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VIEW PHOTOS
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Host: Chiara

Bologna, Italy

USD
$71-$185 per person

Regional Italian Cooking in Bologna at a 15th-Century Home

Host offerings
  • House
  • Professional cook
  • Pets
  • Vegetarian
  • Alcohol
  • Transportation
  • Cooking class
  • Market visit
  • Food tour

Meet Chiara

Chiara’s passion for cooking began as a young girl when she cooked with her grandmothers, both excellent cooks. She added to her culinary repertoire over time by working with a friend who owned a restaurant, and went on to fulfill her grandmothers’ dream of opening a restaurant! She is eager to showcase local produce and even has her own beehive, vegetable garden, and fruit trees, and grows ancient grain that she uses to make homemade bread. As much as possible, Chiara uses products from her farm. She enjoys using modern technology to experiment with new techniques of cooking and makes creative dishes using a sous vide machine and special freezer. Food allows Chiara to connect with her grandmothers – through cooking they shared a private vocabulary of care, love and passion. She loves cooking with herbs and wild flowers that she picks because she wants to share the beautiful aromas of her region in her food.

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.

In-home meal: (2-25 guests) Meet your host Chiara at her family home, a traditional, 15th century stone farm estate that she restored and converted into a B&B. Enjoy a refreshing drink and hear the sounds of Italian music from the 20s before your host invites you to a tour of the ancient property and estate, during which you might pick a few herbs and flowers for your meal. You will then join Chiara at her dining table to enjoy a creative, regional Bolognese meal. Your meal will include an appetizer, pasta, vegetable side and dessert. Your menu may include dishes such as a crescentine (a typical fried bread only made in Emilia Romagna) or tigelle (fire-roasted bread) with parmeggiano reggiano or mortadella, tagliatelle with prosciutto di Parma and lemon zest or gnocchi with ragu, and a seasonal side vegetable like mangold (regional greens) cooked in olive oil and garlic. Your meal will conclude with a dessert of torta di castagne (chestnut cake) with zabaione (liqueur-flavored cream) or homemade ice-cream made from fresh, seasonal fruit.

Cooking experience: (2-10 guests) Experience the warmth of Italian family cooking in this pasta class in rural Bologna at a charming 15th-century stone farm estate. During your Bologna cooking class learn to make authentic pasta from scratch in a cozy, traditional setting. Join your host Chiara at her professional, stainless steel kitchen to learn to cook a creatively-inspired regional Italian meal from Monte San Pietro recipes, passed down from her grandmother. Inspired by innovation in the cooking world, she is keen on assembling dishes with regional ingredients but changing their form to make them more exciting. Instead of the traditional peas and pasta dish, Chiara might make a cream of peas that is drizzled over her pasta. Your hands-on cooking will last about two hours. Learn to cook three dishes from scratch during your cooking experience; a pasta such as tagliatelle with prosciutto di Parma and lemon zest, a seasonal vegetable side such as cavolo nero from the garden with garlic and olive oil or a fennel and root vegetable gratinato, and a bread made from ancient wheat or dessert. Enjoy learning about creative ways to recreate regional Bolognese dishes before you sit down at the table to share the meal you helped prepare with Chiara. Perfect for families and food lovers!

Notes:
1. Please note that all culinary experiences are available Wednesday through Sunday.
2. If you are driving, please meet Chiara directly at her home. If you prefer to take public transportation (bus #83), kindly inform Chiara at least 3 days in advance so she can arrange to pick you up from the bus station and drop you off afterward.
3. Chiara can also arrange a professional driver to pick you up from the city center of Bologna. The cost of this service is not included and should be paid directly to the taxi company upon meeting.

Languages spoken: English, Italian, French

Sample menu

This is just a sample menu to give you an idea of the types of dishes the host cooks. Your menu will vary according to seasonal availability.
  • Focaccia
  • Tagliatelle or strichetti or tortellini
  • Regional greens or seasonal vegetables from the garden
  • Torta or biscotti

