If you read my review of Giuseppe Dell’Anno’s Chocolate Feast baking workshop back in February, you will know that I left Cheltenham that day carrying several boxes of handmade chocolate creations, a head full of new knowledge, and a quiet, settled sense of pride in myself that I had not expected to feel. I also left having already booked myself onto his Easter bakes workshop on 21st March 2026 and having firmly told my husband in advance that he would be making his own dinner that evening, because this time I intended to fully enjoy the lunch.

The big day arrived yesterday, and so did a decision I had made some time before I even got dressed. I was not going to chance getting there and back on the train after what happened last time.

Letting the Taxi Take the Strain

Those of you who followed my February adventure will recall that National Rail had other ideas about my carefully planned 8.52am departure to Cheltenham Spa. That morning dissolved into a stressful scramble that cost considerably more than I had budgeted for. Lightning, as they say, does not strike twice. I was not about to give it the opportunity to do that to me again!

This time, I treated myself to a taxi to get me there and back with Brookside Taxis and Minibuses in Worcester, and I cannot recommend them highly enough. The service was absolutely superb from start to finish. There is something genuinely lovely about sitting back, watching the world go by (especially on such a beautiful sunny day in the Cotswolds) and letting someone else do the navigating while you sip your coffee and get quietly excited about the day ahead. No platform changes, no delays, no frantic checking of the National Rail app every thirty seconds. Just a smooth, relaxed journey with a brilliant driver, and I arrived at The Foodworks Cookery School feeling calm, unhurried, and completely ready for whatever Giuseppe had in store for the day. Brookside Taxis and Minibuses were wonderful, and if you are heading to Cheltenham from Worcester and do not want the stress of the train, they are very much the people to call.

Back in the Baking Room

Walking back into Giuseppe’s baking space felt, if anything, even better the second time. There is a familiarity to it now, a sense that I know where I am and what to expect, and yet the excitement of not quite knowing what I will achieve and the nervousness I felt around how my bakes would turn out is exactly the same. The room smells of something warm and wonderful before you even sit down, and the people in the class brought with them that same easy, open energy that I noticed in February. Small classes, never more than twelve, and Giuseppe and his team at your elbow whenever you need them. It remains one of the most welcoming environments I have found myself in, and I say that as someone who spends a considerable portion of her professional life in rooms full of strangers.

The Theme: All About Easter

Giuseppe’s Easter baking workshop is built around celebrating spring through the lens of Italian Easter baking tradition, and the recipes he chose were a beautiful balance of the regional, the classic, and the quietly spectacular.

Ciambellone di Pasqua

We began with the traditional Easter cake from Giuseppe’s own hometown in Italy, baked for elevenses, and it was the perfect introduction to the day. A ciambellone is a ring-shaped cake, simple in structure but deeply satisfying in character, and this particular version carries with it the kind of flavour that immediately tells you this recipe has been made and loved across generations. There is nothing showy about it. It does not need to be. The texture was wonderfully tender, the scent as it baked was intoxicating, and eating a slice mid-morning with a cup of coffee felt like the most civilised thing I have done in a very long time. It was absolutely delicious, even if I do say so myself.

Paste di Mandorla

These fragrant almond cookies are beautiful little things, and they were a genuine joy to make. Yielding and slightly chewy at the centre, with a delicate almond intensity that is entirely unmistakeable, they are the kind of bake that looks elegant on a plate and tastes even better than it looks. Working the dough and shaping each cookie by hand had a quietly meditative quality to it that I had not anticipated, and by the end of it I had produced something that looked, if not quite professional, then at least like it had been made by a human being who knew what she was doing. Progress, I will take it.

Crostatine al Marzapane

The marzipan tarts were the recipe that surprised me most on the day. I have always had a complicated relationship with marzipan, finding it sometimes too sweet, too dense, too much of a thing. These crostatine completely changed my view. The pastry cases were crisp and golden, the marzipan filling was fragrant rather than cloying, and the result was elegant in a way that felt thoroughly Italian and absolutely achievable in a home kitchen. I ate one warm, stood at the worktop, and I regret nothing.

Pistacchini

Pistachio and white chocolate cookies. Just sit with that for a moment. These pistacchini were an absolute joy, the kind of bake that looks deceptively simple and tastes considerably more complex than you might expect. The pistachio flavour is earthy and distinctive, the white chocolate brings a gentle sweetness that balances it perfectly, and the cookies themselves have a texture that is entirely their own. They disappeared from the table at the end of lunch with remarkable speed, and I can confirm that the portion I brought home did not last the evening.

Pastiera

We finished the day with the pastiera, the iconic Easter tart from Naples, flavoured with orange blossom water, and I want to be honest with you: this is the recipe I will be most proud of for a long time. The pastiera is a serious bake. It has heritage, it has complexity, and it has that quality that the very best Italian baking always seems to possess, of being simultaneously unpretentious and extraordinary. The filling of ricotta, wheat berries, eggs, and orange blossom is unlike anything I had made before, and the scent as it baked was extraordinary. Giuseppe guided us through every stage with his characteristic warmth and precision, and the result, when it came out of the oven, was genuinely stunning.

