The Italian cuisine is known for its diversity at regional level, abundance in taste and seasonings but its main characteristic is its simplicity. That’s why Italian chefs count on the quality of the ingredients rather than the complexity of the preparation.

The Florentine cuisine is also simple and abundant, so the perfect way to discover our rich and fascinating culinary tradition is through our Food Walking Tour. This tour will accompany you into the discovery of the most popular dishes you can find in the cradle of Renaissance. Lasting 3,5 hours, the food walking tour includes 8 tasting stops and takes role in the historic city centre of Florence, in particular our guides will bring you in the neighborhood of the most famous two-level food market:  San Lorenzo Market.

Keep on reading and discover what delicacies you can find once arrived in Florence.

COFFEE:

espresso, corto, lungo, americano, macchiato, cappuccino etc. From different qualities of coffee, once toasted and mixed together you can obtain the most appreciated aroma. Two are the species you can find the most: arabica and robusta.

100% Arabica

100% Robusta

The first one with a low level of caffeine, an oval shape and a delicate and fragant aroma; the second one with a higher level of caffeine, a rounded shape and a intense and rich taste.

Which one is the best? Taste both of them and choose the one that fits perfectly your taste. Then learn how to use a Moka and which type of coffee is the most expensive and why!

TRUFFLES:

Truffle Sandwiches

Do you love or hate them? Very precious and hard to find, truffles are a specialty in Tuscany. Waiting for the perfect weather and the right humidity of the soil, lagotto dogs are ready for the truffle hunting. In Florence you have the possibility to taste some sandwiches with a special cream. Characterised by a strong scent, black truffles are one of the ingredients of the secret recipe used for the cream. P.s. Don’t try to ask the secret recipe!

PASTRIES:

Millefoglie

Bigné

Two types of pastries will be served to you: Bigné and Millefoglie.

The bigné, consisting of a little rounded dough filled with cream, is considered as one of the most delicious pastries and the ideal to satisfy young and old.

The millefoglie, instead, is composed of puff pastry layers alternating with layers of custard cream. Their sweetness is indescribable and only once tasted you can understand.

WINE:

White and Red wine tasting

Wine and food pairing

Continue with a wine tasting: white and red. Discover the delicacy of two typical Tuscan wines: the Vermentino and the Chianti classico, how to recognise the original ones and how can you pair these exceptional wines with everyday meals and cheeses.

EXTRAVERGIN OLIVE OIL AND BALSAMIC VINEGAR:

Extravirgin olive oil & Balsamic vinegar

Beside the wine, Tuscany is also important for the production of olive oil. As per the wine, it’s important to knwo when the olive oil can be defined extravergin and depending on its freshness how to paired it with food. The same is for the balsamic vinegar. More the seasoning increases, sweeter the taste becomes.

For example: a n°12 (seasoning time) balsamic vinegar is the perfect topping for a vanilla ice cream.

CANTUCCI AND VIN SANTO:

Cantucci & Vin Santo

These dry almond cookies are typical desserts of the Tuscan culinary tradition, especially paired with vin santo (typical dessert wine). What is the correct way to eat cantucci? Deep the cantucci into the vin santo and eat them! What a strange name for this wine! Maybe, it just comes from its common use during the Mass.

SALAME, PROSCIUTTO AND BEER:

Zafferan Beer

Salame, prosciutto & cheeses

Taste some salame and prosciutto di cinta. Curiosity: the name comes from the particular colour of the little pig. Complete the tasting with some craft beer directly from the Valdarno area. What does this beer have different from the other? One of its special ingredients is the zafferan!

FIRST COURSE DISH:

Ribollita soup

Ribollita is one of the “poor” dishes typical of Florence. It’s a soup, traditionally prepared in some areas of Tuscany, consisting in stale bread and vegetables. In Italian, ribollita means boiled more than once. This because, in the past, farmers used to cook a grand quantity of soup and then boiled it again in the next days.

GELATO:

Italian gelato

The gelato, milkier than the ice cream, originally comes from Florence. The legend tells that in occasion of the wedding of Maria de’ Medici and king of France Henry IV, Bernardo Buontalenti (architect, sculptor and painter) realised sorbets mixed with cream and offered them to the guests. Only in Florence you can find the original Buontalenti flavour!

BISTECCA ALLA FIORENTINA:

Bistecca alla fiorentina

Lastly, you can’t leave Florence without trying one of the most typical dish of the Tuscan cuisine: the bistecca alla fiorentina. It simply consists of a t-bone steak grilled over a wood or charcoal fire and served very rare. Characterised by a thickly and large cut, it is suggested to consume this delicacy between two or more persons.