniel funny and great company as a knowledgeable focaccia tutor. I would recommend them both. The set up in their restaurant was well thought out and well prepped. It couldn't have been improved on. The finished results were absolutely delicious and we've made them again at home several times in the past 3 weeks. It's a very fun way to engage in the dishes Liguria is famous for, even if a glass of wine at 10:30 in the morning was a surprise!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anjela_e
Oct 7, 2025
A great and delicious day of Italian gastronomy - We took their Wine tasting in the early afternoon. The tasting was for just my husband and me in a lovely wine tasting room. The owner, Daniel Ballerini was most engaging and fun as well as Bitti and Davide who did parts of the tasting for us. We had a fabulous and very personalized experience. In fact, so good that we booked a foccacia class and stayed for dinner. You must try their restaurant - La Sciamadda dei Vinaccieri Ballerinii!!!!
Review provided by Viator
Lightpacker239744
Oct 6, 2025
The best way to enhance your stay in Genova! - David is a thoughtful and excellent instructor. He took his time to explain the process and show how the various techniques in preparing the dishes are done. It was wonderful experience and eating what we made was perfect. All of the staff is considerate
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Saaysaay
Oct 6, 2025
I highly recommend the classes that are taught at this cooking school! - David is an outstanding instructor. He explained each step with care and understanding. He was helpful as he taught the correct steps for each dish we made together
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Saaysaay
Oct 6, 2025
I recommend this experience! - I took three classes: focaccia, pesto and fish. All done with David, who was outstanding. He did a wonderful presentation, teaching was outstanding with wonderful tricks and established techniques;his explanations were detailed and questions answered with finesse that showed his knowledge wonderfully
Review provided by Tripadvisor
538chasew
Sep 26, 2025
Magnificent - Amazing service and excellent food. We went to the restaurant for a cooking class and had the head chef (David) teach us how to make pesto gnocchi. He was friendly and a great teacher. He spoke great English and took lots of memorable photos of us cooking as well.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
E4461tict
Sep 18, 2025
Fun to learn about pesto - Leuke chef David. Learned a lot about making pesto. Very good explanation about ingredients and their origin. The process of making is also well explained.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
G9326qwleos
Sep 17, 2025
Great experience - We booked a pasta course and Davide showed us how to make Gnochi and Corzetti. It was very entertaining and instructive, after that we got the pasta prepared. Davide and the team were especially warm, which helped us a lot as we were there with our baby. We would recommend the course anytime!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $58
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).