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Some cities introduce themselves with monuments. Como does it with ingredients, the kind you carry home in a paper bag, still warm from the bakery, still smelling of the lake air.
The Discover Como VIP Cooking Experience is built around a simple idea. If you want to understand a place, cook with someone who lives there. Not in a showroom kitchen, but at home, where the rituals are real and the welcome is personal.
“My name is Monica and I have dedicated myself to food for years,” she says. “Partly because I have always liked to cook, but then this passion expanded when I met the Food Bank and has been enriched with that extra element, which is respect for food and love for the people to whom this food is then offered.”
It is the spirit behind everything that follows. A way of cooking that values tradition, sustainability, and the quiet joy of feeding others.
“What we want to offer to our guests are exclusive experiences on Lake Como,” Monica says in the film. “And enjoy the Dolce Vita style.”
You can watch the full story on Como TV, where the experience unfolds as an intimate portrait of the people behind the place. (tv.comofootball.com)
The experience itself is designed as a full journey through Italian cuisine, from the market to the table. You begin with a guided stroll through Como’s historic covered market, exploring traditional shops and fresh produce, including a stop at the famous Pan de Com bakery. Then you head to the Cesarina’s home in a quiet central neighbourhood, where a welcome aperitif sets the tone before a hands-on cooking class.
“The idea to open my home to people who come from all over the world, I find it very satisfying, of great interest because it is an exchange, in fact, of ideas and cultures,” Monica says. “After all, around food there is the whole history of a country.”
In the film, she points out the local rhythm of the city, the small places that still hold their own, the shops built decades ago, the pride in produce and in craft. Then she brings it back to the one thing every visitor ends up talking about.
“The bread is another very typical food of Como,” she says. “In fact, this one that we bought at the bakery is called Pane di Como. And this is my homemade bread.”
At her table, there is always an aperitif, because that is how you begin properly. “Wow. I made a little aperitive for you,” she says, placing out local cheese and bruschetta. “And here you can have a taste of local cheese with bruschetta, with pesto and Crescenta, which is a cheese typical of Como Lake.”
Someone tastes and tries to find the right word for it. “Very… not simple, but in a good way you know?”
Monica smiles. “Dolce Vita.”
Then the cooking begins, the practical part that turns a lovely morning into a skill you can take home.
“To make pasta you just need flour and eggs. Two ingredients,” Monica says. “It’s important to use two different flours. One is the regular double zero flour. And this one which is a little more yellow and a little more rough. It’s called the semolina.”
She gives the rule that unlocks the whole thing. “One egg and 100g of flour for each person.”
Her teaching is simple and precise, palms not fingers, pressure and patience. “Don’t use the fingers but use the palm. So you squeeze in the hand and push,” she says, then adds the line that makes everyone laugh. “That’s why people don’t have to work out in Italy. They walk everywhere and knead the pasta dough.”
The class focuses on herb ravioli with butter and sage, and the classic Italian tiramisù, served with wine, water, and coffee. The filling has its own little Como signature too. “We will add a hint of Como, grating some of the Casera cheese,” Monica explains as the ricotta comes together.
Afterwards, you sit down to enjoy the dishes you prepared, the best part of any cooking class, the moment when the room gets quieter because everyone is too busy eating.
“It’s better than okay,” one guest says, mid bite.
“Cheers then. To your ravioli class,” comes the reply, glasses raised.
The Discover Como VIP Cooking Experience is designed for small groups, hosted in Monica’s home for up to six guests, with options for larger groups. It includes a visit to the market in downtown Como, the hands-on class, the meal you share together, and Como 1907 exclusive branded items.
Most importantly, it does not depend on a fixture or a calendar. It is simply a beautiful way to make the most of Como, through its traditions, flavours, and the warmth of the people who define the place.
You can purchase the experience online through comofootball.com/tourism-experiences/ and watch it for yourself on Como TV.