Traditional Italian cooking with a professional pizza maker

Meet Giovanni

Giovanni is an Italian Chef and Masseur, who has been living in Australia since 2008. He has been working as a Pizza Maker for about 12 years and nowadays he runs his own massage studio from home. Giovanni is passionate about cooking and eating healthy, local and seasonal produce and believes that good food is essential for a good mind. He first learned to cook when he was a child by observing his mother in the kitchen, while she prepared fresh meals for the family. Later Giovanni came to Australia and took a certified course and has worked in several restaurants as a chef. <br><br>Giovanni is excited to share his passion and knowledge for food and cooking, so that everyone can cook fresh meals without having to depend on processed food. And as both his parents were teachers, he says that he has definitely inherited their teaching skills!

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 (1 - 4 guests) Meet Giovanni at his apartment in Coburg, 9 km north of Melbourne's central business district. Giovanni’s specialty is Italian food – the food he grew up eating. He loves cooking with seasonal and fresh produce, and likes to make everything from scratch at home – from marmalade to pickles. Join Giovanni at the dining table to share a traditional Italian meal, that might include dishes such as grilled cheese, homemade pizza or farinata (a type of thin, unleavened pancake or crêpe made from chickpea flour) with seasonal toppings and crostata ripiena (seasonal stuffed tart) or spalmabile di cioccolato e nocciola (chocolate or hazelnut spread).

Cooking experience (1 - 4 guests) Join your host Giovanni in his home kitchen to learn to cook a traditional Italian meal. Your hands-on cooking class will last about 2 hours during which you will learn to cook two dishes from scratch. Some of the dishes you might learn to cook are pizza – you will make the sauce and toppings, the dough, learn how to stretch the dough and cook it; and chocolate or hazelnut spread. Giovanni will also share tips and tricks, the science behind the techniques used and will teach you about flavors. After cooking, sit down at the table to share the meal you helped prepare.