The one thing everyone should do in Puglia
Orecchiette are made with semolina, water and a blunt knife, and the reason they look impossible is that the technique is entirely in the wrist. An hour in and most people can do it. That hour is the best souvenir the region sells, because it comes home with you and works in your own kitchen in February.
Polignano a Mare is a good place to do it: classes run here, the town is small enough to walk to one, and the sea is ten minutes away for the afternoon afterwards. Classes in this area run about 1.5 to 4 hours, priced roughly 90 to 365 EUR per person depending on length and format, with a minimum of two or three guests.
What you make, and then eat
The syllabus is the regional one: orecchiette, focaccia barese, panzerotti and taralli, followed by sitting down and eating what you made, usually with wine. That last part is not a garnish — the longer formats are effectively a meal with the cooking attached, which is why the price range is as wide as it is. A short pasta session and a four-hour class ending in a full lunch are different products with the same name.
In a kitchen, or in yours
Two shapes are available and it is worth choosing deliberately. A hosted class takes you into someone else’s kitchen, which is more sociable and usually cheaper. Alternatively, several of the same people who teach also cook as private chefs at holiday houses — the Puglia bench is small and largely interchangeable in that way — so a class at your own villa followed by eating at your own table is a normal request.
Practicalities
Minimums matter here: most classes need two or three guests to run, so a solo traveller is sometimes joining a group rather than booking privately. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before is the marketplace standard for classes, though the independent hosts publish no terms of their own, which is why we confirm yours in writing first. Classes run year-round, unlike the boats — a genuinely good answer to a windy day when the sea caves are off.
Who teaches, and what we do
An independent local host or chef, cooking their own food in their own kitchen. We take your dates and group to hosts who are free, confirm the format, the menu and what is included directly with them, and stay reachable. We do not run classes ourselves, and nothing is booked until you confirm.
Pair it with the sea-caves boat tour, a private chef for the last night or the Valle d’Itria wine tour. Everything sits on the Puglia page. Request availability with your dates and how many are cooking.