Pizza and Gelato Masterclass

The pizza-and-gelato masterclass takes place with a Roman pizzaiolo who has worked the wood-fired oven for thirty years, and a Sicilian gelataio who turns out artisanal gelato every morning from raw seasonal fruit and Bronte pistachio. Two and a half hours, hands in the dough and in the cold paste, with both finished products eaten on site as the lunch. The dough is the classic Roman pizza-bianca formula — long natural fermentation, low hydration, thin crisp result. The gelato is the artisan formula, not the industrial: no stabilisers, no flavour pastes, fruit and milk and time.

Why this masterclass matters

The Italian gastronomy that most travellers eat in restaurants is not the food that the families who made it eat at home or in the workshop. Pizza is the obvious example: the Neapolitan and Roman traditions are different schools, with different doughs, different ovens, different timings, and the difference becomes obvious when you knead both. Gelato is the same: industrial gelato is a colour-coded mass of paste and base; artisan gelato is a slow translation of one or two seasonal ingredients into a frozen cream. The masterclass exists to make that difference legible by doing it once, in your hands.

What is included

Apron and full kit; flour, water, yeast, salt — the Roman pizza-bianca recipe taught step by step from autolyse to the final stretch; wood-fired oven baking; toppings tasting including the original Roman quattro formaggi and a seasonal vegetable variant; gelato workshop with three flavours selected by season (typically pistachio, stracciatella, and a fresh seasonal fruit); tasting of all production; one glass of regional wine — Cesanese del Piglio or Frascati Superiore — per adult; the workshop functions as lunch, no separate restaurant required.

Who it is for

Families with children of any age above six — pizza and gelato are the most child-positive cooking workshops in Italy. Travellers who want a lunch that doubles as an experience rather than a meal in a restaurant. Couples on a longer Italian trip who want a Roman day that is not another monument. Returning visitors who have done the Vatican and the Forum twice and now want a workshop that is also genuinely fun.

Booking notes

Sessions are scheduled Tuesday–Saturday at 11:00 (early lunch slot) or 17:00 (early dinner). Pricing is per group, scaling with party size; advance booking of one week minimum. Dietary requirements — gluten-free dough, lactose-free gelato base — can be accommodated with three days’ notice. Combines beautifully with our mosaic-and-fresco masterclass in the morning for a full crafts-day or with the driving tour of Rome in the afternoon.

Questions we hear

Can vegetarians or coeliacs participate fully? Yes, with notice. Will the children actually do the work? Yes — the pizzaiolo gives every child a dough ball to shape, top and bake. How much do we eat? Generously; the workshop is the meal. Is alcohol included for adults? One glass; further wine on request. Can the recipe be taken home? Yes — a written sheet in your language is included.

To book a private pizza-and-gelato masterclass with a Roman pizzaiolo and a Sicilian gelataio, reach Olga directly on Telegram.