Cooking Classes in Bergamo: How to Pick One

What a cooking class in Bergamo gives you

Bergamo is a two-part city, and the cooking schools sit across the wider area rather than in one quarter. The three named schools differ sharply: ABF Bergamo runs structured adult evening courses, The Cooking Lab is based outside the city at Orio al Serio and lists a wide calendar of themed labs, and I Buoni Sani runs single-theme vegetarian evenings in Bergamo. Choosing between them is mostly a question of whether you want two evenings in the same kitchen or a single session on one subject.

A useful way to judge a class is by what you finish with: a tray of pastries, a plate of pasta and a recipe packet, or a sit-down dinner with other students. Compare the format and level stated for the specific session before you commit rather than booking on the title alone.

Hands-on pasta and risotto: the Primi da chef course at ABF Bergamo

ABF Bergamo's Primi da chef course is the most direct route to fresh pasta and risotto. It runs across two evening sessions of four hours each, eight hours in total, and the listed price is 120 euros per person. You work on fresh pasta, ravioli, gnocchi and risotto, covering flours and the mantecatura, the stirring of fat into the risotto off the heat. The course is advertised as suitable for beginners and is taught by chef Walter Baggi. ABF also lists a longer intermediate amateur-cooking course for cooks who already have kitchen confidence.

The same school lists a vegetarian cooking course over two evenings in October, also priced at 120 euros. It focuses on pulses, vegetables and fruit, with attention to texture, colour and combining plant ingredients, and it also suits beginners. Both courses meet at ABF Bergamo's site on via Monte Gleno in the city, and enrolment is handled through the sign-up button on each course page.

Vegetarian cooking and the ABF evening format

The ABF vegetarian course is built for cooks who want ideas for balanced plates rather than meat substitutes. Across two sessions it covers vegetable cookery, pulses and mixing ingredients to make a complete dish. The format, two evenings of four hours, keeps a practical, hands-on rhythm.

ABF also offers a course on cooking for intolerances, covering gluten-free flours and replacements for dairy and eggs. It is a useful choice if you need to cook around an allergy at home rather than just learn a regional dish.

The Cooking Lab at Orio al Serio: what the calendar covers

The Cooking Lab sits at via Portico 57/A in Orio al Serio, outside Bergamo, a practical choice if you are flying into or out of the airport. Its calendar is broad: bread and baking, pastry, Italian regional cooking and world cuisines. Recent listings include autumn risottos, Ligurian and Puglian focaccia, panettone, croissants, Mexican tacos and Japanese ramen. Sessions are sorted into categories such as pastry, bread-making, Italian and world cooking, vegetarian cooking, and dinner with the chef, so you choose the subject you want rather than enrolling in a fixed course.

The catalogue runs to 32 courses, and each course page gives the date and the listed price. The calendar changes, so check availability on The Cooking Lab website before planning a trip around a specific session. The wider catalogue also includes dedicated bread-making and pastry categories alongside the savoury labs.

How a Cooking Lab session runs: dates, format and cost

Cooking Lab sessions are themed labs rather than long courses: most are scheduled as single dates, with occasional two-day masterclasses. The listed prices in the catalogue range from around 100 euros for a themed evening to 600 euros for a two-day ceremony-cake masterclass with Alice Martini. Bread and pastry courses sit in between: panettone at 195 euros, croissants at 180 euros and a two-day modern-cakes course at 190 euros. Each course page states the date, the category and the price, so you can compare like with like; a shorter session costs less but gives you one subject rather than a progressive curriculum.

The Cooking Lab also lists team-building and private-event formats among its services, useful if you are travelling as a group rather than booking a place as an individual. Ask the school directly about group sizes and what a session includes.

I Buoni Sani: single-theme evenings, paired work and a shared dinner

I Buoni Sani, run by Laura Castoldi, holds single-theme vegetarian evenings at via Angelo Cassina 8b in Bergamo, usually on Tuesday nights. Each session covers around seven recipes, cooked in pairs and then eaten at a convivial dinner, with a recipe packet to take home. The price is 65 euros for non-members of the La Sana Gola school and 50 euros for enrolled students. The cooking leans vegetable-led, with fresh pasta, savoury tarts, pulses and soups among the subjects, so it suits cooks who want vegetable-centred dishes rather than meat.

I Buoni Sani also offers private sessions on request for celebrations or one-to-one tuition, and children's workshops, with the current calendar on its site. The single-evening format, which includes dinner, is the lowest-commitment way to try a Bergamo cooking class.

Bread, pastry and cake courses for bakers

If you want to bake rather than cook, The Cooking Lab's calendar has a broad bakery and pastry section. Its courses include focaccia in two regional styles, croissants with an introduction to lamination, panettone with natural leavening, Japanese bread and macarons. Cake courses include a number-cake class and modern cakes, plus a two-day ceremony-cake masterclass. The individual course pages give the date and listed price.

Our guide to the best pastry shops in Bergamo is a useful companion for tasting the finished styles around the city before you bake them yourself.

One-off themed sessions versus multi-evening courses

The choice comes down to whether you want depth or variety. ABF's two-evening courses build a skill over repeated practice, while The Cooking Lab's themed labs let you try one subject, such as ramen, tacos or focaccia, without committing to a full course. Multi-evening courses suit a local resident or a longer stay; single sessions suit a short break. The ABF format of eight hours across two evenings is the middle ground. The I Buoni Sani single evening, which includes dinner, is the shortest commitment.

If you are visiting for a weekend and want a meal to match your class, our guide to trattorias in Bergamo covers the city's traditional eating houses.

Booking, payment and Italian-language instruction

All three schools publish their courses in Italian. ABF enrolment is handled through an online button on each course page, and prices are listed per person and per course. If you need an English-language class, ask the school directly whether one is offered. A basic grasp of Italian cooking terms, such as impasto for dough and mantecatura for finishing a risotto, helps.

Confirm cancellation terms and whether you need to bring anything before paying, and book directly with the school you choose.

Choosing the right class for your level and appetite

Beginners should start with ABF's Primi da chef or its vegetarian course, both of which are advertised as suitable for those new to cooking. If you want single-subject depth and are based near the airport, The Cooking Lab's themed labs give you a short, focused session. If you want a sociable vegetarian dinner with other students, I Buoni Sani's Tuesday evenings are the clearest match. Experienced cooks can look at ABF's intermediate course or the longer masterclasses at The Cooking Lab.

Pair the class with the food you will eat during the rest of your stay. Our guide to the best pasta in Bergamo covers the dishes you will make in the Primi da chef course, and our Casoncelli page explains the filled pasta you may see in the city's trattorias.

Which Bergamo cooking class should you book?

Book ABF Bergamo if you want a two-evening course that builds pasta and risotto technique at a fixed price, and choose its vegetarian course if that is your diet. Book The Cooking Lab if you want a single themed session on a subject like focaccia, panettone or ramen, especially if you are travelling via Orio al Serio. Book I Buoni Sani if you want a plant-based evening where you cook in pairs and eat dinner together. For a wider plan once you are there, see our guide to the best restaurants in Bergamo. In each case, confirm the current date and price on the school's own page before paying.