The Man Himself

I do not think I will ever tire of saying this: Giuseppe Dell’Anno is simply one of the loveliest people you will encounter. Winning The Great British Bake Off in 2021 launched him into public life, but there is nothing of the TV personality about him in his classes. He is warm, generous, funny, and completely invested in every person in that room. His background as an engineer and researcher gives him a particular quality of explanation, he understands the why behind every technique, and he shares that knowledge in a way that makes it genuinely stick. Combine that with a childhood spent in a family of passionate bakers, a father who was a professional chef, and a deep and abiding love for Italian baking culture, and you begin to understand why spending a day in his company feels like such a privilege.

His books, “Giuseppe’s Italian Bakes” in 2022 and “Giuseppe’s Easy Bakes” in 2023, both became fastest selling new releases on Amazon, and if today is anything to go by, the talent and warmth on those pages is entirely authentic.

The Italian Lunch I Had Been Waiting For

Last month, as the Chocolate baking workshop took place on Valentine’s Day, I didn’t partake in the lunch. I desperately wanted to, as it looked absolutely stunning. I did allow myself a tiny bit of the rustic Italian tomato soup that was served, but nothing else. This was because I promised my husband we would have dinner together that night to celebrate Valentine’s Day, and there was no way I could eat two big meals in one day, especially as lunch wasn’t till around 2.45pm – 3.00pm so that wine could be served with it when we had finished all our bakes.

So this time, I made sure I had the lunch and I enjoyed every last bit of it. I had promised myself I would, and I kept that promise, and it was glorious. Giuseppe served meatballs in an tomato sauce with cous cous that was so fresh tasting, I could have easily had seconds. I left room though for some bread, mozzarella, peppers with a hint of chilli and something I haven’t had for years but absolutely love – some provolone picante cheese.  I was full to the brim when I finished, and resolved to visit the Italian shop “Little Italy” in Worcester as soon as possible to treat myself to some provolone picante and get some more Loacker classic Napolitaner wafers so I can make the Ferrero Rocher chocolates again from the chocolate baking workshop, as they were so delicious.

Why This Baking Workshop Mattered To Me

I talk often, in my professional work in cyber security, about the value of learning from people who genuinely love what they do. There is a quality to that kind of teaching that no textbook or online course can replicate. Giuseppe’s workshops are that quality in its purest form. You leave knowing more than you arrived with, not just about baking, but about patience, about trusting a process, about being willing to look uncertain in front of other people and discovering that it is absolutely fine.

I arrived at this workshop having thoroughly enjoyed the last one. I left having thoroughly surpassed it, carrying boxes of Italian Easter bakes, a renewed enthusiasm for the kitchen, and the kind of contentment that a genuinely brilliant day produces.

Spring had most definitely arrived, and it tasted of orange blossom, pistachio, and marzipan.

I highly recommend Giuseppe’s classes, but sadly I learnt yesterday that after the savoury bakes on he is doing in June, he doesn’t have any plans as yet to do any more. His day job and other work and catering projects are taking priority, I understand this completely as I am in the same boat, often juggling my day job work alongside book writing, speaking engagements, being a judge for different sets of cyber awards and writing articles for publication. Sometimes things I really enjoy have to stop as there just aren’t enough hours in the day; I’m not great at saying no to things, then I manage to take on too much and get overwhelmed. I am on the fence about his savoury bakes class on Saturday 27 June, and it is not that I don’t want to do it, I do – very much so. But I’m hesitant about booking onto it for two reasons. One, with it being in June, I run the risk of it being in a heatwave and I don’t cope at all well in the heat. ’ve written about the extreme heat sensitivity I suffer from on this blog as a neurodivergent person. Two, I also have hayfever that is always horrendous in June as I am allergic to grass pollen, and even with taking antihistamines I don’t want to be sniffing and sneezing in the class.

Giuseppe is also appearing at the Cheltenham Food Festival, but this is also in June (I thought it was May, damn my ADHD brain!), and it is on a Friday as well, so I won’t be able to go due to work. But I’ll keep the savoury bakes class for 27 June on my radar and if by any remote chance we’re not in a heatwave and my allergies aren’t too bad then I’ll book to do it, but I won’t book it until much closer to the time. And if it is fully booked and I miss out, it wasn’t meant to be. But if Giuseppe does decide to hold any classes again in the future after the savoury bakes one in June, I will do them.

If you have been considering booking one of Giuseppe’s classes, please stop considering and simply book the savoury bakes one on 27 June, especially as it might be his last one. You will not regret a single moment. And if you need a ride to the venue, call Brookside Taxis and Minibuses. Between the two, I promise you will be in very good hands.

Giuseppe Dell’Anno’s baking classes and books can be found at giuseppedellanno.com.