Rome Food Tour - Markets, Tastings & Pizza Making

Extended Description

Your discovery of Italy’s food starts in one of Rome’s liveliest piazzas: Campo dei Fiori. Once a site of public executions, today “Campo” is a bustling food market. As you wander the stalls, find out how to pick your produce like a local. Learn which foods are in season, which aren’t, and why that’s so important to Italians—and to farmers. (After this tour, we bet you won’t ask for a Roman artichoke in July!). 

And, of course, you’ll taste the goods! Your local guide will introduce you to the family that’s run one of our favorite stands for more than a century. They sell olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and other goodies… you’ll get to try these delicacies. Along the way, you’ll learn the meaning behind the “D.O.P.” labels that you see, find out what goes into a top olive oil or balsamic vinegar, and have plenty of time to get any of your questions answered by the Roman family or your local guide—part of the benefit of having 12 people tops on a tour. 

You’ll also stop at one of Rome’s best bakeries. Since 1970, this forno has been a local favorite, and you’ll get to see—and taste—why that is. As you inhale the smell of baking bread, learn how to navigate Italian bakeries like a local, from what it means to get pizza al taglio to what you do with the ticket a baker gives you. We will buy some local bread for later tastings and you’ll even get to taste a typical Roman appetizer, the delicious "oliva ascolana".

But don’t fill up too much: You will also discover—and taste—the differences between prosciutto crudo or cotto, parmigiano or pecorino. Find out why you’re not automatically offered “parmesan” with every pasta, especially in Rome, and whether mozzarella di bufala really comes from buffalo milk. Like what you’re trying? Luckily, your guide has shown you some hand gestures used by Italians to express that they do or don’t like something—so you’ll be able to communicate like a local to tell the owners if you think something is “buono”! 

After all these tastings, it’s time to play chef yourself. At a local Italian restaurant, you’ll learn how to make Italy’s most popular food: pizza. And you’ll actually make your own personal pizza, super-fun for both adults and kids! As you’re walked through the process, find out how pizza is different not only outside of Italy, but region to region in Italy, too. And discover, once and for all, what pizza with “peperoni” means—so you’ll never be surprised again! 

When you’re done, your pizza will be baked in a real wood pizza oven (as Italians would say, the only way!). As you enjoy the result of your hard work, find out more about pizzerias and restaurants in Italy. Like how to tell an authentic restaurant from a touristy one (not always that obvious), or which dishes on “Italian” menus back home won’t show up in Italy (hint: spaghetti and meatballs). Get local tips for how to eat on a budget, what neighborhoods are the best for food in Rome, how tipping works, and anything else you want to ask about! 

But this wouldn’t be an authentic Italian meal without two more things: a sweet and coffee. We’ll stop at one of the best sweets shops in Rome, which just happens to be Sicilian and have top-notch pastries; enjoy either a cannolo or a gelato… on us! Finally, we’ll head to Sant’Eustachio, the most renowned café in Rome. Amid the smell of roasting beans and the whir of espresso machines, learn how to drink coffee as the Italians do (and why you always see them standing up!) and, of course, enjoy your own espresso. 

This is not just a food “tour”… it’s a food experience!