Italy Dreams

Tag: cibo Italiano

  • Cesarine Connects Hungry Guests With Italian Home Cooking

    Hosts and guests enjoy a food experience with Cesarine. All pics in this article provided by Cesarine.

    Imagine you’re traveling in Italy and you learn how to prepare a home-cooked meal right in a local Italian’s kitchen.

    Once the meal is done, you’ll enjoy it along with your host, perhaps with some local wine.

    Or, imagine that a local guide takes you on a food and market tour in the Italian city you’re visiting. You learn directly about the area’s specialties and get to try a few of them.

    Those experiences are exactly what you’ll get from Cesarine (chay-sa-ri-nay), a Bologna, Italy-based company that began in 2004.

    Hosts and visitors enjoy Cesarine experiences. All pics in this article provided by Cesarine.

    The company began small but now has more than 1,500 home cooks and culinary hosts across more than 700 towns, says Maria Rita Tattini, Cesarine’s communications advisor.

    In 2025, Cesarine welcomed more than 50,000 guests to connect with its hosts.

    Cesarine also recently began to offer experiences with local food producers, such as wineries, olive oil estates, and family farms.

    “Cooking classes are among our most popular experiences, particularly fresh-pasta classes. But dining experiences are equally important because they offer something that is difficult to reproduce in a restaurant: the feeling of being invited into someone’s home,” Tattini says.

    Cesarine: How It Works

    Hungry yet? Here’s how Cesarine works.

    Go to its website, and type in the name of the city where you will be in Italy. Next, choose a date. Cesarine’s website will show you a variety of options.

    Because of our recent Sicily travels, we typed in “Catania, Sicily,” and chose a date. Here’s just a smattering of the choices offered on or close to our chosen date:

    –Artisanal pasta the way it was formerly made

    –Cooking class: Dreamy Sicilian arancine (rice balls)

    –Sicilian cooking class with Cesarina Fernanda

    –Catania fish market tour: A unique experience

    Next, we typed in Modena, a town in Emilia-Romagna famous for its balsamic vinegar. Here are just a few options we got:

    –Traditional cooking course with organic ingredients

    –The art of homemade lasagna: An authentic experience

    –Fresh pasta cooking class

    –Culinary traditions of Modena: The secret of the tigelle

    Choose your option(s) (personally, we’d like to sign up for all of them), pick a date and number of guests, and note any special requests, such as food allergies.

    The listing will tell you the price. Prices vary, but most we saw were around 100 Euros. Then complete the sign-up process.

    While on a particular listing, you can read reviews for the specific tour or experience you chose.

    One thing to consider: The food experience you get in one part of Italy may be totally different than what you’d experience in another region. That’s because local dishes vary so much across the country, Tattini says.

    What Makes Cesarine Different

    Food tourism in Italy is a big draw for the country, but there are some things that make Cesarine unique.

    “I think travelers are increasingly looking for something beyond sightseeing,” Tattini says. “They don’t just want to see Italy. They want to understand how Italians actually live. Food is an extraordinary gateway to that.”

    A cooking class with a Cesarina (local host) can reveal something about both the region and also a family recipe or why a particular dish is associated with a holiday or celebration, she explains.

    “There’s something very appealing about the idea of being welcomed into a real Italian home. It feels personal and spontaneous rather than a conventional tourist attraction,” Tattini says.

    Another thing that distinguishes Cesarine: Since 2019, it’s been designated as a Slow Food Community, which refers to a group that helps to protect and promote local food.

    Cesarine’s New Cookbook

    Cesarine recently compiled The Cesarine’s Cookbook, a digital collection of authentic family recipes and information from its community of home cooks.

    The idea sparked because many Italian recipes have been passed from grandmother to mother to daughter, ofen with ingredients measured visually and with family secrets that aren’t part of conventional recipes, Tattini says.

    The cookbook brings together the recipes and helps preserve a culinary heritage. Because it’s digital, the book can continue to grow.

    Here are just a few examples of recipes we found in Cesarine’s Cookbook (and we are now very hungry):

    —Rosata Cake of Atlamura (from Apulia)

    —Carbonara, but vegan

    —Garden vegetable frittata

    —Burrata, the cheese with a creamy heart (from Puglia)

    How to Enjoy a Cesarine Experience (and Any Food Tourism in Italy)

    Italy Dreams asked Tattini for some tips to follow when attending a Cesarine food event. Here’s the scoop:

    —Come hungry and curious.

    —Don’t be afraid to try something you don’t know. “One of the pleasures of Italian regional cuisine is discovering dishes that you may never have encountered in an Italian restaurant at home,” she says.

    —Let Cesarine know of any allergies or dietary restrictions/preferences.

    —Don’t worry if you’re a beginning cook. “The point isn’t to produce a perfect restaurant dish. It’s to learn, participate, and have fun,” Tattini says.

    —Give yourself plenty of time to enjoy the experience! As we’ve reported before, the beauty of Italy travel is slowing down. That also applies to enjoying a meal.

    You can follow similar tips for any food tourism you do throughout the country, Tattini says. Stay open to all of the regional variations, and ask locals what they actually eat.

    “Perhaps the biggest mistake is expecting Italian food to mean pasta and pizza everywhere. The real joy is discovering what is different from one region to another,” she explains.

    How to Sign Up for a Cesarine Experience

    Ready to prepare and enjoy a Cesarine home-cooked experience with a Cesarina or take a market tour with a local?

    Just visit their website here.

