FLAVOURS OF FLORENCE

Bite your way through Florence’s streets and squares on this delectable food tour. You will dig into the belly of the city and discover that Florence’s gastronomic specialities are worthy rivals of its artistic treasures – and are just as ancient, owing to the Italians’ long-standing obsession with food.

Florentine Catherine de’ Medici, who became queen of France, is a famous ambassador for a long list of Italian epicureans. When she moved abroad in 1533 she insisted on taking her favourite cooks and preserving her Italian traditions and habits as she disliked French cuisine. She is said to have ignited the French passion for cooking and introduced many culinary innovations to the country. Some claim that dishes considered today as traditional French creations, including crepes, béchamel and onion soup, were actually brought into France by Catherine. She is also credited with giving the French court its first taste of olive oil, artichokes, truffles and figs and with teaching the French to use a fork at table!

Your private guide will lead you on a stroll through the historic centre, introducing you to popular local temptations. An indispensable ritual in the life of every self-respecting Italian is the prima colazione… Begin your day like a local, delighting your senses on a croissant and an expertly brewed coffee or cappuccino at the bar. You will then follow a tasty trail through the bustling Mercato Centrale, one of the city’s oldest markets. Admire stalls brimming with an enticing assortment of fresh, seasonal produce that will make your mouth water, feast your eyes on crisp green vegetables, delicious cheeses, top quality charcuterie and try out the regional favourites.

Your eating adventure also covers a deli shop, a winery and a gelateria. Indeed, no Florence food tour would be complete without a taste of gelato. Ice cream is an age-old treat, dating back thousands of years. Frozen desserts are recorded as far back as 3,000 BC when Asian cultures began consuming crushed ice and flavourings. Our modern gelato may well have its origins in a recipe brought back to Italy from China by Marco Polo. However it was during the Renaissance in Florence, under the rule of the Medici family, that the great tradition of Italian gelato began. Legend has it that among the chefs that Catherine de Medici would have loved to have employed at the French court was Ruggeri, the inventor of a prize-winning frozen dessert, but it is to 16th century Florentine architect, painter and sculptor Bernardo Buontalenti that we owe gelato as we know it today. His addition of milk and eggs to the mixture was a genial contribution to this world-acclaimed delicacy.