By Laura Nowak
Tourists often visit Italy because the country is well known for its fine cuisine, wines and delectable desserts. Food lovers will appreciate some of the culinary tours there are in Italy, throughout Sicily, Tuscany, Piedmont and other areas. Guests will experience Italian cuisine at its finest as they dine at the finest restaurants, visit wine cellars and take cooking lessons to learn how to cook like a chef.
Italian Connection
Italian Connection offers several walking and cooking tours throughout Italy, in Sicily, Florence and the Amalfi Coast. Tourists can select from a three-day walking tour or a seven-day culinary tour. They feature three culinary tours to Sicily, which include touring historic Greek temples, while eating antipasti and tasting wine for lunch. Guests will tour the wine cellars of the Donnafugata winery, and sample some of the best Italian wines. They will learn the history of olives, and learn the process of pressing them to make olive oil. Guests will participate in two cooking lessons, which may include using some of Sicily's sweeter ingredients, such as ricotta cheese, cassata or a spicy chocolate. They will relax in three very different accommodations, varying from a historic inn, a seaside hotel and a motel in the city. This tour costs almost $4,000 and occurs the first week in November.
Italian Connection
39-335-801-6115
http://www.italian-connection.com/destinations/culinary_tours.html
Tuscany Cooking Tour
Food lovers will love this eight-day culinary tour through Tuscany. Guests will enjoy gourmet dining and wine tasting before attending a cooking class in the countryside. They will learn how to prepare traditional Tuscan dishes, such as Pici all'anatra, pasta with duck sauce, or Polenta alla erbe con baccalà e porri, polenta, served with herbs, cod and leeks. During their second cooking class, guests will learn how to make pasta from scratch, which will be their dinner that night. They will be amazed by all the choices and samplings of fine wines and delectable chocolates that they get to taste. This tour includes all their meals, plus cheese, wine and chocolate tastings, and accommodations for seven nights. For a couple, it will cost around $1,000 a day.
Cellar Tours
(310) 928-7559
http://www.cellartours.com/italy/culinary-tours/luxury-tuscany.html
Epiculinary Tours
Tourists will love that this tour company has more than two dozen culinary tours, just in Italy alone. They may enjoy the Food and Wine Lovers Tour, in Piedmont, Italy. Guests will discover the art of cooking Italian cuisine, and delicacy of truffles, how to hunt for them, and how delicious they are. Guests will not only tour local wineries and sample fine wines, but they will visit local markets and taste antipasti cheeses and meats. This tour includes their meals and accommodations, wine, truffle and market tastings, and two cooking classes. This tour is available to book year-round and costs $2,375 a person.
Epiculinary Tours
847-295-5363
http://www.epiculinary.com/tours_italy.html
About the Author:
Laura Nowak is a freelance writer who combines her love of travel and research to write travel articles. She has been published in various print and online publications, including the "Western Herald," where she wrote arts and entertainment articles. Nowak earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in practical writing from Western Michigan University.
