Cooking In The Roman Jewish Ghetto™

Join Chef Essa & Food Lover Guide Umberto for Kosher Cooking Classes Rome.  Started by his Jewish grandmother, our Kosher Cooking Classes are hands-on and feature Kosher products including all ingredients.  In keeping with Kosher, meat and milk products are always kept separate in two kitchens.  Tie on your aprons using Kosher Italian recipes preparing antipasto, fresh pasta and seasonal sauces, main courses and desserts – think crostata to Babka and Kosher baklava.  Discover Kosher Rome!

Your Kosher Jewish cooking tour includes a landmark and food tour through the Campo Dei Fiori market filled with vendors selling fresh fruits, vegetables, spices and flowers each day.  The Campo Dei Fiori market is a meeting place for farmers and artisans who bring farm fresh products to the Eternal City each day.  Discover the ancient market with your host Umberto who explains what’s in season and how the Roman Jewish Italians shop each day for artisan cheese, artisan breads, fish, meat and wine.  Also in this Kosher Rome tour, you will explore the Jewish Ghetto with our English-speaking guide, and learn about the history and traditions of this vibrant and fascinating quarter of Rome. After the tour, tie on your apron and head into the kitchen for your Kosher style or strictly Kosher cooking class!

This one-of-a-kind hands-on cooking class and food lover’s tour offers culinary history and traditions for Jewish and non-Jewish alike!  Discover Kosher Italy and Kosher Food Rome!  Learn how to make Kosher Pizza Rome!

The Roman Jewish Ghetto

The Roman Ghetto was established by Pope Paul IV in 1555 and the area chosen for the ghetto was the most undesirable quarter of the city, due to flooding by the Tiber River.

Though life in the Roman Ghetto was one of poverty, some Jews considered the walls protection for the small Jewish community against attacks by Christian mobs and the fate of assimilation. The requirement that Jews live in the ghetto was abolished in 1882 and the ghetto walls were torn down in 1888. Those who could afford it, moved to other neighborhoods, and today only a small fraction of Rome’s Jewish community still live there.  After World War II, the Roman Ghetto began to thrive and is now the central gathering place for Rome’s Jewish community. Today, the neighborhood is host to a wonderful selection of kosher restaurants, shops, bakeries and Rome’s famous Synagogue.  Even the Pope is a fan of the pizza ebraica, literally Jewish pizza, an almond-raisin sweet bread that he orders specifically from the ghetto pasticciere.

Cooking Classes

Head into the kitchen with Umberto and Chef Essa and learn how to cook Kosher using Kosher Italian recipes. Using Kosher certified traditional ingredients you will prepare fresh pasta, fish or meat, vegetables and desserts.

Learn the secret recipe for preparing the rose-shaped carciofi alla giudia, fried artichokes served for Yom Kippur, or carbonara di zucchine, pasta with zucchini cream, aliciotti con l’indivia, anchovies baked with curly endive, and cassola, Ricotta cake.  Slice, dice and prepare pezzetti fritti, flash-fried seasonal vegetables, minestra cucinata, Nonna’s favorite soup, baccala cipolla e pomodoro, cod with tomato and onions, and sufganiot, jelly-filled doughnuts served traditionally at Hanukkah.

After each Kosher Style cooking class, enjoy lunch on the foods prepared in class with a toast of Kosher wine. Menus are Kosher-style- not mixing any milk and meat products. Menus can be tailored to accommodate food allergies and diet needs. Vegetarian menus are available too.

Rome Kosher Accommodations

While in Rome, you will be welcomed to our charming Kosher accommodations in the heart of ancient Rome. Our hotel offers Kosher accommodations with kosher-vegetarian continental breakfast.  It’s convenient location near all major public transportation and the city bus stop make it a short distance to the Colosseum, Termini Station, Via Veneto and Villa Borghese.

All rooms are spacious and have private bathroom and shower, air conditioning with remote control, LCD TV, fridge (upon request), coffee table and free internet connection. The hotel is completely new, with all the modern comforts needed and a professional staff to assist for any questions.

*Kosher accommodations with kosher-vegetarian continental breakfast, common fridge and Shabbat meals are available upon request.  Please contact us for more details, based on your needs.

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Itinerary ~ 4 days, 3 nights

Day 1: Arrival & Explore Rome

• Arrival and check in, freshen up and relax.
• Take the afternoon to stroll the neighborhood, to the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and the famous Via Condotti ending at the Spanish Steps, taking a break at the 18th century Antico Caffe Greco. Watch the sun set over the Vatican from the top of the Spanish Steps.
• Evening free and dinner on your own. Suggestions provided.

Day 2: Market & Ghetto Tour ~ Cooking Class 1

• Breakfast is served.
• Meet Umberto for your early morning Market Tour to the famous Campo Dei Fiori, and see the seasonal offerings. Learn about how the fresh ingredients are used in Roman-Jewish cooking.
• Continue your stroll to the Roman Ghetto as Umberto points out important sites and explains the history of Jewish neighborhood of Rome.
• Then, meet Chef Essa in the kitchen for your hands-on Cooking Class 1 featuring a four-course menu from antipasti to dessert. Lunch follows on the foods prepared in class. Wine and drinks not included.
• Afternoon free. Suggestion: Visit the Vatican Museums including the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter’s Basilica. If you dare, climb the dome for incredible views over the Eternal City.
• Dinner on your own. Suggestions provided.

Day 3: Cooking Class 2

• Breakfast is served.
• Tie on your apron and meet Chef Essa in the kitchen for your hands-on Cooking Class 2 featuring a four-course menu from antipasi to dessert. Lunch follows on the foods prepared in class. Wine and drinks not included.
• Afternoon free: Take a stroll through Ancient Rome and visit the Colosseum and the Forum. End your evening with a visit the Trevi Fountain. Spectacular by day, Salvi’s masterpiece fountain is even more enchanting lit up at night. Throw in a coin to ensure your return to Rome!
• Dinner on your own. Suggestions provided.

Day 4: Departure & Arrivederci!

• Breakfast is served.
• Departure & Arrivederci Roma – until you return!!!

*Note: This schedule may vary due to Shabbat, inclement weather, saint days or festivals. All activities, in the event of rescheduling, are always included during the program.