Traveler reviews

5.0 (23)
We had a great trip and experience with Chiara and her family. It is a bit challenging to find, but certainly worth every minute. Chiara and her team were very welcoming and we enjoyed cooking, eating, drinking and spending time together. Highly recommend making the trip and enjoying the history of the house and family.
- Stan June 07, 2025
The 15th century villa was rustic and so beautiful with rolling hills, a garden and vineyards. We foraged for some of our lunch breathing in the fresh cut grass and country air. We prepared the lunch with the caretaker Chiara and her right hand Roberta. It was so much fun making the pasta and being ridiculed (in a good way) by Roberta the perfectionist. LOL Along with the featured wine from the estate, we had a mixed green salad picked from the grounds, cheese, local salame, mortadela, and prosciutto, cooked greens, fresh pasta in a Parmesan cream sauce and our freshly baked apple cake with orange mascarpone cream! Need I say more. Chiara was so gracious and you could see how much of her heart she has put into her home and the food she produces. I would recommend this to anyone. Thank you again Chiara and Roberta! See you next time.
- Robert April 24, 2025
This was one of the highlights of our trips! Chiara and the wonderful ladies in the kitchen made us feel so welcomed! It felt like I was being taught by an Italian nonna. We cooked, we laughed, we ate and we enjoyed the peaceful serenity of this escape to the countryside. Chiara was waiting for us at the train station and drove us up the winding path to the estate. The views were breathtaking! We harvested fresh herbs and greens from the grounds that became part of our lunch. The wine from their own vineyard was delicious, too. I wish we could stay in Bologna longer so I could learn more about the simple pleasures of northern Italian cuisine. If you are looking for an escape from the tourist crowds and big cities—We would 100% recommended this experience!
- Debra April 19, 2025
Wow!!! This experience is one that we will remember for a very long time! Chiara is such a warm and welcoming host, who patiently guides you through each dish step by step along with her assistant Roberta. We made focaccia and tagliatelle with leeks that we picked from Chiaras vegetable garden and pumpkin. Everything is fresh and organic and Chiara is so incredibly proud of her home and food as she should be! I cannot recommend booking this experience enough, it is a real taste of true Italy/ Bologna…. And we were so very grateful that we were lucky enough to experience it. Chiara and Roberta were incredibly talented chefs and Chiara is the most wonderful host.
- Leah_M December 15, 2024
Chiara was a wonderful host, we loved taking her cooking class at her beautiful home in San Pietro. The view from her house was amazing!!!!! She has an adorable dog called India who came with us as we picked veggies from her garden.
- Jessica April 26, 2023
Read More

Chiara

$71-$185 USD

per person
100% VETTED
Learn more
  • 100% satisfaction guarantee or your money back
  • Credit card is not charged until the host confirms your booking
  • Private experience
Pricing (per person)*
1 person 2-4 ppl 5+ people
In-Home Meal
 Not offered $81 $71
Cooking Experience + Meal
 Not offered $185 $149
Alcohol
 $9 per person
*Does not include 4% payment processing fee applied at checkout.
1 person 2-4 ppl 5+ people
In-Home Meal
 Not offered $81 $71
Cooking Experience + Meal
 Not offered $185 $149
Alcohol
 $9 per person
*Does not include 4% payment processing fee applied at checkout.
Experience Timings
 Lunch Dinner
In-Home Meal
 12:30pm-2:30pm
Cooking Experience+ Meal
 10:30am-2:30pm

Meet Chiara

Chiara’s passion for cooking began as a young girl when she cooked with her grandmothers, both excellent cooks. She added to her culinary repertoire over time by working with a friend who owned a restaurant, and went on to fulfill her grandmothers’ dream of opening a restaurant! She is eager to showcase local produce and even has her own beehive, vegetable garden, and fruit trees, and grows ancient grain that she uses to make homemade bread. As much as possible, Chiara uses products from her farm. She enjoys using modern technology to experiment with new techniques of cooking and makes creative dishes using a sous vide machine and special freezer. Food allows Chiara to connect with her grandmothers – through cooking they shared a private vocabulary of care, love and passion. She loves cooking with herbs and wild flowers that she picks because she wants to share the beautiful aromas of her region in her food.

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.

In-home meal: (2-25 guests) Meet your host Chiara at her family home, a traditional, 15th century stone farm estate that she restored and converted into a B&B. Enjoy a refreshing drink and hear the sounds of Italian music from the 20s before your host invites you to a tour of the ancient property and estate, during which you might pick a few herbs and flowers for your meal. You will then join Chiara at her dining table to enjoy a creative, regional Bolognese meal. Your meal will include an appetizer, pasta, vegetable side and dessert. Your menu may include dishes such as a crescentine (a typical fried bread only made in Emilia Romagna) or tigelle (fire-roasted bread) with parmeggiano reggiano or mortadella, tagliatelle with prosciutto di Parma and lemon zest or gnocchi with ragu, and a seasonal side vegetable like mangold (regional greens) cooked in olive oil and garlic. Your meal will conclude with a dessert of torta di castagne (chestnut cake) with zabaione (liqueur-flavored cream) or homemade ice-cream made from fresh, seasonal fruit.

