Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Malta

Maltese food mixes Sicilian and wider Mediterranean cooking with the islands' own farm and fishing traditions, with street food and home cooking among its traditions. A guided food walk or a cooking class is a way to explore local dishes. Both are run by a range of small local providers, so compare what each includes before you book.

Food walks

Walking food tours usually start in Valletta or the old cities and stop at bakeries, pastizzerias, bars and delicatessens. Expect to try pastizzi, the flaky pastries filled with ricotta or peas, and ftira and hobż biż-żejt, Maltese bread rubbed with tomato and olive oil and piled with tuna, capers and olives. Cheese boards often feature ġbejniet, the small sheep's or goat's milk cheeses that are a Gozo speciality, with bigilla bean dip and kapunata on the side. Sweet stops bring imqaret, date-filled pastries, and qagħaq tal-għasel, the treacle rings.

Cooking classes

Hands-on classes are available. Ask about the menu if you want to cook stuffat tal-fenek (rabbit stew), bragioli (beef olives), timpana (baked macaroni in pastry) and, in autumn when the fish is in season, lampuki pie. Farmhouse classes and farm visits are available in Dingli. If you are staying on Gozo, ask providers about their venue and any ingredient-shopping visit before booking.

• For a seafood angle, spend a morning in the fishing village of Marsaxlokk and order aljotta, the garlicky fish soup.
• Add a wine tasting to taste the native Ġellewża and Girgentina grapes.
• The Malta on a budget guide covers eating well for less on your own.

Tell the provider about allergies and dietary needs when you book, skip breakfast before a food walk, and check whether drinks are included in the price.