While on our honeymoon in Italy, Brian and I were lucky enough to participate in a private Italian cooking class! This was by far my favorite part of the whole honeymoon. Honestly, though, everything was pretty amazing.
After resting most of the day because of too many cocktails the night before, Brian and I headed to Monterosso for our Italian cooking class. Our friends who recommended Angelo’s Boat Tour also recommended completing this cooking class, and I am SO happy they did!
We followed the directions to the house of the woman who was hosting us, climbing up several flights of stairs. In the Cinque Terre, they don’t have room to build new houses and buildings so they just stack everything on top of each other which means LOTS of stairs. Honestly, I didn’t mind the stairs one bit because of all of the treats we were eating 🙂
We arrived at the home of a friendly and beautiful Daniella, our instructor for the evening, around 4:30pm. She took us to the back area of her house and led us outside to her gorgeous outdoor kitchen patio.
All of the ingredients looked so vibrant and fresh and were sitting out, just waiting for us to prepare a meal with them.
Those are REAL San Marzano tomatoes!
Brian and I were both a little hungry, and luckily Daniella had a snack of tuna mousse, cucumbers, tomatoes, caper berries, and pita-like chips waiting for us. This tuna mousse had a very fresh lemony flavor and was just what we needed. I recreated this dish when I made this meal for Brian’s family, and it tasted exactly the way it did when Daniella made it. So summery!
After snacking, Daniella revealed what our dinner menu would be: Pesto Lasagna with homemade Pesto, baked fish Ligurian style, baked sardine and potatoes, roasted san marzano tomatoes and garlic, and we would end things with a lemon cake.
Because we were making our own pesto, we had to start by cleaning the basil…and there was a LOT of basil!
Daniella then explained how they used to make pesto in a mortar in pestle. Pesto actually originated in the Cinque Terre region, which is very cool! So it was very fitting to incorporate the tasty sauce into our meal.
Brian’s designated job for the night: cheese grater!
Once the ingredients were added to the mortar and pestle, I got to smashing away to create a small portion of pesto the “old fashioned” way. That was hard work!
Ta-da!
We finished off the rest of the pesto in the food processor to save time.
We then assembled the pesto lasagna and got to work on the other dishes.
Pierro, Daniella’s husband, taught us how to prepare the fish dishes. He is originally from the Cinque Terre, and he has a family history in that region. He explained how locals would eat the fish dishes we prepared and helped us get everything ready to cook.
Those are sardines!! And they actually taste great 🙂
We then chopped our San Marzano tomatoes and layered them up in a stone pot to cook in the oven with an entire head of garlic. YUM!
Once everything was prepared, Brian and I sat on their deck and enjoyed a spritzer. Pierro explained that this was a popular Italian drink that many had before dinner. He simply combined Aperol, Prosecco, and an orange peel. So refreshing!
Brian and I enjoyed each other’s company and the gorgeous view, and the next thing we knew our food was being pulled out of the oven.
Isn’t the lasagna gorgeous!
I recreated this dish at home too, and it also turned out just like our cooking class version!
We started with our antipasti course: red pesto (we added sundried tomatoes) and arugula dressed with olive oil and vinegar.
As we enjoyed this first course, everything else started to come out of the oven too!
Take a look at the view from their patio. You can literally see every single village in the Cinque Terre from their porch. So pretty!!
After we enjoyed our pesto starter then lasagna, it was time to taste the baked fish and the roasted tomatoes. The fish was light, tender and absolutely amazing. The tomatoes were to die for! They were sweeter than any other tomatoes I have had, and they were the perfect partner to the tasty fish.
Next, it was time to try the sardine potato bake. This was also very yummy. They olive oil gave the dish almost a buttery flavor that made us both finish off our portion despite feeling a bit full.
To top things off, we ended our meal with a small piece of lemon cake topped with fresh cream, mint, and blackberries.
Simply amazing!
We honestly felt as if we were over at a friend’s house cooking dinner together! We ended up leaving their house around 10pm so that we could catch the train, but we could have easily stayed longer. This was a great way to experience some of the culture of the Cinque Terre in the comforts of a warm and welcoming home. Daniella and Pierro are wonderful hosts. If you are going to the Cinque Terre I would seriously recommend finding time to put this cooking class into your agenda 🙂
Thank you Daniella and Pierro!
