Cooking classes and guided tours in Italian, English, French and Spanish

Come with me! We’ll discover Emilia Romagna

Hi! My name is Stefania and my greatest passions are nature, travel and cooking. I live in Parma in the famous “Food Valley”.
I am a teacher, a tour guide, a guide specialised in food and wine tours, and I run cookery classes in my home. Come with me and I will make you discover Emilia Romagna and Italy in a unique and unforgettable way.

Families with children and animals are welcome.

Learn more

I graduated in natural sciences and worked for 15 years as a guide in the nature parks of my province.
Since 2013, I have specialised in food and wine tours and I accompany foreign tourists to discover my region through its products.

I have always been passionate about cooking since I was a little girl helping my grandmother to prepare her wonderful cakes. As I grew up, I began to travel and discover the dishes of different countries, buying cookbooks and exchanging recipes with the locals. One of the most rewarding things is inviting people over for dinner and trying out new dishes.

Almost by accident and with great satisfaction, I was able to turn this passion into a job. My family and my home are always open to people from different countries and we love to show them our food culture while learning about theirs.

Since 2007 I have been hosting American students studying in Parma (so far I have had 56!), I have always taught them how to cook Italian dishes to their great satisfaction.
Travelling and discovering cities through their traditions and food is the best way to live like a local.

Come with me on an unforgettable experience to get to know and “taste” Parma (and Italy) with all your senses.

Cooking classes, also online

Discover an authentic experience by preparing simple dishes typical of the Emilian tradition and beyond. The courses take place in my house in Parma or, in fine weather, in my country house (a charming 18th century palace in the foothills). Hospitality and conviviality are important elements of my courses. For those who are not in a hurry, I recommend staying for lunch or dinner and enjoying what you have prepared with my family.

Food and wine tours

Parmigiano-Reggiano, prosciutto di Parma, traditional balsamic vinegar, culatello, truffles: these are just some of the products you will be able to appreciate “live”, in their places of production, discovering their history, curiosities and, of course, enjoying their flavour to the full!
All visits are tailor-made, decided with you according to your tastes, interests and obviously your needs.
Possibility of gastronomic walks in the centre of Parma to discover the habits of the Parmesans and visit the typical “botteghe”.

Tours in nature

Trekking and easy walks, also suitable for families with children, will help you discover the beauty of the regional parks in the province of Parma and the city gardens.
Possibility of night walks outside the city to completely immerse yourself in nature.

What they say about me

Amazing, Personalized Tour Through Parma

“We had a wonderful morning with Stefania! We learned so much about the Parma area and all the famous foods like parmesan cheese, parma ham and balsamic vinegar. It was so much fun! Stefania speaks great English and she has such good knowledge of the area. Being with a local really helps! We wished we could have her guidance all week long, not to mention her Italian language skills! This really benefited us with our food allergies.
In fact we had so much fun we did a private cooking class later that night. This way we could learn how to make pasta! Highly recommend Stefania! You won’t be disappointed with all she has to offer. Fantastico!

Creating fantastic dishes with an amazing chef

My family did an online cooking class with Stefania. She was incredibly responsive from our first contact with her. Her instruction during the class was detailed and the dishes she helped us make were so tasty. Along with her extensive cooking knowledge, it was fun during the class to learn more from Stefania about Italian culture. I would highly recommend booking a class with Stefania.

Une expérience inoubliable

Formidable moment passé avec Stephania qui nous a révélé tous les petits secrets de la vraie cuisine italienne ! Les enfants aussi adoré ! En plus, à la fin nous avons tous mangé ensemble et c’était un régal ! J’ai hâte d’essayer les recettes chez moi pour me sentir un peu comme en Italie 😉 et d’essayer de nouveaux cours avec Stephania.

Parmigiano prosciutto e acetaia

La passione che ha Stefania la rende unica, la semplicitá la cordialitá e il suo metodo di spiegazione ha reso la nostra esperienza, con lei, indimenticabile. Grazie Stefania!!!
Molto consigliata.

Highly recommended for a truly Italian experience

We loved cooking and spending the evening with Stefania. She had so many interesting things to explain while we were cooking and we had a blast while having dinner with her lovely family. Would have loved to take more tours with her if we could have stayed longer.

Una magica giornata

Persona molto competente nel settore oltre ad essere carina e gentile, una giornata notevolmente piacevole alla scoperta delle specialità emiliane !!!!!!!! Consiglio questa splendida giornata

I highly recommend Stefania’s Cooking virtual classes!

I have taken several classes from Stefania and they’re really great. Stefania is an accomplished chef with a wide variety of savory and sweet recipes. There is something for everyone and all skill levels.
When you sign up for a class, Stefania sends the list of ingredients and measurements and during the class she guides the class through dish preparation from beginning to end. Having created about 8 of her dishes now I can say that they’re made with very simple ingredients but the end result is amazing. She is very engaging, easy to follow, patient if people need to catch up and she’s really fun. You may even learn a bit of Italian from her!
If you’ve never taken an online cooking class, just do it!

Gita a Parma con Stefania

Parma senza Stefania è come giocare a calcio senza la palla!!! Accogliente, allegra e molto attenta a mostrare ogni angolo di questa splendida città di provincia. Il tutto con sapori e profumi che solo con lei riesci ad apprezzare fino in fondo.

Fantastico

I had a fantastic time spending the day with Stefania – the cooking class was amazing and I learned so much about not only Italian food but also Italian home life and hospitality ? Stefania could not have been more accommodating, and my experience with her remains one of the my abiding memories of both Parma and also my general time in Italy. I actually had to book this very last minute due to a rapid change of plans (Covid…), and Stefania was super flexible and super accommodating and could not have been more helpful. I have since bought a pasta machine to keep practising, and look forward to joining the online sessions too 🙂 I can highly recommend a day with Stefania! Grazie mille!

Glass explores the lesser-known highlights of Emilia Romagna, Italy’s foodie capital

NONE of us felt much inclined to speak. Having spent hours making fresh mafaldine pasta from scratch, then gorging ourselves on it along with torta fritta and assorted homemade cakes, we were slumped back in a post-prandial stupor when Stefania, stretching the definition of Epicureanism to its limits, quietly wheeled out a trolley. Sitting on the trolley was the kind of thing you’d see in a medical museum: a large glass vat filled with pinkish fluid and floating fleshy lumps. We made some sounds that sounded like questions without actually using any words.

www.theglassmagazine.com

Parma city of Gastronomy

Da oltre 15 anni Stefania lavora come guida ambientale escursionistica nelle aree protette della provincia di Parma ed è una vera esperta del mondo naturalistico della nostra zona. Collabora inoltre con numerose scuole in progetti di educazione ambientale e consumo consapevole. Una visita guidata con Stefania vi permetterà di apprezzare al meglio le nostre bellezze naturalistiche ma anche le specialità gastronomiche e i prodotti tipici direttamente nei luoghi di produzione o ai Musei del Cibo, una vera esperienza tra le eccellenze di Parma e provincia.

How They Make Parmigiano in Parma

On my recent trip to Parma, Italy — with a wonderful group of food enthusiast travelers — we got to see up close and first-hand how true parmigiano reggiano is made.
Parmesan is not parmigiano reggiano. Only the cheese made in the region of Emilia, in Parma, from very special cows, and stamped parmigiano reggiano is the real thing.
We witnessed the new milk, delivered that morning, swirling in huge heated copper vats.

Gallery

Partners

Contact



+39 328 217 2237

Phone



info@stefaniabertaccini.com

E-mail address