Mamma Agata Cooking School in Ravello

One of the highlights of our Italy trip was spending an unforgettable day in Ravello at the Mamma Agata Cooking School. We planned our entire itinerary around getting into this class and let me tell you, it lived up to the hype.

Mamma Agata’s daughter, Chiara, now runs the experience, and she’s truly one-of-a-kind… warm, funny, and so passionate about her family’s culinary legacy. The cooking school is perched above the Amalfi Coast, and the views alone were enough to take your breath away. But then came the food…

We spent seven full hours learning, cooking, laughing, and (of course) eating. We got hands-on instruction for making the perfect tomato sauce, how to properly infuse garlic into olive oil, and why slicing eggplant into long strips (instead of rounds) makes all the difference in eggplant parmesan. We also learned how to get the bitterness out of eggplant and how to make her incredible bolognese and life-changing meatballs. I’m not exaggerating, they were the best I’ve ever had.

Chiara joked with the kids about “Italian hydration” (aka wine), which they produce on the property—along with their own olive oil and limoncello. We walked through their lemon grove (May and September are peak lemon seasons!) and enjoyed every minute of soaking in the beauty, the flavor, and the heart behind it all.

We booked this day back in January… four months in advance and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. If you ever get the chance, this is more than a cooking class… it’s a memory-maker.

Oh, and if you’re not going to Italy anytime soon, you can still taste a little of Mamma Agata’s kitchen her “Hell Sauce” (a spicy chili pepper blend) is amazing. Chiara taught us how to layer it with tomato sauce, parmesan, and fresh bread… unreal. You can contact Mamma Agata and find out about the products they ship... it is more than what you see on the website.