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Leave a comment
Hi Tara, I have previously done a class with Daniella and lost her contact info. We are going next year – would you mind sharing her website or contact so we can book another dinner? Thanks!
Hi Tara – could I please get contact info for Daniella & Pierro. Heading to Monterroso in June and would love to reserve a class! Thanks.
sent!
Hi Tara, I would love to contact Daniella and Pierro for a night to cook with them! Could you provide their contact details? Thank you!
Hey – Would love to receive Daniella and Pierro’s contact details – your photos look so great, would love to book a class with them too! Would be a perfect end to our holiday in CT!
Please email me the contact info for Daniella. We would like to book a class!
Hi Tara,
We’re heading out to Cinque Terre in September and would love to take a cooking class like this on our honeymoon. Could you send me Daniella’s contact info? Thanks!
kat
Hi Tara,
My fiance and I are staying in Monterosso al Mare this June for our honeymoon and would love to take a cooking class like this! Can you tell me how to contact Daniella? Thank you!
All my best,
Chelsea
Hello Tara,
I’m staying in Monterosso in September, and would love to try the cooking course you did. Would you mind sending me her contact details? Thank you!
Hi Tara,
I’m so glad I stumbled upon your blog. I’m planning on traveling to Cinqueterre at the end of August and would really appreciate it if you could provide me with Daniella’s contact information.
Thank you so much!
Hi Tara,
I’ve arranged a surprise trip to the cinqueterre for my girlfriend’s birthday and would love to take in this cooking class. Could you please send me Daniella and Piero’s contact details so I can arrange this?
Best wishes,
Andrew
And also how much did they charge?
Thanks,
Andrew
Hi Tara, my fiancé and I will be in Monterosso for 5 days at the end of June and we would love to spend a night with Daniella. Would you mind sending my their details please? Thanks so much.
Hello, I would love to take this cooking class with my partner. Any chance you could email me with Daniella’s details? Thank you!!
Like so many others came across your blog when looking for cooking class in Cinque Terre. Can you please provide their contact info? Thank you.
Hi, I am planning on going in May. Could you send me their info? thanks.
I am a travel agent, and lost our contact for Daniella who arranged a family dinner for our previous clients in Monterroso. Is this the same person, and if so, what is her e-mail?
It sounds like it! I will e-mail you soon!
I found your blog when researching things to do in Cinque Terre. This class sounds great! I was hoping you could send me their contact information. I enjoyed reading this post as well as the boat tour post. Thanks for the ideas!
Hello! Can you give me the info for this class? We are going in April and id love to do this with my mom
I just e-mailed ya!
Hi Tara,
My wife and I are heading to Cinque Terre in October and would be very interested in attending a cooking class like this on our honeymoon!
Could you send me their contact info?
Thank you!
I’ll e-mail you soon!!
This was so informative. Thank you for sharing. You might want to ask Daniela and Pierro to start a blog to alleviate all the marketing you’re doing for them! Nonetheless, would you mind emailing me their info as well? I’d love to meet them while I’m here.
Thank you!
Thanks, Lauren!! I sent you an e-mail 🙂
Hi,
Can you please provide me with their contact information? This sounds like just the experience me and my new husband are looking for on our honeymoon in September. Thank you in advance!
My husband and I are headed to Italy for a few weeks in September. This class sounds amazing, would you be willing to share the contact information?
Cheers!
I will e-mail you soon!
We are staying in Monteresso for 4 days and I would love to do a cooking class, this looks sooo perfect. Please send/email me details to book a place
My husband and I are going to Italy May 2nd. I would love to take a cooking class with Daniella. Could you please send me her contact information? It would be greatly appreciated.
I would love to take this cooking class! I will be in Cinque Terre in a few days so if you could send the contact info, that would be great!
Can I please also get the contact details for Daniella’s cooking class? Thankss
Hi – great recap – can I always get daniella’s cooking class because it sounds amazing! Thanks
Also* get the contact info from daniella thanks!