Cooking experience: (2-10 guests) Experience the warmth of Italian family cooking in this pasta class in rural Bologna at a charming 15th-century stone farm estate. During your Bologna cooking class learn to make authentic pasta from scratch in a cozy, traditional setting. Join your host Chiara at her professional, stainless steel kitchen to learn to cook a creatively-inspired regional Italian meal from Monte San Pietro recipes, passed down from her grandmother. Inspired by innovation in the cooking world, she is keen on assembling dishes with regional ingredients but changing their form to make them more exciting. Instead of the traditional peas and pasta dish, Chiara might make a cream of peas that is drizzled over her pasta. Your hands-on cooking will last about two hours. Learn to cook three dishes from scratch during your cooking experience; a pasta such as tagliatelle with prosciutto di Parma and lemon zest, a seasonal vegetable side such as cavolo nero from the garden with garlic and olive oil or a fennel and root vegetable gratinato, and a bread made from ancient wheat or dessert. Enjoy learning about creative ways to recreate regional Bolognese dishes before you sit down at the table to share the meal you helped prepare with Chiara. Perfect for families and food lovers!

Notes:
1. Please note that all culinary experiences are available Wednesday through Sunday.
2. If you are driving, please meet Chiara directly at her home. If you prefer to take public transportation (bus #83), kindly inform Chiara at least 3 days in advance so she can arrange to pick you up from the bus station and drop you off afterward.
3. Chiara can also arrange a professional driver to pick you up from the city center of Bologna. The cost of this service is not included and should be paid directly to the taxi company upon meeting.

Languages spoken: English, Italian, French

Sample menu

This is just a sample menu to give you an idea of the types of dishes the host cooks. Your menu will vary according to seasonal availability.
  • Focaccia
  • Tagliatelle or strichetti or tortellini
  • Regional greens or seasonal vegetables from the garden
  • Torta or biscotti

Traveler reviews

5.0 (23)
We had a great trip and experience with Chiara and her family. It is a bit challenging to find, but certainly worth every minute. Chiara and her team were very welcoming and we enjoyed cooking, eating, drinking and spending time together. Highly recommend making the trip and enjoying the history of the house and family.
- Stan June 07, 2025
The 15th century villa was rustic and so beautiful with rolling hills, a garden and vineyards. We foraged for some of our lunch breathing in the fresh cut grass and country air. We prepared the lunch with the caretaker Chiara and her right hand Roberta. It was so much fun making the pasta and being ridiculed (in a good way) by Roberta the perfectionist. LOL Along with the featured wine from the estate, we had a mixed green salad picked from the grounds, cheese, local salame, mortadela, and prosciutto, cooked greens, fresh pasta in a Parmesan cream sauce and our freshly baked apple cake with orange mascarpone cream! Need I say more. Chiara was so gracious and you could see how much of her heart she has put into her home and the food she produces. I would recommend this to anyone. Thank you again Chiara and Roberta! See you next time.
- Robert April 24, 2025
This was one of the highlights of our trips! Chiara and the wonderful ladies in the kitchen made us feel so welcomed! It felt like I was being taught by an Italian nonna. We cooked, we laughed, we ate and we enjoyed the peaceful serenity of this escape to the countryside. Chiara was waiting for us at the train station and drove us up the winding path to the estate. The views were breathtaking! We harvested fresh herbs and greens from the grounds that became part of our lunch. The wine from their own vineyard was delicious, too. I wish we could stay in Bologna longer so I could learn more about the simple pleasures of northern Italian cuisine. If you are looking for an escape from the tourist crowds and big cities—We would 100% recommended this experience!
- Debra April 19, 2025
Wow!!! This experience is one that we will remember for a very long time! Chiara is such a warm and welcoming host, who patiently guides you through each dish step by step along with her assistant Roberta. We made focaccia and tagliatelle with leeks that we picked from Chiaras vegetable garden and pumpkin. Everything is fresh and organic and Chiara is so incredibly proud of her home and food as she should be! I cannot recommend booking this experience enough, it is a real taste of true Italy/ Bologna…. And we were so very grateful that we were lucky enough to experience it. Chiara and Roberta were incredibly talented chefs and Chiara is the most wonderful host.
- Leah_M December 15, 2024
Chiara was a wonderful host, we loved taking her cooking class at her beautiful home in San Pietro. The view from her house was amazing!!!!! She has an adorable dog called India who came with us as we picked veggies from her garden.
- Jessica April 26, 2023
Read More
Pricing (per person)*
1 person 2-4 ppl 5+ people
In-Home Meal
 Not offered $81 $71
Cooking Experience + Meal
 Not offered $185 $149
Alcohol
 $9 per person
*Does not include 4% payment processing fee applied at checkout.
1 person 2-4 ppl 5+ people
In-Home Meal
 Not offered $81 $71
Cooking Experience + Meal
 Not offered $185 $149
Alcohol
 $9 per person
*Does not include 4% payment processing fee applied at checkout.
Experience Timings
 Lunch Dinner
In-Home Meal
 12:30pm-2:30pm
Cooking Experience+ Meal
 10:30am-2:30pm
ABOUT TRAVELING SPOON

