Nice Vieux-Nice Market and Niçoise Cooking Class

Cook'in Nice has been running culinary workshops in the Alpes-Maritimes for over eight years, combining a morning market visit with a hands-on cooking session in the heart of Vieux-Nice. The experience begins at the Cours Saleya flower and produce market, one of the most celebrated open-air markets on the French Riviera, where a bilingual chef guide leads participants through seasonal stalls explaining the agricultural traditions of the arrière-pays niçois—the inland hills supplying lavender, tomatoes, courgette flowers, and single-estate olive oil. The market visit lasts approximately ninety minutes, after which the group of up to eight participants moves to the Cook'in Nice kitchen, a purpose-built teaching space in the Old Town, for a two-hour hands-on cooking session. Participants prepare three canonical Niçoise dishes: socca, the street-food chickpea pancake cooked on a wood-fired griddle; pissaladière, the caramelised onion and anchovy flatbread characteristic of the Côte d'Azur; and daube niçoise, the slow-braised beef stew flavoured with olives, orange peel, and thyme that distinguishes Nice's cuisine from broader Provençal cooking. The session closes with a sit-down lunch at which participants eat the dishes they have prepared, accompanied by a glass of Côtes de Provence rosé. A printed recipe booklet covering all three dishes, with notes on sourcing Niçoise ingredients in home markets, is included in the €95 per-person price. Non-alcoholic alternatives to wine are available on request. Tours run Tuesday through Sunday, reflecting the Cours Saleya market schedule (the market is closed Monday). The four-hour programme runs from 09:00 to 13:00. The class is conducted primarily in English, with French explanations available for mixed groups. A fully vegetarian menu featuring socca, pissaladière, and stuffed courgette flowers is offered at the same price with forty-eight hours' notice.