10 Historic Kitchens Worth Flying For

1.Undiscovered Charleston: Half Day Food, Wine & History Tour with Cooking Class

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 948 reviews · 4 hours (approx.) Our pick

Join certified chef-guide Forrest Parker at Charleston’s Pineapple Fountain for a 90-minute walk through the historic district. Hear how Lowcountry food grew from the city’s complicated past, then watch Parker prepare three recipes before a wine-paired lunch at Bistro Au Vin. The small group is limited to 11 people.

“Excellent experience. Chef Forrest is a wonderful historian and and even more phenomenal as a chef. He walked us through the historical city center and back to his restaurant where he prepared a 3 course meal for us with wine pairings. This was a small group of about 8 and I will absolutely take this tour again when I visit Charleston in the future. 5 days in Charleston and this was absolutely our best meal in a city full of amazing food!”

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2.Taipei Cooking Class & Market Adventure in Historic Dadaocheng

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 77 reviews · from $90

Meet Alex at Dihua Street for a three-hour food experience in old Taipei. Walk through Dadaocheng, sample market delicacies, then make a Taiwanese dish from scratch, from beef noodle soup to scallion pancakes. Classes run Tuesday through Sunday, with no more than six people per group.

“The cooking part of this tour was great. Didn't see the initial walking tour and 'photo shoots' as particularly necessary and the taking of group photos for social media marketing was a bit too intense for my taste.”

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3.Cooking Class in a Historic Home in the Heart of Brindisi

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 28 reviews · from $90

Spend three hours with an English-speaking local cook and her family in a historic Brindisi home. Make orecchiette, tomato sauce, a starter, main course, and dessert using farm-grown ingredients, then share the meal with local wine. The home is a 10-minute walk from the cruise port and 12 minutes from the train station.

“Such a beautiful story and experience, would definitely recommend if you’re in brindisi, perfect way to spend the evening.”

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4.Sicilian cooking class in the historic baglio Florio Adamo

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 27 reviews · 3.5 hours · from $94

Spend 3.5 hours at Sicily’s former Florio factory with Liliana, Vito, or Vincenzo. Prepare caponata or arancine, handmade Perciasacchi pasta, almond pesto, bruschetta, and ricotta cassatelle, then sit down with Adamo wines. Pickup may be arranged, and the kitchen is wheelchair accessible.

“Ahoj, Petranka posielam za nas: The private cooking experience with Vito was a gift we received, and it turned out to be an excellent choice. Vito is pleasant, kind, and truly dedicated to his guests. He creates a fantastic atmosphere. We also really liked that the cooking lesson didn't take place in some fancy, well-known restaurant in the city center, but on a traditional, old country estate/farmhouse. We cooked in a beautiful, spacious 19th-century kitchen. We made classic Sicilian dishes, and we can genuinely say that the Caponata that Vito taught us to make was one of the top meals we had during our 2.5-week trip across Sicily. We definitely…”

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5.Bolognese Cooking Class with Margherita in the Historic Center

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 26 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $125

Join Margherita for a private, hands-on cooking class in her Bologna apartment. Make fresh pasta, prepare a traditional sauce, and sit down to antipasti, chicken, tiramisu, and wine. Choose the market option for a guided walk through the Quadrilatero before cooking.

“Margherita gave us a fantastic, personal cooking class in her charming home. It was a magical evening. Nextdoor a student was practicing opera singing which added to the wonderful ambiance! Once we receive a copy of the recipes from Margherita, we plan to make the dishes at home. We highly recommend her class!”

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6.Atlanta: Historic Market Food Tour and Biscuit Cooking Class

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 25 reviews · 2 hours · from $70Best value

Explore Atlanta’s historic Municipal Market with a guide such as Arielle, Glenn, Joy, or Kristin, tasting eight Southern foods from four vendors. You’ll hear market stories, sample foods such as grits, oxtail, jambalaya, fried chicken, and banana pudding, then make buttery biscuits in a hands-on class.

“Great food tour! Jay was our tour guide. He did a great job explaining the history of bread and also telling us some interesting facts about the Historic Market. We visited several places in the market and sampled some delicious food. We ended the tour with the biscuit making class, which was so much fun!!”

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7.Cooking Class & Market Adventure Historic Dadaocheng

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 17 reviews · 3 hours · from $99

Spend three hours with Alex exploring Dadaocheng, tasting market foods, and cooking a Taiwanese dish from scratch. You may make hand-cut beef noodles, scallion pancakes, sticky-rice youfan, or braised pork rice, depending on the day. The class is limited to six people and runs in English, Mandarin, and some Japanese.

“Alex was a great host. We started the activity with a brief city history tour. We tried a few things in the market and explored the various produce items common to the region. We then went to Alex’s class room where we prepared a meal with pork belly, daikon radish, mushrooms, and sticky rice. What I liked about the class was we did our own food prep. You make a nice sized portion of food, so be prepared to take some with you. The end result is a very flavorful dish to enjoy for lunch!”

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8.Plant-based French Cooking Class in Historic Bordeaux Apartment

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 9 reviews · 4 hours (approx.) · from $155

Meet Sarala at Bordeaux’s Grand Théâtre at 6 pm, stroll along a grand boulevard, then cook a three-course vegan French meal in her apartment. You’ll make dishes such as tomato Tarte Tatin and chocolate verrines, with hands-on guidance, recipes, and a candlelit dinner for up to six people.

“Wonderfully comfortable experience where my family learned about French dining, cuisine, and of course preparing delicious French food. My 10 year old son and I recreated the dishes after our class as they were so delicious. Sarala was very flexible with our dietary restrictions and we used amazing substitutes.”

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9.Cooking class set in a sea front historic villa

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 5 reviews · from $130

Spend three hours at a historic villa overlooking Catania’s Gulf of Ognina. With chef Francesco and a Sicilian grandmother, you’ll make Cavateddi alla Norma, prepare ricotta for cannoli, enjoy local tastings and wine, then eat the meal you helped create.

“It was like a dream coming true. The villa was excellent, views were breathtaking, the chef was so kind, professional and helpful. We learned a lot, the food was super tasty and the atmosphere was really warm. We highly recommend for anyone visiting Catania. That is a must activity.”

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10.Learn Sushi at cooking studio with 20 years history

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 3 reviews · 2 hours · from $96

In a small Kyoto kitchen studio, a hostess with 20 years of cooking-class experience teaches you to prepare sushi rice and choose between nigiri or chirashi sushi. You will also taste dashi, watch a dashimaki omelet demonstration, and eat namafu dengaku, dashi soup, and mitarashi dumplings. The studio is 10 minutes from Kyoto Station.

“fantastic experience, lady was so nice. very informative on how sushi is made and so much food 😋 definitely recommend this xx”

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