Hi Tara! Well, it seems to be a theme that folks want to get Daniella’s contact info from you, and I am here to ask the same. 🙂 My family and I are planning a trip to Cinque Terra in July 2015, and my sister and I were looking for an affordable cooking class. I thought maybe Daniella would be willing to do a shorter class for a price cheaper than I seem to be able to find online. Could I get her email? – Cristy
Hello Tara,
first of all congratulations for your blog!
I came across to this blog post while I was researching a cooking class to take on trip to the Cinque Terra next April (I’m planning to be there with my husband around 10-14 April 2015).
Can you give me some more information about this cooking class? I would really like to contact the hosts to see if we can schedule it for us too… looks like a great experience you had! Thank you in advance for your help ~ Janet
Tara
Awesome post and pics. I’d love to surprise my wife with scheduling a cooking class with Daniella. I’d be grateful if you could send me her contact details…
Thank you
Bobby
I’ll message you soon!
Would love to have the contact information for the cooking class in Cinque Terre. We will be staying in Vernazza for 3 days the end of this month. Really enjoyed your blog. Looked like so much fun! Congrats on your wedding. What a wonderful place to honeymoon!
Yay!! I’ll message you soon, Sue!
Hi, my husband and I are traveling there in October– would you mind emailing me contact information for Daniella? Thanks so much!
Just sent you an e-mail!
Hi Tara,
I loved reading this post – thanks for sharing! Would you mind passing along the contact information for Daniella? Thanks in advance 🙂
Hi Kylee, I will send you an e-mail soon!
Hi Tara,
I remembered you posted this a while back.
I’m living in Europe now and thinking of heading down to Cinque Terre – would love info on Daniella’s kitchen 🙂
Also – did you both book airbnb for accomodation?
I would love to try out these guys for a cooking class when we are there in a few weeks, can you send me the info?
Thanks
Hi Tara
We enjoyed reading your culinary experience in Cinque Terre, came across your blog whilst looking for a private cooking class, any chance of sharing Daniella and Pierro’s contact details. Will be in Monterosso in July. Thank you
Hi Tara,
It looks like you had a fabulous time in Cinque Terre. My husband and I are spending 4 days there in September and are looking to take a cooking class. Would it be possible if you emailed me the contact information or website for the couple that hosted the cooking class.
Thank you!
Will e-mail you by the end of the week!! 🙂
Loved your post about your boat tour and cooking class in cinque terre! I’m headed there in a few weeks with my husband and would love the information for these two places. Thank you 🙂
I will e-mail you later this week 🙂
Hiiiii there! Super excited to stumble upon your blog! Would you mind sharing the contact info for this cooking class and that boat tour you mentioned?! You should be getting commission on this!! Thank you, Krista
My daughters & I are going to Cinque Terra in May. I’d appreciate it if you could send me Daniella’s info.
Thanks!
Hi! Love your post. I would also love to get the information for this cooking class, if possible. My husband and I are spending 5 days in Monterosso in August.
Sent you an e-mail!
Hi Tara
I am going to be in Monterosso in June. Is it possible to get the contact details of the couple that hosted the cooking lesson? Thank you!
I will e-mail you soon!
Would love for you to share the info for my future husband and I to also experience this class on our cinque terre honeymoon.. thank you thank you thank you in advance!
We are going to Monterosso al Mare in September and would love to take a cooking class like this. Can you tell me how to contact these folks. Thanks.
Jill
I just sent you an e-mail 🙂
My daughter and I are visiting Cinque Terre in July and would like to take a cooking class. Can you please post or email the name of Danielle’s cooking class/website? Thanks.
I am traveling to Cinque Terre this summer. Is there any way to get in touch with Daniella?
I will e-mail you directly 🙂
Could you please send us Daniella’s email as well? Enjoyed your post and we are traveling to Cinque Terre in mid-May.
Emailed you!
What a wonderful experience. It looks like all of your hard work came together great. YUM 🙂
I can’t even begin to describe how amazing this truly was. It was SO fun!
Wow this look likes sooo much fun! I love that they open their home up, much more than a cooking lesson – full cultural experience!
It really was a full cultural experience. I am so thankful that we were able to do this!
Amazing! Everything looks delicious. What a fabulous experience.
It was so tasty, fun, and really absolutely perfect 🙂