Traveling Spoon connects you with meaningful culinary experiences, from private cooking lessons to homecooked meals in people's homes. Enjoy an immersive cultural experience that gives you a glimpse into the local way of life.

FAQ

    You can cancel your reservation up until 48 hours before your experience for a full refund minus a 4% processing fee. Experiences within 48 hours are not refundable.

    If you have a question for your host, you can include a note in the field "Write a note to your host" during the booking process. Once your booking is confirmed, you will be emailed your host's direct contact information and you will also be able to message the host through your profile. You can always cancel your booking and receive a full refund 48 hours or more before your experience. If you have other questions you can also email us at reservations@travelingspoon.com.

    Most of our hosts are able to accommodate dietary restrictions and allergies, including vegetarian and gluten free options. For vegetarian travelers, we have an icon on each host profile to indicate whether that host can also offer a fully vegetarian menu. There is a section in the booking form to note any allergies or dietary restrictions which will be sent directly to your host.

    Some hosts offer alcohol as an optional add-on for travelers who are of legal drinking age. Pricing for alcohol is visible on the host profile page and includes one to two glasses of wine, beer or local alcohol.

    Have a flight or other tour planned and can't make the timing provided? If the timing listed on the host's profile doesn't work for you, our hosts can often accommodate timing changes. Because all of our experiences are private our hosts are happy to tailor experiences to meet your travel needs. Simply note your request in the booking process.

    Your card will not be charged until your host accepts your booking. Typically hosts respond to bookings within 72 hours. In the event your host is unavailable on your selected date and your host rejects your booking your credit card will not be charged.

    Your host's detailed contact information, including their phone number, address, and direction notes, will all be provided immediately upon successful confirmation of your experience (after your hosts accepts your booking and your credit card is successfully processed). This information will be emailed to you to the email address you used to sign up, and will also be visible on your Traveling Spoon profile.

    All prices are noted per person prices unless otherwise specified. Transportation is typically charged on a per car basis. Children aged 5-11 are 50% off, and infants aged 0-4 are free. Hosts set their own prices and Traveling Spoon marks up the experiences; on average hosts receive over 70% of the price paid by the traveler.

    100% of Traveling Spoon experiences are private! Just you and your host and host's family.

    Hosts typically respond to booking inquiries within 72 hours. If for some reason you have not heard from your host or if you have any questions you can always contact us at reservations@travelingspoon.com.

    Your safety and security are our top priority. To ensure this, Traveling Spoon personally vets 100% of all hosts, including an in-person host visit, to ensure each host and experience meets our strict quality requirements.

    Some hosts offer transportation as an optional add-on for travelers. Typically this is round trip transportation with pick up and drop off at your hotel. Pricing is quoted per car. Specific instructions for transportation will be provided in your confirmation details when your booking is confirmed.

    Many of our hosts accommodate solo travelers. You can see if a host accepts solo travelers by looking at the traveler range found next to the experience descriptions on the host profile (indicated by the numbers in parentheses next to "In-home meal", "Cooking experience" and "Market visit").

    Most of our Traveling Spoon experiences are incredibly family friendly and can accommodate infants and children. If a host is unable to accommodate children that will be noted in the "Notes" section of their profile. Our child pricing policy is children aged 5-11 are 50% off, and infants aged 0-4 are free.