    “You can visit a beautiful Italian city and take photos of its monuments, but sitting at someone’s kitchen table tells you something completely different about that place,” Tattini reminds us all.

    Curious to learn more about Italy Dreams and how we can help your Italy journey? Feel free to explore all of the articles on our blog. Then, if you have some Italy travel planning questions, find our contact information here.

    We also write articles for Italy-based tourism businesses. Find more details here. 🙂

    Mangiamo/let’s eat!

  • Florence, Italy, for Foodies: Where to Go and What to Eat

    Read our article for a few tips on finding a great meal in Florence, Italy.

    Florence, Italy, is beloved for its history and culture. Michelangelo’s David? Right over here. Boticelli’s artwork? It’s got that, too. Tons and tons of history dating back to 52 B.C.? Check!

    Yet if you’re visiting Florence, you probably also want to know some great ways to enjoy its food. Because after all, there’s no going hungry in Tuscany.

    Here are four food recommendations for your visit to Florence.

    Molto buono! Gelato from Edoardo, an organic gelato place.

    Edoardo il Gelato Biologico

    Piazza del Duomo, 45/R, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy

    You’ve got your share of gelato places around the Duomo (Cathedral)–why not pick one that’s highly rated and organic?

    Edoardo’s gelato is made without chemicals or artificial colors. Enjoy flavors like pistachio and hazelnut among other choices(including some seasonal changes). Remember what European travel guru Rick Steves says–if gelato comes in neon-bright colors, you probably want to avoid it. Edoardo’s gelato has muted colors, adding to its authenticity.

    Sandwiches found on the second floor of Mercato Centrale in Florence.

    Mercato Centrale Firenze

    Via Generale dalla Chiesa, 13 50136 Firenze

    When we arrived in Florence, we made an early-morning beeline toward the Duomo so we could see it before big crowds arrived (which is a great tip for just about anywhere you’re traveling in Italy). But really, we were just killing time until Mercato Centrale opened.

    Mercato Centrale has food stalls on its first floor, with a colorful mix of food and products that could keep you busy all morning. If you like taking pictures, definitely take your time to find good pics.

    One of the first stalls we saw featured the lampredotto sandwich, a Tuscan specialty that uses the fourth stomach from a cow.  Further down, we saw pigs’ heads, massive containers of sundried tomatoes, and plenty of vino. There were a few places to buy pastries, like the famous cornetto (croissant) that Italians often have for breakfast.

    One of the food stalls at Mercato Centrale in Florence.

    Some of the vendors were tourist-geared and gave samples of items like truffle cream, cheeses, vinegar, and olive oil.

    In an amusing twist, we saw two stands that displayed the Peruvian flag, reflecting the small but mighty Peruvian community in Florence, Much like Italy, Peru is famous for its cuisine, and the stalls included some of the produce and spices better known by its natives.

    Upstairs at Mercato Centrale, there’s a food hall with a ton of ready-made food items that you can order–from hamburgers to pizza to American barbecue and more. We tried a caprese sandwich that was perfect for an early lunch. Use this handy guide for the layout of the Mercato Centrale’s second floor.

    Bravo! Pesto pasta from Osteria del Fiore.

    Osteria del Fiore

    Piazza del Duomo, 57r, 50122 Firenze

    We realize that there are many great places to eat in Florence. There are hidden gems away from the tourist crowds, but there also are some tourist-friendly restaurants that come with fantastic food and a stunning view. That’s what you’ll find at Osteria del Fiore, where we enjoyed a pesto pasta with tomatoes while watching the world go by beside the Duomo.

    Our pasta was served with a side of bread, perfect for sopping up extra pesto sauce. On the menu here, our order was Fusilli al Pesto con Pomodorini (fusilli pasta with pesto and tomatoes).

    This sign in a Florence supermarket tells the name of the fruit (mandarins) and where they are from (Spain).

    Local Supermarkets

    Various locations

    After checking into the hotel, the first thing we did was find a supermarket. After all, it was our first time in Italy in a very long time, and we were too tired and impatient for a sit-down meal.

    Interesting ricotto cheese at a Florence supermarket.

    Going to a supermarket was a fascinating way to see how people shop, how pasta and sauce prices (and selection) compared to the U.S., and what other snacks would be good for our trip. In fact, we bought a pre-made flatbread for dinner that night along with some European Ritter Sport chocolate. A few days later, we also ended up buying food gifts there, like pesto and pasta.

    It’s hard to go wrong with Italian pizza and vino….

    4 Tips for Choosing a Better Meal in Tuscany

    —Don’t be afraid to eat near the Duomo. Yes, you’ll be there with hundreds of new friends, but as mentioned, one of our best meals in Italy was the pesto pasta enjoyed while staring at the Duomo.

    —Take a cooking class. Sadly, this is something we didn’t have a chance to do. It could be a great way to learn about local cuisine and meet others. Here are a few recommendations for Florence cooking classes from a Rick Steves forum.

    —Try an Italian breakfast. Italians put a lot of effort into their lunches and dinners. So, it may not be surprising that their breakfast is more simple. The most common breakfast is coffee and a croissant, or “un espresso e un cornetto.” Espresso, of course, is the shorter coffee. If you want more coffee to drink, American style, then specify that you want “un caffe Americano.”

    —Use those meal encounters to practice Italian, if you’re learning the language! If not,it still can’t hurt to trhow in the occasional “per favore” and “grazie.” 🙂

    A cornetto and espresso….